Find yourself a local Florist/ Flower Farm

Using natural materials in our classroom has always been of great importance. However, I am always aware of the impact our play has on our natural environment (after all wildlife needs the flowers more than our mud pies).

When I found Dahlia and Vine Flower Farm on Instagram I immediately got excited and couldn't resist reaching out. I had been looking for a local florist for quite some time. Adding real flowers to our table for meals and showing their beauty in our classroom was the goal. The added bonus was to ask for wilted flowers for our play. Not only would we repurpose flowers, but we also wouldn't impact our native flowers. Every two weeks we get a fresh flower delivery and flowers for play! On that day not only are we smelling, touching, feeling and admiring our flower bouquets, but we are also thinking of ways to use the wilted ones in play. 

Painting with Flowers

Flowers and Contact Paper

There are so many more ideas we will be trying so stay tuned for more flower loose parts play :)