Cindy Vu
Modality:__________Horticultural Therapy___________
Name of Resource #1: Mason Jar Terrarium
Medium: Article
Weblink: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dot-and-bo/diy-mason-jar-terrariumt_b_8210924.html
Summary: Participants will be able to create a small scale garden inside a mason jar. The
idea behind this is to bring nature and wildlife into the home. This would be a great
project to encourage participants to explore creative avenues within themselves and
allows them to make all the decisions with plenty of options to choose from provided by
the instructor.
Three Outcomes (be specific and describe why):
1. 1. Increase fine motor skills of manipulation of small objects. Participants will be able to
carefully take plants and place them into the jar.
2.
3. 2. Provide opportunity to care for a living object by making a small ecosystem that the
participant can continually monitor and alter as needed to allow it to thrive.
4.
5. 3. Increase ability to make complex decision by choosing what goes into the jar.
Participants will be able to pick different plants and pebbles to put in a jar that makes
sense to them.
Name of Resource #2: Flower arranging
Medium: Pinterest
Weblink: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/123708320986735136/ (first image on the
left)
Summary: Participants will create mini flower arrangements in small jars, cups, or vases
using a wide range of flowers and greenery. Participants will be encouraged to explore
the different combinations they can think of and must be sure to take the required steps
to ensure that the flowers will survive for a long time in their new environment. The
required steps include adding flower food into the jar, cup, or vase, trimming the
greenery and flowers to the preferred size, removing stems and leaves from flowers to
make a clean presentation, and arranging flowers for final product.
Three Outcomes (be specific and describe why):
1. Enhance self-esteem as participants gain pride from their work. Making a beautiful
flower arrangement with be a long term reminder of the participants’ progress and
achievement.
Cindy Vu
2. Stimulate senses through exploring the many colors, smells, and feeling of the flowers
and greenery. Since flowers are known to be very fragrant and bright, participants will
have to choose from a wide selection of flowers which best suits their preference of
colors and scents.
3. Increase hand eye coordination through using scissors to trim the flowers and
greenery and in placing the tightly bundled bunches into the small jar, cup, or vase.
Because this project is meant to be a small scale flower arrangement for a desktop it is a
perfect opportunity for the participants to practice concentrating on using fine motor
skills to make the final product.
Name of Resource #3: Pine Cone bird feeder
Medium: Pinterest
Weblink: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/186899453260111898/ (first image on the
left)
Summary: Participants will create a natural bird feeder using a pinecone covered in
birdseeds. The “glue” for this project is peanut butter to make sure the birds will be able
to enjoy the final product. Since the pinecones have lots of small openings the challenge
will be to cover all of the empty space with enough peanut butter to allow the birdseeds
to adhere.
Three Outcomes (be specific and describe why):
1. Increase fine motor skills in order to use one hand to pry open space between
pinecone and other hand to place peanut butter inside the spaces. Concentration and
patience is required to complete the first step of applying the peanut butter.
2. Promote social interaction by enjoying the atmosphere with participating in this
activity with a group. Also, since the goal is to feed birds in nature it is a great
opportunity to gain appreciation for other living things.
3. Stimulate four of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, and smell. Participants are not
encouraged to taste any part of this project. The first two senses to be stimulated are
the tactile and olfactory senses while physically manipulating the pinecone and
spreading the peanut butter. The peanut butter has a strong, distinct scent that will be
readily apparent to the participants. The visual appeal of the birds flying around the final
product mixed with the many colors of the birdseeds add a lot of visual stimuli. Finally,
the sense of sound would be stimulated as the bird’s chirp and fly by the pine cone
Cindy Vu
feeders.