Plant Spring Bulbs
What you need
- a bag of daffodil or tulip bulbs
- a big plant pot filled with compost, or a patch of garden dirt
- a garden trowel and a big spoon
- a watering can of water
- a stick to mark the spot
How to do it
- Look at a bulb together and talk about what's inside: a flower, waiting for spring.
- Ask your child which tool they need for a bulb-sized hole, the trowel or the spoon, and let them dig a hole about as deep as their hand is long.
- Pop each bulb in pointy end up, count them as they go in, and cover them over.
- Water them, push the stick in to mark the spot, and talk about what you'll see there in spring.
Why it matters
The flowers won't show until spring, which is a long wait for anyone, but the marked spot is something to check on, and the tool for the hole was their call.
What they're learning
- Choosing a tool
- A trowel for a deep hole, a spoon for a small one.
- Counting in
- One number for every bulb that goes in the ground.
- Things that grow
- A bulb now, a flower in spring.
What to look for
Notice them turning a bulb round to find the pointy end before it goes in.
A tip
Bulbs are not for eating, and daffodil ones upset tummies, so hand them over one at a time and wash everyone's hands straight after.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: plant three big bulbs in a pot and count them in together
Harder: plant two kinds in two rows, and draw a picture label for each
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