Fabulous Practical Life: How to Make Rose Petal Perfume {Montessori Monday}

I’m lucky to get roses for every birthday and anniversary. But I hate to throw them out when they get old. So I’ve been finding ways to create special rose petal activities for my almost-3-year-old granddaughter, Zoey. When Zoey was a baby, she had fun with a rose petal treasure basket, sensory bin, and sensory bottle. As a toddler, she enjoyed transferring rose petals.

After my October birthday this year, I decided to make rose petal perfume. I was amazed at what a fabulous practical life activity making rose petal perfume is … and it’s perfect for roses from the garden or after any event with roses (such as a birthday, anniversary, or Mother’s Day).

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How to Make Rose Petal Perfume – YouTube Video

This activity has a number of steps, which Zoey was proud to complete. The activity uses many practical life skills we’ve worked on previously, such as pouring, stirring, spooning, using a mortar and pestle, unscrewing and screwing a lid, and using a sponge. Check out the fun Zoey had in this video. (The very end is TOO CUTE!)

Materials Used to Make Rose Petal Perfume

• Child-size apron
• One rose
• Bowl for rose
• 8 ounce measuring cup with spout
• Fine-mesh strainer
• Spoon
• Mortar and pestle (such as one from Montessori By Mom or Montessori Services).
• Extra small funnel (the smallest funnel in this set worked perfectly)
• Bottle or bottles for perfume (You only need one bottle. I wanted a variety for future projects and to let you know what was available, so I purchased an atomizer, small pink bottle, and set of beautiful but fragile hand-blown glass bottles from Egypt. Zoey loved them all, but her favorite was a hand-blown glass bottle from Egypt. I don’t recommend using the hand-blown glass bottles unless you know your child is able to be very careful with them because the tops break extremely easily. They’re wonderful if your child is able to handle them very carefully.)

Steps to Make Rose Petal Perfume

These are the steps we used. I wanted to give Zoey a challenging activity, which she loved. Feel free to adapt your activity for your child or classroom. Allow plenty of time for the child to smell and feel the rose petals along the way!

1.  Pull petals off rose head.
2.  Add 1/2 cup water to bowl with roses. (I used distilled water.)
3. Stir water and rose petal mixture.
4. Pour rose petals into strainer placed over the measuring cup.
5. Pour rose petals into mortar and pestle, spooning and/or using fingers to get each rose petal.  (An alternative to this would be to pour boiling water over the rose petals and let that mixture set for at least an hour before straining out the rose petals. Another alternative, especially for young toddlers, would be to pour water over the rose petals and let it sit in the sun or overnight.)
6. Crush rose petals with mortar and pestle.
7. Spoon the crushed rose petals back into the original bowl.
8. Pour the water from the measuring cup over the crushed rose petals.
9. Stir the water and crushed rose petals together.
10. Pour rose petals into strainer placed over the measuring cup.
11. (Optional) Repeat steps 5-10 if you want to intensify the scent of the rose-petal perfume. This is also a wonderful way for children to repeat the activity, perfect for developing concentration skills.
12. Squeeze the extra moisture out of the rose petals into the measuring cup. I provided a spoon for this.
13. Use the extra-small funnel (3/16″ wide stem opening) to pour perfume into empty perfume bottles. This requires advanced pouring skills, so it’s best done after the child has a lot of practice pouring water.
14. Apply perfume to wrists or behind ears.
15. Clean up.
16. Enjoy!

Zoey’s Steps When Making Rose Petal Perfume

Pull petals off rose head.

Add 1/2 cup water to bowl with roses.

Stir water and rose petal mixture.

Pour rose petals into strainer placed over the measuring cup.

Pour rose petals into mortar and pestle, spooning and/or using fingers to get each rose petal. 

Crush rose petals with mortar and pestle.

Spoon the crushed rose petals back into the original bowl.

Pour the water from the measuring cup over the crushed rose petals.

Stir the water and crushed rose petals together.

Pour rose petals into strainer placed over the measuring cup.

(Optional) Repeat steps 5-10 if you want to intensify the scent of the rose-petal perfume. This is also a wonderful way for children to repeat the activity, perfect for developing concentration skills.

Squeeze the extra moisture out of the rose petals into the measuring cup. Zoey had fun squeezing the moisture out using a spoon.

Use the extra-small funnel (3/16″ wide stem opening) to pour perfume into empty perfume bottles.

Apply perfume to wrists or behind ears.

Clean up.

Enjoy!

More Rose Petal Activities

I also have ideas for creating a rose petal treasure basket, sensory bin, and sensory bottle for babies and toddlers.

I have flower petal transfer activities for toddlers and preschoolers.

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!

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