PL T3.12Putting a Flower in a Vase
The child pours a little water into a small, heavy vase, puts in one flower the adult has already trimmed, and places the vase on a table.
Safety
- Flowers are checked against a poison control center's list of non-toxic plants; for example, lily of the valley, foxglove, and daffodils are toxic and are not used.
- Glass vases are used only where state licensing allows glass and only with an adult present; broken glass is cleaned up by the adult with children moved away.
- The adult trims the stems beforehand; the child does not use scissors or knives in this work.
Presentation
- 1
Carry the tray to a table. Hold up a flower and say, 'A flower for our table.'
- 2
Hold the pitcher by the handle and pour water slowly into the vase until the pitcher is empty.
- 3
Hold the flower near the bottom of the stem and lower it into the vase. Step back and look at it. Seeing the flower stand in the vase is the point of interest.
- 4
Wipe any drips with the drying cloth. Carry the vase with two hands to a table and set it on the small cloth.
- 5
Give the child the tray with a new flower and a filled pitcher, and wait while they do the same.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Choose one flower from two or three in a basket
- Put two flowers in one vase
- Fill the pitcher at a low sink
- Pour out old water and replace a wilted flower
Control of error
Water on the tray shows a spill; a flower with a stem too short or a vase filled too low falls over or does not stand up.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Pours the water into the vase with little spilling
- Places the flower so it stands in the vase
- Carries the vase to a table with two hands and sets it down gently
Guide note
In the 3–6 version the child trims the stem with scissors and fills the vase through a funnel. Here the adult trims the stems so the work has one purpose: putting a flower in water.