Cress World Map

With Earth Day around the corner I wanted to set myself a challenge – to create a map of the world using cress. Making the world would be difficult in itself but for me the challenge would be to grow the cress and then to keep it alive. I have an awful reputation for accidentally killing plants. I either do not show the plant enough love and forget to water it or I love it too much and drown the plant. Time would tell if I would succeed in growing cress for the first time in our Cress World Map.

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Resources needed for Cress World Map

* World map – we used a World Map Wall Sticker

* Large tray – we used a Dark blue Tuff Spot

* A3 paper

* Marker pen

* Cotton Wool Roll

* Cress seeds – Kings Seeds and Little Growers Cress Seeds

How to set up Cress World Map Sensory Play Tray

1. Place A3 paper on top of a world map and trace around the map. I used Adam’s World Map Wall Sticker and traced a basic outline of the world. It took three pieces of A3 paper to cover the world. Cut out each continent.

2. Roll out the Cotton Wool on the Tuff Spot and place the paper continents on top. Use a marker pen to trace around the map. We discovered that drawing on to cotton wool proved impossible. However, making dots was easier.

3. Cut out the cotton wool continents and position them on the map.

3. Cover the cotton wool in cress seeds, plenty of water and allow time to go.

Originally I used three packets of cress seeds to cover the world and poured lots of water over the cotton wool until it was soaked through. However, the next day I realised that three packets of cress seeds would not be enough. I visited another garden centre and purchased a further three packets. Due to my inexperience I didn’t know that packets of seeds contained different quantities. Our new Kings Seeds contained 5,000 seeds whereas our previous packets of Little Growers Cress Seeds only contained 2,000 seeds and had cost more. Upon reflection three packets of the Kings Seeds would have been adequate.

Watching the Cress World Map grow

Adam loved watching the cress seeds grow. He gave me frequent reminders to water the Tuff Spot. We purchased a spray water bottle so he could water the cress himself. For the next 4 days Adam watered our Cress Map Tuff Spot three times a day. The Tuff Spot was positioned near the window so it got plenty of sunlight.

By the 6th day our Cress World Map Tuff Spot was ready. At this point I had no idea how Adam would play with the world map. I decided to take his lead. After showing Adam that the cress had fully grown he disappeared downstairs. He returned with as many plastic animals as he could carry.

Together we used an atlas to decide where to locate the animals. It was surprising how many of our animals lived in Africa and very few came from Asia or America.

During the next few days Adam returned to the Cress World Map Tuff Spot frequently. He loved hiding the animals within the “tall trees” and talking about what each country was like.