Flower Arranging
Flower arranging is a tray of small vases and the tools to fill them, with a few cut flowers. A child of about 3 who pours water without spilling fills a vase, trims a stem to its height, and places the finished vase somewhere in the room. Clearing up is part of the work.
Sourced from the texts, not yet presented at home
| Typical age | 3 to 5.5 years |
|---|---|
| Area | Practical Life |
| Before this | |
| Materials | |
| Direct aim | To arrange a flower in a vase and place it to make the room beautiful. |
| Control of error | The vase and the room. Spilled water shows on the tray, a stem cut too short falls in, and a stem left too long tips the vase. The child sees each and can fix it. |
| Leads to | Later lessons in this line are in preparation. |
| Time | About 15 minutes (our estimate). |
| Grouping | One child at a table |
| Parent prep | Moderate. Cut flowers, fill the small pitcher, check the scissors. |
| Cost | Buy about $3 to $4. Make: easy to make at home. |
| Other names | Arranging flowers, Flower arrangement, Care of the environment: flowers |
What the work teaches
Direct aim. To arrange a flower in a vase and place it to make the room beautiful.
Indirect aims, the ones you will not see at once
- Pouring through a funnel without spilling
- Cutting with scissors at a chosen point
- Care for the home: the child chooses where beauty goes
- Following a long sequence of steps to the end, cleanup included
Set it out before you invite the child
A tray with a small pitcher of water, a small funnel, two or three bud vases, child scissors, a small sponge and a doily or mat for each vase. The Montessori Room's set has three glass vases, a 100 ml pitcher, a metal funnel and three doilies.
Flowers with firm stems: daisies, carnations, small garden flowers or leafy sprigs. A jug of them on the table.
A small bowl for trimmed stems and leaves.
An apron if your child wears one for water work.
Montessori's handbook asks for flowering plants always to be in the working room, and low cupboards where a child can set flowers.
Presentation, step by step
- 1Carry the tray to the table and lay out each piece from left to right.
- 2Set the funnel in a vase and pour water slowly until the vase is about half full. Lift out the funnel.
- 3Take one flower. Hold it beside the vase to see how tall it should be.
- 4Cut the stem over the bowl, a little above where it should end. Pull off any leaves that would sit under water.
- 5Put the flower in the vase and lay a doily on the table beside it.
- 6Carry the vase in two hands to a chosen spot, and set the doily down with the vase on top.
- 7Come back, wipe drips with the sponge, empty the bowl of stems, and return the tray to the shelf.
Details that hold the child's attention
Water disappearing into the funnel and rising in the vase.
A stem cut to just the right height.
Choosing the place in the room for the finished vase.
Changing the water the next day and seeing how long the flower lasts.
How the child sees a mistake
The vase and the room. Spilled water shows on the tray, a stem cut too short falls in, and a stem left too long tips the vase. The child sees each and can fix it.
The words come after the hands
| Words | Shown with |
|---|---|
| vase, funnel, stem | The pieces of the work. |
| petal, leaf, bud | Parts of the flower, named while the child works. |
| the names of the flowers | Daisy, carnation, rose, as they come from the garden or shop. |
| arrange | To place something so it looks good. |
The three-period lesson, scripted
You need three flowers that look very different, such as a daisy, a carnation and a sprig of leaves.
| Period | What you do and say |
|---|---|
| 1. Naming | "This is a daisy." "This is a carnation." "This is a leaf." |
| 2. Recognition | "Give me the daisy." "Which one is the carnation?" |
| 3. Recall | Hold one up and ask "What is this?" |
Our suggestion. Flower names come easily here; the tray work is the real lesson.
Extensions and variations
- Arranging two or three flowers in one vase
- Changing the water in the vase the next day
- Picking flowers from the garden for the vases, with permission
- Making a vase for the family table before a meal
- Taking a flower to give to someone, as in one of Montessori's commands
Variations
- Leafy sprigs or herbs when flowers are out of season
- A plastic vase for a child who still drops things
Make it or buy it
| Material | Make it | Buy, approx. |
|---|---|---|
| Flower Arranging Set | Easy | $3 to $4 |
Prices noted . Approximate US street prices for home-use versions; they vary by maker and change often, so recheck before buying.
Making it at home
Small glass jars and a kitchen funnel make most of the tray. Add a creamer jug, child scissors and paper doilies.
What to check when buying a set
Heavy, small vases that don't tip are the main thing. A set is a convenience; single bud vases cost a few dollars.
Printables for this age
This work needs only the material, so it has no printable of its own. The shelf plan below places it among the other works for the same age.
