Like other Montessori practical life activities, this flower-arranging activity can help children develop independence and logical thought and prepare them for reading and writing as they learn basic home-life skills.
Invite children to try this flower-arranging Montessori practical life activity at home or in the classroom. Flower arranging is an excellent skill for kids of all ages to learn, whether they are Montessori students or not. When practiced regularly, practical life activities like arranging flowers can help create positive lifelong habits.
Maria Montessori integrated practical life lessons into children’s education to create a connection between the home and school. However, these life skills are just as easy to teach at home, allowing you to reap the many benefits of their practice. In Waldorf education, these practical life activities are called home life skills. Although these skills are taught differently within the rhythm of daily life across educational models, they are learned and repeated for similar reasons.
Below, we will explain the procedures, reasons, and benefits of Montessori Practical Life activities, with a focus on the skill of arranging flowers. Flower arranging is a valuable home life activity for children of all ages. Creating simple floral arrangements can help young children develop fine motor skills, concentration, and independence while teaching them basic actions such as carrying, pouring, and cutting. This makes flower arranging an excellent activity for younger children learning to develop their home-life skills.
However, learning to arrange flowers is just as appropriate for older children, as it offers a creative way to teach them about nature, botany, and design. This makes this flower activity a perfect complement to their botany studies or work on a botany unit. First published on April 5, 2015, this flower-arranging tutorial is regularly updated and occasionally republished to improve the content. For more information about home life activities and why to include them in your household rhythms or homeschool routines, please read 15 Ways to Raise a Helper.
Flower Arranging for Kids: A Montessori Practical Life Activity
This beginning botany activity engages children in a sensory-rich experience and instills a sense of responsibility and appreciation for nature’s beauty. Join us in nurturing your child’s artistic expression and practical skills through the art of flower arranging with this engaging Montessori practical life activity. Then, use the children’s floral arrangements to add to your home or classroom decor. You might also enjoy this coin-sorting activity inspired by Montessori sensorial Activities.
What are Montessori Practical Life Activities?
Maria Montessori developed “Practical Life Activities” to help children grow into independent-thinking adults. These activities are integral to the Montessori method and are typically introduced to toddlers and children as young as two or three. They are used at home and in the classroom to help toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and elementary-aged students develop essential life skills that foster independence, concentration, coordination, decision-making, confidence, and self-regulation.
Each practical life lesson, activity, or exercise created by Montessori is carefully designed to meet children’s developmental needs and presented in a way that allows for repetition and mastery at the child’s own pace. As such, they help children develop practical skills, improve movement control, and lay the foundation for later academic learning by promoting concentration, problem-solving, and social interaction.
Children are naturally imitative creatures, especially when they are young. Each step in a practical life activity satisfies their innate desire to imitate the daily home life skills performed by the adults around them. In other words, these activities help young children (toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners) satisfy their urge to mimic adults and learn simple life skills and behaviors they see around them in a developmentally healthy way.
Some common examples of these activities include pouring, spooning, washing, folding, polishing, sorting, dressing, food preparation (squeezing an orange or cutting a banana), transferring materials, self-care, and caring for the environment (household, schoolroom, yard, garden) with comprehensive activities such as sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning, gardening, and arranging flowers. You might also enjoy reading about 15 Ways to Raise a Helper.
Why are Montessori Practical Life Activities completed from left to right?
Montessori recommends that all practical life activities proceed from left to right and top to bottom to mirror and reinforce the actions of reading. She theorized that introducing practical life activities in this way will make it easier for children to learn how to read once it is developmentally appropriate.
How to Teach Children to Arrange Flowers:
In this tutorial, children will learn the art of arranging flowers. Through hands-on experience, they will discover the importance of care and attention to detail as they create beautiful floral arrangements. As they do so, children can explore colors, shapes, and textures and develop their sense of beauty and aesthetics. For more flower activities, look at these flower art projects, crafts, and painting ideas.
What age group is this flower-arranging Montessori activity best for?
Because flower-arranging combines several home-life activities into a single practical life activity, it is best suited for kindergarteners, preschoolers, and older toddlers who have experience with skills such as carrying a tray, pouring, and using scissors. In other words, ensure that little kids practice the individual skills needed to do this practical life activity independently before inviting them to arrange flowers.
Related: Books That Teach Kids Important Life Lessons
Flower Arranging Practical Life Activity Supplies and Materials:
- Fresh flowers
- Toddlers and preschoolers can practice arranging felt or silk flowers before using real flowers.
