Thank you to Cheryl from Cheryl's Sweethearts for sharing this unit with me and letting me put it on my themes page. She has such great collections of ideas from her and her friends. I will add more things as I find them. If you would like to see something added here just send me an e-mail. Please sign my guestbook for using these ideas. Teach away!

Potato Hop
Materials:
Brown construction paper
What to Do:
Cut ten large potato shapes brown construction paper and number them from 1 to 10.Tape the shapes to the floor in the proper sequence. Then let the children take turns hopping one potato to the other as everyone recites the rhyme.

One potato, two potato,
Three potato, four
Five potato, six potato,
Seven potato, more.
Eight potato, nine potato, Here is ten.
Now let's start all over again.

Watermelon Art
Materials:
Green and red construction paper
Watermelon seeds
What to Do:
Give each child a circle cut out of green construction paper and a slightly smaller circle cut out of red construction paper. Have the children glue their red circles on top of their green ones. Then let them glue watermelon seeds all over their red circles.

The Watermelon Patch Song tune: Are you Sleeping?

Watermelon, (Make a circle with your arms.)
Watermelon,
On the vine, (Curve hands and arms beside body.)
On the vine,
Sweet and red and juicy, (Rub your tummy.)
Sweet and red and juicy,
Please be mine! (Palms together as though pleading.)
Please be mine!

Watermelon, (Make a circle with your arms.)
Watermelon,
Thump, thump, thump, (Make a thumping movement with thumb and middle
finger.)
Thump, thump, thump,
I think you are ready- (Point, resting finger on your temple.)
I think you are ready-
Big and plump! (Make a circle with your arms.)
Bug and plump!

What Am I? : Looking Through Shapes at Apples and Grapes by Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon

Engaging rhymes and bold, exuberant paintings by Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon create a delicious question-and-answer book that introduces children to familiar colors, fruits, and shapes. In simple verse, N.N. Charles entices readers to peer through a shaped die-cut before discovering the edible answer with each turn of a page.

Captain Vegetable

Out of his secret garden somewhere in New Jersey comes your newest favorite
super hero!
It is I, Captain Vegetable
With my carrot, and my celery
Eating crunchy vegetables is good for me
And they're good for you, so eat them too
For teeth so strong, your whole life long
Eat celery and carrots by the bunch
Three cheers for me, Captain Vegetable
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
My name is Andy
I love candy
And I eat it whenever I can
If it's handy
Gimme some candy
It's so good and sweet
The perfect treat
It's such a thrill
To eat my fill
And gobble till there's nothing on the plate
Candy is great, but wait!
Who are you, some kind of bad dream?
Do I look like a bad dream?
It is I, Captain Vegetable
With my carrot, and my celery
Eating crunchy vegetables is good for me
And they're good for you, so eat them too
For teeth so strong, your whole life long
Eat celery and carrots by the bunch
Three cheers for me, Captain Vegetable
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
My name is Eddie
I love spaghetti
So I eat it whenever I can
If it's ready
Gimme spaghetti
It's a lovely thing
It looks like string
It's such a thrill
To eat my fill
And gobble till there's nothing on the plate
Spaghetti is great, but wait!
What are you? Are you some kind of weirdo?
Do I look like a weirdo?
It is I, your newest super hero
It is I, Captain Vegetable
With my carrot, and my celery
Eating crunchy vegetables is good for me
And they're good for you, so eat them too
For teeth so strong, your whole life long
Eat celery and carrots by the bunch
Three cheers for me, Captain Vegetable
Gee, Captain Vegetable this is the best thing to come around since
meatballs!
Three cheers for Captain Vegetable!
Three cheers for me Captain Vegetable
Crunch crunch crunch!

Art/Crafts

**Cut the corn cobs into thin slices. Let them dry and use as flowers! The children can draw stems and leaves and glue the cobs on or they can do loopy- loop shapes around the center [cob] then do the details. Color and admire!

** Make simple corn husk dolls-it's easy and fun.

Cooking/Snacks
Corn on the Cob submitted by TrickyTric

Purchase several ears of fresh corn. Let your children help husk the corn
and pull off the silk. (To remove stubborn silk strands, have the children
rub the ears with dry paper towels.) When they have finished, cut the ears
into short pieces and cook them in boiling water for 4-10 minutes or until
tender. Cool before serving.
**Let your children munch on their cooked corn sections. Or scrape the
cooked kernels from the cobs and serve them in small bowls. submitted by
TrickyTric

Fingerplays/Flannel Board/Poems

Time for Corn submitted by TrickyTric
Juicy, tender
Yellow corn,
Ready on the plate.
Is it time
For dinner?
I can't wait!