- Shelf plan for age 3PDF, 1 page, 250 KBEvery work for this age on one page, in order, with a column to date each presentation.
Every printable for one age, by email
The shelf plan and the lesson printables for your child's age in one email, then three short emails on the first lesson, what to make or buy, and what comes next.
Signs the child is ready, and signs it is done
Ready for the first presentation
- Pours water between two pitchers without spilling much.
- Cuts paper with child scissors.
- Carries a tray with two hands.
- Notices flowers and wants to touch or smell them.
Ready for the next lesson
- Does every step, cleanup included, without reminders.
- Fills the vase through the funnel without spilling.
- Changes old flowers and water on their own.
- Chooses places for vases around the house.
Fitting it into a home, not a classroom
| If you have | Do this |
|---|---|
| A tight budget | Small glass jars, a kitchen funnel and a creamer jug work as well as a bought set. Garden flowers or a cheap bunch from the supermarket last a week. |
| A toddler sibling | Use plastic bud vases and keep the scissors on the tray only while the older child works. |
| No garden | Buy one bunch a week and keep it in a jug of water by the tray. |
| Guests coming | Ask the child to make a vase for the table. It's a real job with a real purpose. |
When it does not go to plan
| When | Try this |
|---|---|
| Water overflows. | Mark the vase halfway with a small sticker. Show the slow pour again. |
| Stems get cut too short. | Show holding the flower against the vase before cutting. Cut a little at a time. |
| The cleanup gets skipped. | Show it as part of the work, every time. The tray goes back ready for the next person. |
| Every flower gets cut into pieces. | Offer paper to cut on another tray. Put the scissors away for flowers until the next lesson. |
Hazards to check before each session
Child scissors only, carried closed with the blades in the hand.
Some garden plants are poisonous if chewed, such as foxglove and lily of the valley, and lilies are dangerous to cats. Use flowers you know are safe.
Glass vases break. Work on a tray and carry one vase at a time in two hands.
Where other sequences and standards place it
We have not bought the paid homeschool curricula, so they are not listed here.
| Framework | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| This site's Practical Life sequence | Lesson 11 of 12 published, after Wet Pouring Between Two Pitchers. Checked in: the scope and sequence |
| Montessori, Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook (1914) | Flowering plants always in the working room, low cupboards where children set flowers, and vases on the walls of the sitting-room. Checked in: A Children's House |
| Montessori, The Montessori Elementary Material (1917) | A command asks the child to change the water in the vase where the flowers were put yesterday. Checked in: Part I, Grammar |
| Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework, preschool | P-PMP 3: the child demonstrates increasing control, strength and coordination of small muscles. Checked in: www.in.gov |
Flower arranging: questions parents ask
What do you need for Montessori flower arranging?
A tray holding a small pitcher and funnel, bud vases, child scissors, a sponge and doilies. Add a bowl for stems and some flowers with firm stems.
What age is flower arranging for?
From about 3, once the child pours water without spilling, and on this site it runs to 5.5.
Is flower arranging in Montessori's own books?
Not as a tray work. Her books ask for flowers and flowering plants in every room and give commands about vases. The flower arranging tray comes from the later albums.
Which flowers work best?
Ones with firm, straight stems that a child can cut: daisies, carnations, small garden flowers. Avoid poisonous ones like foxglove, and lilies if you have a cat.
Sources cited by book and chapter
- Maria Montessori, Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook (1914)
A Children's House
The long cupboard in the working room is very low, so that a small child can set on top of it small objects such as mats and flowers.
Ornamental plants and flowering plants ought always to be placed in the room where the children are at work.
Brackets on the sitting-room walls hold statuettes, artistic vases or framed photographs, and each child should have a little flower-pot.
Writing
The special attention needed to handle small fragile objects without breaking them gives the children practice in controlling their movements.
- Maria Montessori, The Montessori Elementary Material (1917)
Part I, Grammar
One command reads: yesterday you put the flowers into a vase; change the water in the vase.
An improvised command asks a child to take a flower and run eagerly to give it to the lady.
Part II, Reading
A child's reading booklet says there are green plants and beautiful bouquets of flowers everywhere about the rooms of the school.
Reviewed by
What to offer next
Once the child chooses this work unprompted and finishes it without help, the next lesson to prepare is Metal Polishing.
- Folding cloths2.5 to 5 years
- Banana slicing2.5 to 5 years
- Table Scrubbing3 to 5.5 years
- Flower arranging3 to 5.5 years
- Metal polishing3.5 to 6 years