Create a green classroom

Indoor plants can also help improve air quality and reduce negative moods, so there are multiple benefits in having a collection of indoor plants in classrooms. You can even give the plants names, which is a really fun idea and gives kids a greater connection to their leafy classmates. 

There are lots of hardy and low maintenance indoor plants that make ideal classroom green ‘helpers’, including: 

• Peace lilies
• Philodendron  

• Devil’s Ivy

Extra classroom plant tips: 

• During the school holidays, plants could have a ‘getaway’ at a child’s home, similar to class teddies.  
• Turn plant growth into a mini science experiment by counting the number of new leaves that grow throughout the month or measuring how tall or long the stems grow over a number of weeks. 
• Combine naming the plants with stick on eyes, noses or mouths, so they become classroom characters. 

• Create a craft activity and decorate colourful pots for the indoor plant collection.     
• Try some water plant propagation. Fill a collection of clear glass jars with water. Place pieces of philodendron or Devil’s ivy stems in the water (ensure the stem includes at least two ‘nodes’, which are bumps on the stem that can produce new roots and leaves) and watch for root growth.     

Consider classroom plants an investment in children’s health and wellbeing! 

* Research conducted by the University of Technology Sydney