Spring Flowers

This March started off with just a few blooms around us.  The kids were excited to explore the dogwood and redbud branches found on our property - the first blooms of Springtime.

The kids loved seeing the natural cycle of a dogwood bloom and smelling it's fresh unique scent.

As our early Spring continued we collected wildflowers and native blooms from all over the garden. 

​ Learning to use a magnifying glass is one of our favorite nature table activities!

We were particularly enchanted with the sweet scent of the Mountain Laurel!

Flower Arranging

The art of flower arranging is a Montessori inspired 'Practical Life' activity!

"It is almost possible to say that there is a mathematical relationship between the beauty of his surroundings  and the activity of the child; he will make discoveries rather more voluntarily in a gracious setting than in an ugly one." - Maria Montessori. The Child in the Family. 

"Maria Montessori developed practical life activities to help children develop into independent thinking adults. Each step in a practical life activity satisfies the child’s innate desire to imitate the home life skills that children see adults perform around them on a daily basis."

​Rhythms of Play

Flower Still Life

After making more bouquets, we created still life drawings with oil pastels!

Drying Flowers

To preserve our flowers we carefully selected the best ones for our plant press.

Such a great opportunity to incorporate learning about counting, colors, and shapes.

Dried Flower Composition

After Spring Break our flowers were completely pressed and we composed them into our own designs - some with patterns, some with free form - preserved with contact paper.

To extend the activity we did crayon rubbings on top of our compositions and noticed the beautiful texture the flowers and leaves made.

Flowers and Famous Artists

The beauty of flowers is expressed by artists throughout time.  In this activity we looked through the Art Masters Sticker Book and were challenged to find 4 paintings each that had flowers in them.

Andy Goldsworthy Flower Projects

Andy Goldsworthy is an amazing British artist who has spent his life collaborating with nature and inspired these environmental art projects.

Monet Flower Puzzles

Taking art books and cutting them into DIY puzzles is a fun and simple way to introduce children to the great artists!

Montessori Flower Puzzle

Flower Geometry

The Kaleidograph is an award-winning, pattern design toy based on the geometry of crystals and flowers. This paper kaleidoscope makes billions of creative designs by stacking, flipping and rotating die-cut cards.

Banana Flower Snacks

Such a sweet little snack!  Excellent for hand-eye-coordination, number sense, and creating healthy, aesthetically pleasing treats.

Simply take banana slices and add pumpkin seeds as petals around the banana.  Use a dried mulberry or raisin for the center of the flower.  Serve with a smile!

Flower Watercolors

Marigold Prints

Flower Diagram

We loved learning about the life cycle of a flower!

A lot of our learning takes place in the natural questions and conversations that come up as we work on various projects.  Mr Ben has a wonderful talent of explaining scientific concepts in ways that young children can really grasp the information!

"Why do plants have roots?"

"To keep from getting pulled up"

"The roots are like little straws that drink water from the soil"

"Why do plants have leaves?"

"They get energy from the sun to make food for the plant. When we eat plants we are eating stored sunshine"

"Why do plants have flowers?"

"To make seeds."

"Why do plants have seeds?"

​"To make little baby plants and the circle of life continues!"

Seed to Flower Yoga

In Yoga class we are expanding on our 'blooming flower' sequence to include Spanish instruction:

"Florita, florita, porque eres chiquita?
Little flower, little flower, why are you so small?

​"Crece, crece, crece
Grow, grow, grow"

"Florita, florita, la vida es bonita.
Little flower, little flower, life is beautiful.

Happy Flower Dance!

Conscious Discipline Breathing

After our blooming flowers we have been practicing our Conscious Discipline breathing tools.  Check out our previous blog for more details on how we use these to help with self regulation.

Wishing Well Breath

Balloon Breath

Drain Breath

Pretzel Breath

Edible Flowers

Planting violas in the veggie and fairy herb gardens!  The kids love these pretty colorful flowers in their salads.

Can you count all the fairies visiting our fairy herb garden?

Spring Equinox

"Why do we have seasons?"

The following experiment explains how seasons work:

We used a globe with a tilt, a heat lamp, and a digital infrared thermometer to see how the tilt of the Earth and the position of the Earth in it's orbit around the sun effect the globe's surface temperature in Austin. We modeled the position of the Earth and Sun for the spring equinox, the autumn equinox, the summer solstice and the winter solstice and measured the different temperatures of Austin on the globe.

This hands on experience really helped the kids understand how the different intensities of light affect the temperature in Austin!

See you next time!