- Tray and/or activity mat
- Scissors
- Child-sized small glass or stainless steel pitcher
- Small bowl for flower-cutting stem discards
- Small flower vase, or try these colorful vases, or these floral bud jars
- Doilies
- Children’s apron
- Sponge for cleaning up spills
Related: Real Flower Nature Crafts for Kids and Teens
How to Set Up Flower Arranging Montessori Practical Life Activity:
- Pick or purchase flowers to arrange:
- Sturdy, thornless flowers, such as daisies, are best for beginners.
- If you use roses, you can trim the thorns off before presenting the activity to younger children.
- Or, make no-sew felt flowers and invite toddlers to practice with them before arranging fresh flowers, or encourage older children to arrange them during the winter.
- Sturdy, thornless flowers, such as daisies, are best for beginners.
- Place doilies, flowers, a discard bowl, scissors, a pitcher of water, and a vase on a wooden tray (or a Montessori activity mat), as shown in the photograph below:
- Place each item at the top of the tray or mat, from left to right, in the order the child will need to use them, as best you can.
- Once children have practiced this skill with a few flowers and small vases, please invite them to arrange more flowers in larger vases to further develop their flower-arranging skills.
, flowers, a discard bowl, scissors, a pitcher of water, and a vase on a 
(or a Montessori 
), as shown in the photograph below:
Related: Rainbow Rainy Day Art Kids STEAM project
Next, demonstrate the Floral activity before inviting children to arrange flowers:
If this is the first time your child has ever tried flower arranging, demonstrate how to arrange flowers before asking your children or students to try it. Young children learn best by watching and imitating others. Show your child how to arrange flowers by completing the activity while briefly describing what you’re doing as you work. Follow the step-by-step directions in the next section. Once complete, invite the children to arrange flowers.
Please remember that children don’t remember how you meant to do it or how you wanted to do it. They only remember what they saw. Unfortunately, this means they will be sloppy if your demonstration of the activity is sloppy, so please keep this in mind when demonstrating flower arranging and all other practical life activities. I’m afraid that learning this lesson the hard way is inevitable, especially if you homeschool your children. Been there, done that.
We all have off days, so go easy on yourself when demonstrating practical life skills and home life activities. Also, go easy on your children (or students) when they are doing these practical home-life activities, even when they can’t complete them. If that’s the case,
When a child is unable to complete an activity for whatever reason, including screwing around, Montessori recommends putting the materials away for another day as calmly and as collected as possible. Once you’ve finished your demonstration, invite children to arrange flowers and complete the activity following the step-by-step Montessori flower-arranging directions below. Or try squeezing an orange for another excellent Montessori Practical Life Activity.
Demonstrate the Flower Arranging Activity from left to right:
As mentioned above, Montessori recommended that teachers help children develop the habit of moving from left to right and from top to bottom to reinforce the act of reading and prepare for literacy. For this reason, she recommends that each practical life activity proceed from left to right, including flower arranging.
Montessori believed these strong habits would pave the way toward literacy by preparing children for reading and writing and producing competent, successful students. Demonstrate the actions needed to arrange flowers, working from the top down and from left to right, just as you would read down a page. Use the step-by-step directions in the next section to help you. You might also enjoy this beaded necklace literacy activity for kids.
How to Arrange Flowers (Montessori Flower Arranging Practical Life Activity for Kids):
Once you have set up the activity and demonstrated how to arrange flowers for your children or students using the step-by-step instructions above, it’s time to invite children to try it! When you return to this Montessori practical life activity in the future, you will not need to demonstrate how to arrange flowers again unless the child needs or wants to be reminded of the steps to take. Learning to arrange flowers can help foster children’s creativity, strengthen fine motor skills, develop hand-eye coordination, and more. You might also enjoy these fresh flower craft ideas.
1. Start the Activity Cycle by putting on a Work apron:
- Maria Montessori developed the “activity cycle” to help children build the positive habits they need to become successful students and, later, successful adults.
- Putting on an apron starts the “activity cycle,” so the child knows it is time to work.
- In other words, putting an apron on or placing an activity mat down signals to the child that it is time to complete an activity.
- After practicing and reinforcing this skill, the whole child (brain, body, and spirit) will respond to this cue and be prepared for the job, no matter the activity.
Related: How the Power of Habit Can Change Your Life
2. Present the materials:
- Place the flower arranging tray or activity mat on a table in front of your child, or have it ready on a counter for them to carry to their workstation.
- After kids have practiced flower arranging a few times, please encourage them to put on an apron and set up their flower tray to begin.