Meet the Veggies Submitted by Shelly jmcummings@juno.com

Tomato: I'm round and red
And juicy too.
Chop me for a salad,
Or dump me in your stew!

Lettuce: Hey, wait a minute!
If a salad you're fixin'
I can stand alone.
No need for the mixin'!

Onion: Chop me and slice me
But keep water near.
I sometimes get juicy
And can bring on a tear!

Carrot: Orange is my color;

I stand long and lean.
In the garden you'll see
Just my bright leaves of green.

Pea: I live in a pod
With so many others.
I think I was born
With one hundred brothers!

Green Bean: Look in the garden;
You'll see my sign.
Then bring out your basket
When it's pickin' time!

Potato: I've an eye for perfection
To give you the best.
Baked, mashed or fried--
I'll pass the test!

Cabbage: My head is quite thick-So people tell me.
I guess that's the reason
Grocery stores sell me!

Celery: Cut and rinse my stalks,
Then spread on cream cheese.
A refreshing hors d'oeuvre
To make parties a breeze!

Squash: Some call me a game,
A game of good sport,
but I'm really to eat
As a side dish of sorts!

Brussel Sprout: I'm kinda cute
When I'm served on a plate
I'm just a little mouthful.
You can eat six or eight!

Cauliflower: I carry white flowers
To break off and eat.
I'm sometimes served raw,
A nutritious snack treat!

Broccoli: My friends call me trees:
Now that's a funny name.
Though I am a dark green
With stalks just the same.

We're the veggies
You should eat every day!
Now don't make a face.
We're as good as we say!

Gross Motor/ Movement

Growing Corn submitted by TrickyTric

Have your children bend down low as they plant pretend corn kernels in
the ground in rows. When the "corn stalks" have grown tall, have the children
stand on tiptoe and stretch their arms high to pick the pretend corn ears.

**Talk with your children about the parts of a corn plant, including the
stalk, ears, husks, silk, kernels, and cobs.

Music/Songs

Vegetable Soup Song (Sung to Farmer in the Dell) submitted by PrePaint

The soup is boiling up
The soup is boiling up
Stir slow-around we go
The soup is boiling up.

First we add the broth
First we add the broth
Stir slow-around we go
The soup is boiling up.

Now we add some carrots
Now we add some carrots
Stir slow-around we go
The soup is boiling up.

Continue with whichever vegetables you children want. Have the children
stand around a large imaginary pot pretending to stir the soup.

Vegetables (Sung to "Mary Had a Little Lamb")submitted by PrePaint

We are pumpkins, big and round
Big and round, big and round
We are pumpkins, big and round
Seated on the ground.

We are string beans, green and fine.....
Growing on a vine.
We are onions, round and white....
we make soup taste right.
We are carrots, orange and long...
Help us sing our song.
We are cabbage, green or red....
See our funny head.
We are corn stalks, tall and straight....
Don't we just taste great.

Other vegetable activities.

If some vegetables were brought in whole, the children could predict if their

vegetable would SINK or FLOAT, then drop it in a tub of water and see what

happens.

The children could WASH THE VEGETABLES in the sensory tub, to get them ready

for cutting.

If your sit at a low table cutting and peeling, the children enjoy SEEING

WHAT'S INSIDE the vegetables.

MR. POTATO HEAD using a real potato would make a cute display for "Vegetable

Day". Use toothpicks to attach pieces of other vegetables to the potato, to

make the eyes, nose and mouth, hat and feet.

An Easter Snack idea: BUNNY FOOD

Serve in a paper cup with ears and a bunny face on it, torn pieces of

lettuce, carrot sticks and apple slices. If you happen to have a visiting

bunny, he can enjoy the same snack as the children.

I made felt board veggie and fruit shapes--- I'm not artistic at all but my 4year old recognized everything but the plum so I figure anyone could do it. I drew on the felt with ball point and then cut. We'll use them in sorting and recognizing activities. Also fruit and veggie flashcards- enough for a memory game too.

