Planting Activities in the Montessori Preschool Classroom

Planting activities are one of my favorite things to do with preschoolers. They love being able to care for something that is real and to see firsthand the growth process! We have many budding botanists in our class this year, and they have been incredibly enthusiastic about the planting activities that we implemented in the month of May. Here are some of the fun and exciting activities we have been working on in our Montessori Preschool classroom.

Planting Activities in the Montessori Preschool Classroom

Growing a Bean Plant

Each child was given the opportunity to plant their own bean seed as well as the responsibility to care for their seed and observe the growth process. Each child chose their own little pot, filled it with soil and then planted their very own bean seed.

We have been housing the seeds in our greenhouse and every day the children took turns watering their seeds and charting the growth. We have learned about the parts of a bean seed and some of the older children made their own books and posters to compliment the learning process. Soon the bean plants will be ready to be taken home and planted in the garden!

Ceramic Duck

Years ago I found the cutest little ceramic duck and every year we fill him with dirt and grass seed and watch him grow ‘grass hair'. The children are very impressed with his Mohawk and we just gave him his first hair cut!

Growing Vegetables

Another exciting aspect of our class has been watching our carrot, radish and onion seeds sprout — the children had fun guesstimating which seeds would grow first and the carrots definitely won the race!

It is fun to see the children go to the window sill each morning to check out the new growth … hands-on learning at its best!

Potato Head People

Making our own Potato Head People was such a fun activity and the children loved it! Each child was given their own potato to hollow out with an ice cream scoop. Once the potatoes were hollowed out, each child had the opportunity to decorate their very own potato head person and let me tell you, no two were alike — we had Grandma potatoes, alien potatoes, Mickey Mouse potatoes, various animal potatoes and many more.

Once the decorating was done, we filled the potatoes with dirt and then we sprinkled on some grass seed. Within a few days, our potato head people were beginning to sprout hair and the children were thrilled! They have enjoyed giving their Potato Heads haircuts and have been very careful to keep the soil moist with water.

Bree — NAMC Tutor & Graduate

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Thursday, June 30, 2011.