3. Pour water into a vase:
- As shown in the photograph below, use the glass or metal child-sized pitcher to pour an appropriate amount of water into a small vase.
- Ensure the child pours the water slowly and carefully over the pitcher’s lip and into the vase.
- If pouring water into the vase through the opening is difficult for the child, show them how to use a funnel to do so.
or 
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4. Trim each flower stem before placing it into the vase:
- Stand the flower next to the vase, with the petals facing up, to determine the right spot to cut the stem, based on how much needs to be trimmed.
- Use scissors to trim the flower stems to the correct length.
- Then, put the flower stem clippings or trimmings into a discard bowl, as my daughter demonstrates in the photo tutorial below.
5. Place each flower in the vase:
- Encourage the child to trim each flower and place it into the small vase.
- Continue placing the stems (or flower remains) into the discard bowl and the flowers into the vase until the flower-arranging activity is complete.
- Invite kids to add additional greenery if desired.
Related: How to Start a Fairy Garden
How to Complete The Flower Arranging Montessori Practical Life Activity:
Maria Montessori recommends ending each practical life activity with specific actions that signal the work is complete. For this reason, she suggests beginning an activity with a specific action, such as putting on an apron. These can be different in your home or classroom, but must be the same cues for your children or students. Suppose you decide not to use an apron to signal the start and finish. Use another cue, such as sitting or standing before the activity mat or tray. Montessori believed that working with these cycles and rhythms helped children build useful habits, skills, and a strong work ethic to carry them into their future.
Follow the simple steps below to complete this floral-arranging activity:
- Invite your child to place their flower arrangement somewhere in the home:
- This action will help your children or students build strong habits that help them feel like valued contributors to the household.
- Clean up and put everything away:
- In our house, this means dumping the flower trimmings in the compost bin and placing the tray with the pitcher on the kitchen counter.
- Determine a set of actions that complete the activity for the children in your home or classroom, and show each child what to do before offering them to try it on their own.
- Encourage your child to take off their apron and hang it up to signal the end of the “activity cycle,” or choose another cue to remind them that the work is complete.
Admire the Flower Arrangement As is:
Once your child has completed their flower arrangement and placed it somewhere in the house, do your best to avoid moving it. Admire it as is! Below is a photo of a flower arrangement my daughter placed on the dining room table after completing this activity as a preschooler.
Of course, I wanted to turn her beautiful arrangement around to face the room (I stood with my back to the wall to take the picture), but that would have disturbed her work and diminished its value. So, I left it as is. Believe me when I tell you that doing so was tough, but it was worth it because she walked around proudly for the rest of the day. Imagine how she would have felt if I had moved it. Not so good.
The ducks are my favorite! Aren’t they the cutest?! And look at her complementary and contrasting color selection. She picked everything you see, beginning with fresh flowers from our yard and garden. Even the fish vase my brother-in-law made is her selection. You gotta love kids. Encourage your children to be creative and have fun. Then, prepare to be surprised. You may have fresh flowers on your table when you least expect them. I sure do, and I love it! My daughter is still the primary flower arranger in our house, and today, at twelve years old, she does a magnificent job finding creative ways to display them. Each of her floral arrangements is gorgeous, and today, they always face the room. True story.
Floral Arranging Activity for Kids:
Montessori practical life activities are designed to help children develop logical thought and independence. This flower-arranging activity contains several home-life skills for preschoolers, kindergarteners, and young elementary-aged students to learn and master, including pouring, measuring, cutting, placing, and carrying!
Maria Montessori developed practical life activities to help children grow into independently thinking adults. Each step in her activities, such as this flower-arranging activity for kids, satisfies the child’s innate desire to imitate the home-life skills they see adults perform around them daily. Please encourage your children to give arranging flowers a try today!
Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author and photographer of this creative flower activity for kids HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!
Montessori Practical Life and Sensorial Activities:
- Coin Sorting Montessori-Inspired Sensorial Activity
- Cutting a Banana: A Montessori Practical Life Activity
- Squeezing an Orange Practical Life Activity
You should be cutting the stems in a bowl of water so your pitcher fills the vase and the white bowl. Florists actually do this so as soon as the flower is cut (immediately) the water goes up the stem.
For professional florists this is true, however, this Montessori flower arranging activity does not require it. You are correct that it will help the flowers last longer by keeping the bubble of air from going up the stem, but it is a bit too much to ask of children that are only just learning to use scissors and arrange flowers. I would introduce that idea after the child has become competent with scissors and flowers, but not before.