Veggie and apple printing in paint. Cut fruit/vegie in half and stamp
Ask your students (in advance) to bring in 2 or 3 lemons each.
During meeting time, cut a lemon into slices, one into wedges, and leave one whole. Let the children check out the lemons and verbalize what they see, smell and feel. List the words offered onto a large lemon shaped cardboard cut-out. Offer some untouched wedges for brave tasters. At a center, make available lemons cut in half lengthwise and width-wise yellow paint, paper and crayons. Invite the children to make lemon prints. They can add more detail with crayons or markers if they wish.
Have each child juice one lemon half. Collect the juice in a pitcher. Let each child dip a clean plastic spoon into the juice for a tiny taste. Ask them if this is really lemonade. Then, add sugar, water and ice to the pitcher and try taste testing again.

Sing a Song of Lemonade:

Sing a song of lemonade.
We'll pour it in a cup.
We'll stir it with a straw
And then we'll sip it up.
It will be so refreshing
We'll have to have some more,
And we'll be drinking lemonade forever, ever more!

Have the children paint using lemon juice. Let the painting dry overnight. It will be invisible. Place each child's paper under several layers of newsprint. Lightly iron over the paper with an iron set on high ( no steam) until the artwork appears. Ask children to guess why the pictures appeared.

CREATIVE FUN WITH POTATOES

WHAT YOU NEED:

1. Potatoes
2. Cotton balls
3. White glue or paste
4. Containers for the glue.
5. A covered work area.

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Have available a medium sized potato for each child.
2. Children can dip cotton balls into a tray of white glue or paste.
3. Next, your kinder artists can glue the cotton balls onto the potato to create hair, arms and legs.
4. The children will enjoy this activity any time of year.
5. If you are feeling adventurous, bring out some paint or magic markers and let your kinder artist color the potato people

Feelie Tin

Questioning: I want to eat this vegetable. What do you think I should do
to prepare it? If I want to cut it, what should I use? (hide the pepper)
Do you remember what color the pepper is? What parts of the pepper do
you think we can eat? What parts can't we eat? Can you think of any
vegetables with seeds we can eat? Can you think of any vegetables with
skins we can't eat? If we all wanted to taste a piece, how many pieces
would we need? How is this pepper (red) different from this pepper
(green)? How is this pepper different from a carrot/potato? How does it
taste? What are some of the ways we can eat peppers?

Have You Ever Had An Apple

Have you ever had an apple, an apple an apple?
Have you ever had an apple
And heard it go crunch?
Have you ever had an orange, an orange........
And heard it go slurp?
Banana...... go mush?

I Like Oranges

Sing to the tune of 'Three Blind Mice'
I like oranges. I like oranges.
Oranges are a fruit. Oranges are a fruit.
They are not animals, tools and such.
They are good fruit that I like so much.
So, I eat oranges. I eat oranges.
An orange is orange. An orange is orange. It is not red.
It is not purple nor pink nor gray.

An orange is simply not colored that way.

Paper Plate Meals

Have the children look through magazines to find pictures of different
kinds of foods. Then have them cut out the pictures and glue them onto
paper plates to make 'breakfasts', 'lunches' or 'dinners'.

What Is Orange?

What is Orange? Can use all any veg.
(Frere Jacques)
What is orange?
What is long?
What is it?
Bunny loves to it!
Horses love to it!
So do I!
So do I

PEA POD PATROL

Hey Family members look at me
This is my Pea Pod Patrol Pin you see.
I'll wear it on my shirt in plain sight
And see if my family eats their
Vegetables tonight

COUNTING / SORTING STRAWBERRIES

For the magnetic or flannel boards, make a variety of strawberry shapes, some small, middle sized and big. Leave the basket of strawberry shapes out for the children to explore, count and sort on their own.

PLAYDOUGH - Strawberry

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 package un-sweetened strawberry Kool-Aid
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar and Kool-Aid in a medium saucepan. Add
water and oil. Stir over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes. When mixture forms a
ball in pan, remove. Knead until smooth. Store in a covered plastic
container.

POP GO THE BERRIES (Tune: Pop Goes the Weasel)

All around the strawberry fields,
We picked some juicy berries
We brought them home and washed them off,
Pop! - go the berries!

NATURE STUDY: Bring in a strawberry plant to examine. Provide a
magnifying glass. Encourage the children to look at the plant from
different perspectives, the top and from the sides, and every part of the
plant.

SNACK IDEAS: 1. Peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches.

2. Strawberry short cake.
3. Strawberry finger jello,
4. Strawberry milkshakes
5. Serve fruit punch - w/ ice cubes,
freeze a strawberry in each ice cube

STRAWBERRY PAINTING - Provide red paint and easel paper cut into a

large strawberry shape. The next day the children can glue a green

construction paper stem on the top.

