Find an activity
Back to ideas

Explore · Wild and Tumble activity

Smelly pots

Sniff, sniff! What's that? Fill little pots with garden smells and play a guessing game.

  • 15 min total
  • Low mess
  • Ages 2–5*
  • Indoors or out
  • Spring to autumn
Let's do this

*Illustrative age guidance. Your child's development and circumstances matter more than a number.

A tiny plan for your day

Estimated time: 5 min to gather · 8 min to sniff · 2 min to tidy. It's fine to stop early.

Before you start

What you’ll need

  • Three or four small pots or cups
  • Smelly things: mint, rosemary, lavender, a pine needle, a slice of orange
  • A tea towel to cover them

Let's begin

Four simple steps

That's the whole activity. Tick each step off as you go, and stop whenever you like.

  1. Grown-up job

    An adult picks a sprig of each herb, and your child gently scrunches each one to wake up the smell.

  2. Pop one in each pot.

  3. Together

    Sniff each pot together. Which one is your favourite?

  4. Cover the pots, mix them up and play "guess the smell".

All done!

That's every step. However it went, you made a little moment together.

If you enjoyed this

More little ideas like this.

All activities