Vegetables come in all sizes, shapes and colors, and so lend themselves to many appealing art projects.
Introducing children to different types of vegetables grown on farms encourages healthy eating and attitudes. Many activities -- both in and out of the classroom -- can educate children about different types of vegetables and how they are grown. Activities that introduce vegetables in season are especially effective in getting children interested in the process of farming to provide food that meets nutritional needs.
Art Activities
Gourds can be painted, or given silly faces using markers and glitter.
Art activities can be tied into the theme of harvest or farm vegetables. Have children glue a vegetable seed on a sheet of thick paper, then use crayons or markers to draw the roots below the seed, the leaves, flowers and vegetable. Glue some soil onto the area around the seed, and you have an art project that is tactile and educational. Kids can make potato stamps by cutting a potato in half and carving out designs. They can then stamp designs onto paper and posters. Have kids paint gourds and decorate pumpkins with glitter or stickers. Making vegetable puppets with construction paper and tongue depressors can be extended into hours of imaginative play.
Math Activities
Counting and sorting are two important math skills that can be done with seeds.
Use vegetables in season to develop math activities for young children. Kids can cut into pumpkins, with the help of an adult, and count the pumpkin seeds. Sorting is another great activity for kids, and they can sort different types of vegetables seeds into piles and match them with the vegetable they belong to. Kids can use pictures of vegetables to make patterns, or they can sort these as well. Cooking with vegetables can also be made into a math activity if you concentrate on measurements. Make pumpkin bread, corn muffins or zucchini cakes with the children and have them measure out the ingredients and record the recipes in a journal.
Reading Activities
A bean will sprout quite quickly, and kids can document its progress.
Children love to hear stories, and they love to tell stories. Read to them about how vegetables are grown, and then have them write a journal entry about what they learned. Have them illustrate their journals with pictures of the growth stages of the vegetables. Many books on vegetable farming can be found at local libraries. Have the children plant a seed; avocados, bean sprouts and squash are good seeds to try. Have them document its growth weekly on a chart, and write a sentence describing its progress. When it is fully grown, the kids will have a book documenting the growth of the seed that they can read to parents at home.
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