BASKET PRINTS from Kimberly in TX.

Save those small plastic baskets that strawberries come in. They make neat

prints. Dip them in paint & press on paper for interesting designs.

Song: STRAWBERRY PATCH (Tune: Paw Paw Patch)

Where oh where are all the children?
Where oh where are all the children?
Where oh where are all the children?
Way down yonder in the strawberry patch.

Pickin' up strawberries, put 'em in the basket,
Pickin' up strawberries, put 'em in the basket,
Pickin' up strawberries, put 'em in the basket,
Way down yonder in the strawberry patch.

Take the berries home and wash em up
Take the berries home and wash em up
Take the berries home and wash em up
Way down yonder in the strawberry patch!

Slice the berries up and make a pie.
Slice the berries up and make a pie.
Slice the berries up and make a pie.
Way down yonder in the strawberry patch!

STRAWBERRY TOSS: Make three strawberry shaped bean bags

out of red felt. You can dot them with fine-tipped sharpie or if you
have more time, you can embroider speckles on it before sewing them
together. I used yellow thread. You can find a bushel basket,
for the children to toss the bags into, at a craft store like Michael's.

THE BERRY BEST CLASS Bulletin board display idea -

Make a basket filled with strawberries. On each strawberry, write a child's name or glue a student's face cut from a photo.

Song - PICKED A STRAWBERRY (tune: "Clementine")
Picked a strawberry,
Picked a strawberry
That was growing
In the sun.
Then I washed it,
And I ate it,
And I picked another one.

Food Activities

Vegetables

Vegetable Pictures

Make vegetable pictures by filling in an outline of a vegetable with dried

beans or seeds.

Sorting

Have the children sort vegetable seeds out. They can also sort beans or

peas.

Counting

Use seeds or beans for counting.

Field Trip

Take a field trip to the grocery store.

Vegetable Tasting Party

Have the children sample different kinds of vegetables.

Vegetable Prints
Make vegetable prints with paint and vegetables (potatoes, corn, whatever).

Planting Activity
Plant vegetable seeds in muffin tins or paper cups.

Vegetable Finger-paints
Fingerpaint on paper. When dry, cut out shapes of vegetables.

Vegetable Hunt
Hide toy vegetables in sand or in the sensory table and have the children dig them up.

Sensory Activity
Put seeds and beans in the sensory table with measuring cups and scoops.

Vegetable Graph
Make a graph of what vegetables the kids like and dislike.

Vegetable Book
Use construction paper folded in half for a book. Have the children glue pictures of vegetables in it.

Felt Board Fun
Make fruit and vegetable shapes for the kids to identify.

Flash Cards/Memory Game
Make your own fruit and vegetable flash cards that can also be used as a memory game.

"The Little Mouse and the Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear" by

Don and Audrey Wood

Here's a song (taken from Mailbox Magazine) to sing after reading the story

"Mousie and the Strawberry"

Tune: "Short'nin Bread"

Little gray mousie loves strawberry, strawberry

Little gray mousie sees one that's ripe.

Little gray mousie loves strawberry, strawberry

Little gray mousie has quite a fright.

Little gray mousie loves strawberry, strawberry.

Little gray mousie gives half to me.

Little gray mousie loves strawberry, strawberry

Little gray mousie rests dreamily.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR by

Audrey and Don Wood?

Frozen Fruit Treat:

1 3/4 cups strawberries

1 large can crushed pineapple

5 bananas (cut in cubes)

12 oz frozen orange juice - concentrate

1 1/2 cups water

Mix ingredients together. Freeze in small paper cups. Serve partially

defrosted. Children love this nutritious treat!

Breakfast banana splits... Use oatmeal (or any hot cereal) instead of

ice-cream. Still use toppings. I use crushed pineapple, strawberry preserves (or

(thawed)frozen strawberries) and of course, chocolate syrup and a little whip

cream... Of course you make these a size to fit the kids, so they can finish

them all, but my kids love it! At least for a change of pace.

FLANNEL BOARD SONG
OUT IN THE GARDEN

Sung to=94 Down by the Station

Out in the garden early in the morning,

See the red tomatoes all in a row.

See the happy farmer coming out to pick them.

Pick, pick, pick, pick, off (he/she) goes.

