Indoor Garden

Materials

• assorted house plants
• bouquet of cut flowers in a vase (replace each week)
• branches and twigs
• paper
• crayons and markers
• magnifying glasses (several learning centers use magnifying glasses—include two or three in each or choose a central location to store them)

Directions

Set up an indoor garden with houseplants, cut flowers, and collected branches and twigs. Have children try the following activities throughout the week: 

• Watering and caring for plants: Take turns watering the plants each day (or every other day) with the spray bottles. Remind children not to overwater. Children can also help to change the water for the cut flowers.
• Take photos of children caring for plants and display them. Ask, What were you doing in this photo? How did you know the plant needed water?
• Looking closely: Observe the plants and the cut flowers with magnifying glasses. Look closely at the different parts of the plants and see if they can identify stems, leaves, and flowers.
• Drawing plants and flowers: Draw pictures and hang them nearby.  
• Comparing plants and flowers. You might ask:
  • What do flowers have that plants don’t? What do the plants have that the cut flowers don’t? Why do we call them “cut flowers?”
  • Do you think the cut flowers will change over the course of the week? How?
  • Do you think that the branches and twigs will change over the course of the week? If so, how?