Preschool Vegetable Lesson Plans
Let’s Begin!-Preschool Vegetable Lesson Plans
Winter Days in the Big Woods is an adaptation from the Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. What a wonderful way to introduce young children to this classic author. The book is simply written and includes large colorful illustrations that will capture the attention of young students. The book describes how the family prepares for winter. One specific page tells how Ma, Mary and Laura gather vegetables from the garden next to the house. Discuss how we get vegetables. Ask how many students have gardens at home? What kinds of things do you like to grow in your garden?
A Vegetable Tasting Party
Use the book to introduce a variety of vegetables to your students. In the book, Laura gathered: potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, cabbages, onions, peppers and pumpkins. Further explore these vegetables with a tasting party!
1. Bring in as many of these vegetables that are available in your area and have students identify as many as they can.
2. Have a voluntary tasting party (remember to check with parents first for any allergies or issues with their children). Compare textures and tastes. Offer some of them in a cooked form as well as raw. Enlist help from parents.
3. Make a picture graph of all the vegetables and make hash marks under “Like” or “Dislike” as students taste them.
4. Make a picture graph and make hash marks beside the favorite vegetable of each student. Which vegetable is the class favorite?
A Sorting Activity
1. Put the vegetables in the center of a circle of students. Sort vegetables by color, shape and then size.
2. Do a pattern and see if your students can finish the pattern. Onion-potato-onion-potato-onion_______(what comes next?)
What Else Can We Do with Vegetables?: Extended Activities
Laura and Mary used pumpkins as tables and chairs when they played house. What else can you do with vegetables?
1. Cut raw potatoes in half. Draw a shape (fish,star,etc.) Carve around the shape in the white part of the potato. The shape itself will stick out. Dip in paint and use as a stamp.
2. Hide 10 carrots in the room and have a treasure hunt for them. Use as a counting activity.
3.Have a relay race carrying a small potato in a large spoon.
4. Plant vegetable seeds.
5. Stick four toothpicks into a sweet potato. Place the sweet potato in a clear bowl or jar. The toothpicks should hold it up and keep it from touching the bottom. Put water in the bowl or jar. Place it in a sunny window. Before too long the sweet potato will begin to grow.
6.Make vegetable soup! Have each student bring in an assigned vegetable.
These preschool vegetable lesson plans will surely be a hit with your students! Enjoy!
This post is part of the series: A Vegetable Theme for Preschool
A vegetable theme for preschool will provide your students with colorful and nutritious information. These lesson plans will list some appropriate books to read, some tasting activities, opportunities to work on sorting and pattern skills and an idea for a book that the students can make.
