Planting

Age: From 4 years old

Activity Duration: 30 minutes

Preparation Time: Including buying seeds, pot and compost - half a day.

Objective(s): 
1. To teach your child how plants, vegetables, etc. grow.

2. To inculcate a love for gardening.

Materials:
1. Seeds (you can get the giant species from the nursery, but you can also get it 3 packets for 10 DKK at Tiger)
2. 1 pot
3. 1 pack of compost
4. 1 pitcher of water

5. 1 pair of gloves

Directions:

1. Put on your gloves and remove the weeds, old plants remains from the pots of last year planting, if you need to.

2. Show your child the seeds and tell him the name of the plant he is going to plant.

3. Ask your child to fill the pot with about 1 in (2.5 cm) of compost (if they are not there from last year's planting).

4. Scatter seeds into the pot evenly.

5. Ask your child to cover the seeds with another layer of compost up to 1 1/2 in (4 cm) from the top.

6. Water the pot.

7. Find a sunny spot for the pots and ask your child to check the soil daily to see if it needs any water.

8. Water regularly and harvest the vegetables when they are ready according to the instructions on the seed package.

Additional Information:
It's spring time again and our Little FECS could not wait for once a year planting tradition to take place. He had already bought the seeds some days ago with Daddy FECS. Our Little FECS have been "planting" with Daddy FECS once a year, since he was a toddler:

http://www.familyfecs.com/2011/04/montessori-activity-growing.html

We actually wanted to go out on a long bike ride, but he chose this activity instead. Might as well child-led, and so we had to forego our bike ride.

Our Little FECS was actually starting to be of the age, where he was a productive help. He helped with removing junks from the old pots, scattering the seeds and watering the plants. He did it with much enthusiasm.

1. Put on your gloves and remove the weeds, old plants remains from the pots of last year planting, if you need to.

Old plants remains removed



2. Ask your child to fill the pot with about 1 in (2.5 cm) of compost (if they are not there from last year's planting).

3. Show your child the seeds and tell him the name of the plant he is going to plant. 

4. Scatter seeds into the pot evenly.

5. Cover the seeds with another layer of compost up to 1 1/2 in (4 cm) from the top.

6. Water the pot.