Potatoes

Most children know about potatoes, so why not help them explore them more. In Idaho, potatoes are especially relevant to the children because some live on potato farms, or their dads work on the farms. All of them have at least eaten them and know what they look like. Let children have as many first hand, hands on experiences. This is were they learn and can explore.

What we taught about potatoes:

1. Potatoes grow under ground
2. There are lots of different kinds of potatoes and they come in different colors and sizes
1. Russet
2. Yukon gold
3. Red
4. Sweet
5. Fingerling
3. You can cook potatoes in different ways
1. Boil
2. Fry
3. Bake
4. There are lots of foods made with potatoes
1. French fries
2. Potato chips
3. Hash browns
4. Mashed 
5. Gnocchi
6. Pirogi
7. Latkes
8. Croquette
5. How to make mashed potatoes
1. Wash the potatoes
2. Peel the potatoes
3. Cut the potatoes
4. Boil the potatoes
5. Mash the potatoes
6. Season the potatoes

Activities that have to do with potatoes:

Art
Mr. Potato Head
Materials
     Potato shaped brown paper
     Crayons
     Markers
     Colored pencils
     Pom poms
     Buttons
     Feathers
     Pipe Cleaners
     Glue
Description
     Children will decorate the paper. They can add a face with all of the materials or what ever they wish. Let them be creative and make it theirs.

Math
Potato Sorting
Materials
     Different kind of potatoes
     Pictures of the different potatoes
Description
     Children will sort the potatoes according to size, kind or color.

Weighing Potatoes
Materials
     Potatoes
     Scale
Description
     Children will weigh the potatoes. They can also try to balance the scale.
Language
Letter Making
Materials
     Gallon sized Ziploc Bags
     Mashed Potatoes
     Letters
Description
     Fill the Ziploc bags with mashed potatoes. Children will look at the letters and copy them with their finger into the mashed potatoes.

Sensory
Washing Potatoes
Materials
     Buckets
     Potatoes
     Scrubbers
     Towels
Description
     Place towels on the table to soak up the spilled water. Fill buckets with water. Children will wash the dirt off of the potatoes.

Mashing Potatoes
Materials
     Potatoes
     Potato Mashers
     Bowls
Descriptions
     Children will mash the potatoes in the bowls.

Manipulatives
Mr. Potato Head
Materials
     Mr. Potato Head pieces
     Potatoes
Description
     Children will put the Mr. Potato Head pieces into the real potatoes.

photo from http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110913201304/pixar/images/a/a8/Mr._potato_head_toy.jpg

Peeling Potatoes
Materials
     Potatoes
     Potato Peeler
     2 Buckets
Description
     Children will peel the potatoes into a bucket and then place the peeled potatoes in the other bucket. MAKE SURE THERE IS ADULT SUPERVISION TO AVOID INJURY! Remind children to peel away from themselves.

Science
Potato Food Testing
Materials
     Different foods that are made with potatoes
     Chart/graph
     Markers
Description
     Children will use their senses (smell, taste, touch and sight) to say if they like they different foods. Have them then put a happy face or check mark if they like it and a sad face or X if they don't.

Dramatic Play
Gardening
Materials
     Vegetables
     Potatoes
     Seeds
     Shovels
     Gardening gloves
     Rakes
     Hoes
Description
     Children will pretend to garden inside and they can really garden outside.

Gross Motor
Digging for Potatoes
Materials
     Child Sized Shovels
     Potatoes
     Dirt or Garden
Description

     Children will dig for potatoes in the garden.

Apples

Fall is quickly coming! Apples are great for the children to explore with because it is an object that their are familiar with but have so much more to learn about. We taught 2 whole weeks on apples so you can pick a few ideas or drag it out as long as you'd like. We also went on a field trip to an orchard and the children got to pick their own apples.

What we taught about apples:

1. Apples grow on trees.
2. We can pick apples in an orchard or someones yard.
3. Apples have  different part; core, stem, skin, flesh and seeds.
4. Apples come in many different colors; red, green, yellow, and pink.
5. We can cook with apples.
6. We can prepare an apple many different ways; slice, smash, cube, and skin.
7. Apples can taste sweet or tart.
8. Apples can be crunchy or soft.

Activities that have to do with apples:

Art

Tissue Paper Apples

Materials

     Red, green, yellow and pink tissue paper - you can cut into to about 1 in pieces or let the children tear it 

     Apple shaped paper

     Glue sticks

Description

     Children will paste the tissue paper to the paper

Painting with Apples

Materials

     Paint

     Parts of apples - skin, seeds, core, flesh and/or stem

     Card Stock

Description

     Children will dip the parts of the apple into the paint and use it as a the paint brush.

Apple Collage 

Materials

     Parts of apples - skin, seeds, core, flesh and/or stem

     Contact paper

     Construction paper - I prefer black

Description

     Children will stick the apple parts to the contact paper. When they are finished place the construction paper on top so that the sticky part of the contact paper is covered.

Apple Stamps

Materials

     Apples cut vertically

     Apples cut horizontally - star will be in the center

     Paint

     Card Stock

Description

     Children will dip the apple into the paint and use it as a stamp. 

Apple Shakers

Materials

     Paper plates/bowls/cups

     Apple seeds

     Beans

     Pasta

     Markers

     Tape

Description

     Children will pick 2 plates, bowls or cups and fill it with apple seeds and/or beans and/or pasta. The teacher will help them tape the two together. The children can then decorate it with the markers. Let the shaking begin.

Hand Apple Tree

Materials

     Paint - brown or green

     Markers

     Apple and leaf stickers

     Card Stock

Description

    Children will dip their hand and a little bit of their arm in paint and then place it on the paper. It should look like a tree, they can then add apples and leaves with the markers or stickers.

* remind children to keep their fingers apart and it will look more like a tree.

Math

Sorting Apples

Materials

     Different color apples

     Buckets

     Picture of the apples

Description

     Teacher will place the pictures on to the buckets.

     Children will pick an apple and place it into the bucket with the correct picture. (sorting by color).

     Children can then count how many apples are in each bucket.

Weighing Apples

Materials

     Apples both real and fake

     Scale

Description

     Children will explore using the scale to see which apples weigh about the same, which apple is the heaviest, which apple is the lightest, the difference between real apples and fake ones.

Science

Sink or Float

Materials

     Apples

     Apple parts

     3 Buckets

     Sink and Float Sign

Description

     Teachers will put sink on one bucket and float on the other bucket. They will fill the 3rd buck with water.

Children will explore with the apples and parts of apples to see what floats and what sinks after they figure it out they may put it in the corresponding bucket or just leave it in the water bucket.

*clear buckets work the best so the children can also look through the side.

Dramatic Play

We had all sorts of fun with this.

1. Farmers that planted seeds.

   We had seeds and shovels for the children and they planted the seeds in the garden. Some children dressed up and put on flannel shirts and overalls. others put on hats and gloves.

2. Picking the apples

   We taped fake apples and pictures of apples to out fake tree inside and the children could pick apples.

3. Selling apples

   We set up a little market for the children to sell apples to other students. We had baskets to put them in, a cash register and some money (it was fake of course).

4. Cooking apples

   We set up a kitchen and let the children loose. They had real apples, an apple corer, an apple slicer (supervision was a must), bowls, plates, spoons etc.