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How to: Montessori Indoor- or Small-Space Gardening in a DIY Sensory Table

April 11, 2017 By Deb Chitwood 5 Comments

As an adult, I’ve never had an outdoor garden. But I’ve had fun watching my (now-adult) children and my 3-year-old granddaughter experience gardening in a variety of ways. Taking care of plants is an important part of caring for the environment. Gardening offers so many ways to care for the environment, whether it’s planting seeds, transplanting plants, watering plants, weeding a garden, or harvesting food from the garden. We decided to use our DIY sensory table to create a way that my granddaughter, Zoey, can care for plants and have the fun of watching them grow without an outdoor garden.

How to: Montessori Indoor- or Small-Space Gardening in a Sensory Table

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Montessori Indoor- or Small-Space Gardening in a DIY Sensory Table – YouTube Video

Zoey always has fun with her sensory table/sensory bins. While a sensory bin isn’t a traditional Montessori activity, it can have many practical life and sensorial elements. And it can be very calming and a way to promote concentration, much like a Montessori peace tray. Because I wanted to do do actual indoor gardening, we decided to use our DIY sensory bin/sensory table for transplanting herbs and flowers. My daughter, Christina, and Zoey (Christina’s niece) had a wonderful time with the gardening activity. And Zoey loves having the plants available in her sensory table to explore and care for.

You can see how much fun Zoey had with gardening in this short video!

Montessori Indoor- or Small-Space Gardening in a DIY Sensory Table

Montessori Gardening in a DIY Sensory Table

Montessori Gardening in a DIY Sensory Table

I already had my DIY sensory table, a natural space to use for a portable planter.

We placed our sensory table in front of the patio doors at the end. If needed, I can move it outdoors. I appreciate that it’s so portable. It’s perfect for a sunny area indoors or outdoors on a deck or balcony.

Materials Used for Montessori Indoor- or Small-Space Gardening in a Sensory Table

Transplanted Herbs and Flowers in a Sensory Bin

Transplanted Herbs and Flowers in a Sensory Bin

  • DIY sensory table (We’ve used this many times already. It’s been very durable and versatile.)
  • Organic potting soil
  • Clay pots and planter
  • Herbs and flowers (I got mine from Home Depot, although you could get herbs and flowers at a nursery or a number of other places. You can even find flower seeds and organic herb seeds on Amazon if you want to start with seeds.
  • child-size garden tools (This is the set I have, although you can find a number of wonderful child-size garden tool sets.)
  • 3-piece garden tool set

Introducing the Names of Plants with the 3-Period Lesson

We use the Montessori 3-period lesson to introduce vocabulary in general, and it’s perfect for introducing types of plants. You can decide how in-depth you want to go with the 3-period lesson, depending on your child’s age and skill level. You could also use Montessori 3-part cards to extend the vocabulary part of your gardening work.

Activities in our Montessori Indoor Gardening

Transplanting Petunias

Transplanting Petunias

We used organic potting soil for our transplanting activities. With Christina’s help, Zoey put each of the plants in its new, larger container.

Adding Soil to Transplanted Plants in the DIY Sensory Table

Adding Soil to Transplanted Plants in the DIY Sensory Table

Zoey enjoyed using child-size garden tools to add soil around each plant.

Having Fun Smelling the African Daisies

Having Fun Smelling the African Daisies

There was a sensorial aspect, of course! Zoey loved feeling the plant leaves and smelling the flowers.

Watering the Plants in the DIY Sensory Table

Watering the Plants in the DIY Sensory Table

At the end, Zoey was proud to water her plants.

And she’s super excited about drinking peppermint tea made with leaves from our new peppermint plant! (Be sure to watch  our 59-second video if you haven’t already.)

Extensions to  Our Indoor Gardening Activities

Life Cycle of a Bean Plant and Seed Planting Activities

See “Life Cycle of a Bean Plant and Seed Planting Activities” to see our work with seeds.

At BitsofPositivity.com, I tell how we used the Kindness Elves to focus on kindness with our gardening activities.

Family Fun with Small-Space Gardening in a Vertical Planter

Update: Our favorite gardening project has been using a vertical planter for gardening in a small space outdoors year round.

More Gardening Activities and Resources for Toddlers and Preschoolers

I have lots of gardening activities you can introduce to your toddler or preschooler.

  • Activity of the Week – Friendship Flower Activities
  • Free Montessori Botany Materials for a Gardening Unit
  • Montessori-Inspired Gardening Unit
  • Montessori-Inspired Flower Activities
  • Free Flower Printables and Montessori-Inspired Flower Math Activities
  • Shoots and Sprouts Activities + Free Printable from Montessori By Mom
  • Montessori Flower Identification and Arranging for Toddlers and Preschoolers
  • Montessori Nature Tray Sorting and Counting for Toddlers and Preschoolers
  • Nature Walk and Nature Cutting Tray for Toddlers and Preschoolers
  • Montessori Nature Tray with Magnification Work and Flower Arranging
  • Spring Book Lists for Preschool and Elementary Kids: Garden Adventures Around the World
  • Montessori Nature Tray with Vocabulary – Parts of the Plant
  • Flower Cutting with Great-Grandma {Montessori on the Go}
  • How to Help Children Experience Nature and Growing Plants Outdoors without a Garden
  • Gardening/Botany Unit Study Pinterest Board

This post is part of the 12 More Months of Montessori Series!

 

12 Months of Montessori Series – Practical Life Themes

Check the posts below for a variety of practical life themes.

  • Montessori Practical Life Ideas for the Spring (free printable) | Natural Beach Living
  • The Best Way to Sew on a Button {for kids} | The Natural Homeschool
  • How to: Montessori Indoor- or Small-Space Gardening in a DIY Sensory Table | Living Montessori Now
  • Montessori Inspired Tools and Toys for Building | Mama’s Happy Hive
  • Introducing Practical Life with Montessori Babies and Toddlers | The Kavanaugh Report
  • Introducing Email for Elementary Practical Life | Grace and Green Pastures
  • 10+ Chores You Didn’t Know Your Toddler Can Help You With | Uno Zwei Tutu
  • Practical, practical life activities at 4 years old| Welcome to Mommyhood

I also have lots of posts with practical life activities in general.

Does your child have a favorite practical life activity right now?

Deb - Signature

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

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Filed Under: Activities - Practical Life, Montessori Homeschool Classroom and Materials, Unit Studies Tagged With: 12 Months of Montessori Learning, gardening sensory bin, gardening sensory table, gardening unit, indoor gardening, Montessori, Montessori gardening activities, Montessori-inspired gardening unit, moon activities, preschooler, preschoolers, sensory bin, small-space gardening

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Barry says

    April 14, 2017 at 6:47 pm

    Great way to get kids to do gardening. As well as to have the beautiful flowers on the inside of our home to make our homes beautiful.

    Reply
  2. Isabel says

    April 16, 2017 at 10:10 pm

    This is a fantastic and easy way to get kids gardening in a small space!

    Reply
  3. The Natural Homeschool says

    April 19, 2017 at 5:59 am

    Wow! What a fun activity for kids to learn at an early age! We love Spring activities like this one!

    Reply
  4. kimberly says

    April 25, 2017 at 7:19 am

    I love this so much! I never thought of gardening and planting in the sensory table, that is such a great idea.

    Reply
  5. Sam Horn says

    July 23, 2017 at 11:57 pm

    Great article, It is a great way to have bonding with kids while doing gardening. I suggest that those who are interested in these activities can now start thinking of getting their tools from their self-storage facilities and plan their trips.

    Reply

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