Plant and count flowers is a hands-on Montessori preschool numeracy activity designed to advance 1:1 correspondence math skill, promote hand-eye coordination, and strengthen fine-motor control through sensory invitation to play.
Montessori inspired FLOWER Botany study introduces preschoolers and kindergartners through engaging hands-on sensory invitations to learn and play to a beautiful world of flowers. Learning numeracy can be abstract to little brains, not to mention mundane. So, setting up exciting project-driven sensory bins to explore numeral to quantity association is a fun way to advance numeracy skills through play. This flower-inspired Montessori preschool numeracy activity will reinforce 1:1 correspondence math skill while promoting fine motor control and hand-eye coordination. Besides, the set up should be minimal since you will be using recycled items, along with a printable. Most importantly, PLANT and COUNT FLOWERS invitation to garden will offer plenty of opportunities to trigger various senses, while strengthening neurological connections and building life-lasting synopses!
“The child has a different relation to his environment from ours… the child absorbs it. The things he sees are not just remembered; they form part of his soul. He incarnates in himself all in the world about him that his eyes see and his ears hear.”
Dr. Maria Montessori.
YOU’LL NEED for this PLANT AND COUNT FLOWERS DIY
- recycled ice-pop sticks
- flowers (you can download a PDF & cut flowers out from FLOWER PRESCHOOL PACK -sign up to be a Member) ~ alternatively, you can use flower stickers or simply draw the flowers
- sensory filler (I am using shredded paper as grass and black beads as soil)
- terra cotta pots
- tools to pour and transfer beans
First, offer your child to fill the pots with black beans. Then insert the numeral into the pot and tell your child: “This says ___.” Lastly, invite your child to plant the corresponding quantity of flower-craft sticks as the number indicates.
Montessori Preschool Numeracy Activity
A GOAL of this Montessori Preschool Numeracy Activity is 1:1 correspondence math skill, which is the ability to match an object (here, flowers) to the corresponding number and recognize that a number is merely a symbol to represent that quantity! Young children often learn ROTE counting without having an understanding of 1:1 correspondence! They count till ten just like a heart-learned poem! (That is they memorize the numerical order without really understanding what each quantity means.) To lean RATIONAL counting, offer them to COUNT ALOUD each flower as they plant it, corresponding with each numerical pot. (To increase the level of difficulty of this PLANT AND COUNT FLOWERS activity, offer to plant NUMBERS OUT OF SEQUENCE !)
AGE 2 Y + Always supervise your child! You can see this activity on Instagram HERE
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Montessori BOTANY STUDY
Montessori BOTANY unit study reveals the importance of plants to human and animal life. Children are encouraged to look at the many ways plants provide for our fundamental needs. Botany studies continue with details about the basic needs of plants, the parts, functions, flowers, seeds, and so forth. This PLANT AND COUNT FLOWERS sensory bin is from FLOWER PRESCHOOL PACK that is a part of Homeschooling Montessori MADE-EASY Membership! Sign UP HERE in case you are exhausted from swimming in the vast ocean of irrelevant information and saving activities you never get to! And if you sign UP, the eBook The BASICS Bringing Montessori Home is included in the package amongst MANY other perks!
FOR MORE FROM FLOWER PRESCHOOL PACK
FLOWER FINGER PAINTING
Did you know that finger-painting is an amazing way to strengthen the muscles of a small hand, promote hand-eye coordination, and develop pre-writing skills?!
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YOU’ll NEED:
– cardboard (you can also skip this step and laminate the entire 3rd page)
– flower print out (join HERE)
– paints
– little hands
– tape (optional)
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HOW:
– cut out or draw flowers
– glue them to cardboard (I am using a frozen pizza insert)
– cover everything with tape (this way, you can wipe it and reuse it over and over)
– offer to finger paint matching the colors
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AGE: 2YO – introduce only primary colors (red, yellow, and blue). Once the child is familiar with primary colors, slowly start introducing secondary. Variation: instead of fingerprinting, offer a brush to paint the printout. Or, alternatively, offer tiny pom poms to color match the center of the flower to petals.
SKILLs: With this simple to set up invitation to finder paint, your little one is developing hand-eye coordination, fine motor control, and color recognition and matching. Did you know that your child is likely to write well BEFORE s/he can read! And before putting a pen in your child’s hand, make sure that they have had enough fine motor control and hand strength by having plenty of opportunities to practice: finger-painting, squeezing droppers, exploring play dough, squeezing pegs, threading pony beads, cutting with scissors and so forth! So, let your toddler have fun finger painting while exploring colors, shapes, and textures! Their brain is absorbing MORE through SENSORY hands-on PLAY in 10 minutes than adults in a week!
MORE FROM PRESCHOOL FLOWER PACK: 1-5 TACTILE NUMBERS
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