Other verses:
yellow squashes

blueberries

green string beans

orange carrots

Activity:
Place the shapes o the flannel board in rows of four (four carrots,

four tomatoes, etc.) As you sing the song, let the children take

turns being the happy farmer and picking the appropriate rows

of vegetables or fruits by removing the shapes from the=20

flannel board.

IT'S FEEDING TIME!

You'll hear cries of delight as youngsters sharpen their cutting skills in

order to feed these hungry characters. Obtain a large, rectangular cardboard

box. Stand the box on one end; then cut a slot near the top. On separate sheets

of tagboard, draw characters with large mouths. Cut slots out of the mouths; then

tape one of the characters to the box so that the slots align.

To use the box, a child cuts appropriate colors of construction paper into shapes,

then "feeds" the shapes to the character by inserting them into its mouth. For

example, a child might cut out leaf shapes from green paper to feed a

dinosaur character or cut cheese shapes from yellow paper to feed to a mouse

character. Bon appetite!

Cut a watermelon shape for each student and write his/her name on it. Put-up a

brown background and randomly attach watermelons. Cut curly watermelon

vines by starting with a green circle and cutting toward the center using a

spiral pattern. Weave in and out of the watermelons you have hung up. Put up the

following caption: "Look who's "growing" to Kindergarten (or other grade).

To familiarize students will important places and people in the school go

on a watermelon hunt. Post clues throughout the school that lead from one

important location to another. As the students read and follow the clues they are

practicing proper hallway behavior and learning to find their way around

the school. Hide the watermelon in the last location (I always hide it in the

principal's office). Don't eat it yet!!! Keep reading :-)

To teach the concept of sink and float, have students predict whether or not

the watermelon will float in a tub of water. Record predictions and check it out.

To encourage children to take risks, practice estimating and practice counting, do the
following estimation activities:

Have each student lift the watermelon and estimate how much it weighs. Write
down estimates and check with a scale. (We borrow the scale from the nurse's
office).

Have each student estimate the number of seeds in the watermelon. Write own
predictions. After the watermelon is cut and eaten, be sure to save all the
seeds. Have the children work cooperatively to count them into groups of ten
(I use portion cups). Then put the "tens" into "hundreds" and figure out a
final total. Don't throw the seeds away!!! We're not finished :-)

To provide practice in color recognition, following directions and
vocabulary development have students sponge paint watermelons on a
half paper plate. Have students paint the green rind on the outside, the red fruit
on the inside and let dry. Then instruct students to glue a given number of seeds to the
fruit

(I use five).

In order to watch the development of a plant and learn related vocabulary,
have each student plant several watermelon seeds in milk cartons. Observe
the growth over several weeks.

I use the following poems, songs and chant to incorporate language arts and
music into the unit:

A-B-CDE
Watermelon is good for me.
F-G-HIJ
I can eat it everyday.
P-Q-RST
Ripe and very juicy
U-V-WXY
You will like it if you give it a try.

Z-Z-ZZZ

Watermelon is good for me.

(to the rhythm of the "watermelon cheer")
Watermelon, watermelon,
Watermelon, rind!
Look in the kindergarten,
See who you find...
ME! ME! ME! ME!

(to the tune of "Are You Sleeping")
Watermelon, watermelon,
On the vine, on the vine,
Green and ripe and juicy,
Green and ripe and juicy,
Please be mine,
Please be mine.

Watermelon Chant:
Bite - Bite - bite into the watermelon
Bite - bite - bite into the fruit,
(repeat several times)

Juicy is the watermelon
Juicy is the watermelon
Juicy, juicy, juicy, juicy
Juicy is the fruit.
(repeat several times)

For a real challenge have half of the class say the top part of the chant
and
half of the class say the bottom part of the chant at the same time.

It also made me think about this sensory/cutting activity I did a few
years ago. I used a small plastic swimming pool. I put in lots of red
crepe-paper streamers, length=approx. 12 inches. I put in green
construction paper (whole piece) and black pompoms.

I told the kids it was a giant pretend watermelon that they could play
in. They practiced cutting the green construction paper and the
crepe-paper streamers. They just played with the pompoms.

It may not sound like much of an idea, but the kids were fascinated by
it. They asked me everyday if it would be there the next day still!

Strawberry Pizza

• need: 1 refrigerated unbaked pie crust
• 1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
• 2-3 teas. sugar
• 1/4 tea. vanilla ext.
• 1 pint fresh strawberries cleaned, dried, sliced top to bottom
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 tea. sugar
• Preheat oven 450