Parents' Guide to

Montessori Nature

By Mieke VanderBorght, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Grow a garden in this bountiful, multiplayer experience.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android Paid Educational Games
Montessori Nature Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Montessori Nature App: Screenshot #1
  • Montessori Nature App: Screenshot #2
  • Montessori Nature App: Screenshot #3
  • Montessori Nature App: Screenshot #4

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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
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What’s It About?

Build a garden from the ground up with MONTESSORI NATURE. Kids tend to dirt plots, plant seeds, and water and pick weeds as their gardens grow. When the plants, fruit, or vegetables are ready, harvest them and sell them in the store or make them into jams and sauces. Along the way, watch for weather and season changes, hope for rain, chase away pests, encourage bee activity, and shop for garden enhancements.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Though a screen can't give kids all the pleasures of the real natural world, this game does a good job of simulating the different factors at play in successful gardening. Montessori Garden is slow going at first, and the minimal how-to instruction may not be enough. But kids will likely feel rewarded if they stick with it. As they earn more coins, build more gardening plots, and go through the different seasons, there's potential for all sorts of things to happen. Kids can get knee-deep in tending their gardens, or they can get the whole family involved by using the multiplayer option to approach it as a team. With kids concentrating on just keeping everything going, it's not entirely clear how all the moving parts -- seasons, the day/night cycle, weather patterns, pests, bees and pollination -- come together and affect crop growth. That's somewhat of a missed learning opportunity. And there's little help for kids to understand the different elements, such as what exactly are those things in the garden store and what do they do? Don't skip the parents' guide, which has some great information on gameplay as well as gardening. Overall, it's an engaging game and can be a source of inspiration to explore and learn about the natural world.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the steps in the growing process represented in Montessori Nature. Why do plants need water? Why is it important to weed or keep pests away? What are the bees doing to help your garden? How are the plants affected by the weather or season changes?

  • Talk to kids about their purchase choices. Why might they decide to spend their garden coins on an automatic sprinkler rather than a spare water jug? What kinds of technology might help their garden flourish?

  • Go out to the backyard, or put a pot on a windowsill and plant a real plant! Choose a flower of your kids' favorite color. Or grow something yummy to eat: The parents' guide suggests basil as a good introductory plant.

App Details

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