Summertime is upon us with its fresh berries, lemonade and strawberry shortcake so I thought a week of fruit themed learning would be fun to do! Originally, I was just going to do berries, but citrus and watermelon are fun and cute too so I figured let’s do it all! LoL
–Literacy:
-Scrabble tile fruit spelling: I gave my little the letters to spell apple, grape, berry, lemon, lime, and orange then had him sound them out.
-Lemon slice retelling graphic organizer: I made a lemon slice retelling graphic organizer by tracing a bowl on a sheet of yellow paper then dividing into 6ths with a ruler. Then I read my littles “It began with Lemonade” (any fruity book will work though!) When I was through, I had my 5 year old retell the story and I wrote what he said in each section of the lemon.
-Fruit matching pages: I printed these fruit matching pages from Teachers Pay Teachers, then had my 5 year old read them and match the word to the picture. I read the fruit words to my 3 year old and had him find the picture himself.
-Fruit write the room: I printed this fruit write the room from Teachers Pay Teachers- I love how each word card is missing its beginning sound so your little has to figure it out! My 5 year old went around the room and wrote the words independently (he’s done this before). I went around with my 3 year old, had him identify each fruit if he could, then try to tell me the beginning sound (he needed a lot of help, but that’s normal for this age). I wrote the beginning letter for him then let him “write” the rest of the word. (at this age it’s totally fine for them to just pretend write- that’s where it all starts!)
-Opinion writing: Which fruit is the best? I Had my little write which fruit is his favorite then each day after that I had him write a reason why.
-Fruit book list: we also listened to “Blueberries for Sal” on YouTube because I couldn’t find my copy!
–Math:
-Berry roll and cover: I printed this from Teachers Pay Teachers then had my littles take turns rolling a 20 sided dice and covering the number they landed on. You can also have them roll three regular dice and add the numbers together and then cover the answer.
–Fruit bowl color by number: This was a cute and easy way for my littles to practice number recognition. I helped my 3 year old identify each number first, and my 5 year old worked independently.
-Berry smoothies: I had my 5 year old read my Berry Smoothie Recipe and then he and his brother took turns counting out each group of berries. When all the ingredients were counted/measured we blended them up and enjoyed!
–Berry muffin dotting: I printed this page from Teachers Pay Teachers and had my littles identify each number then draw that many berries on top of the coordinating muffin.
-Lemon and lime patterns: I printed and laminated this lemon and lime pattern set, then had my 5 year old work on the harder patterns (not AB) and my 3 year old finish the AB patterns.
–Science:
-Fruit brainstorming: To kick off our week of study, I had my littles think of all of the different types of fruit they know and I wrote it on a web. Before I wrote them, I had the littles identify the first letter of each word if they could.
-Observe and compare citrus and berries: I had my littles use their 5 senses to observe different berries and citrus fruits, then we used the information we gathered to complete a Venn Diagram comparing the two.
-Fruits vs. Veggies sorting: I printed, laminated and cut out this fruits vs. veggies sorting set, then my littles and I discussed what makes a food a fruit or a vegetable. Next I gave my littles each a card at a time and had them place it under the fruit or veggie column.
-Healthy vs. treat food sort: I printed this healthy food vs. treat food sorting page, had my littles cut out the food at the bottom then glue them under the correct column on the t-chart. We also discussed why fruits are healthier than treats even though they are both sweet (fruits contain fiber which is good for your tummy and also vitamins which help keep your body healthy!)
-Mixtures…make lemonade: I had my littles squeeze fresh lemons with a citrus juicer, then we poured the juice into cups with cold water and a teaspoon of granulated Stevia (honey or sugar would work too!) and stirred it up well. When we were finished I asked them what we had done, scientifically speaking. My 5 year old exclaimed- “We made a mixture!” You can also tie in the 5 senses by reviewing them then using them to examine the lemon!
-Berry parfait sedimentary rock review: I layered blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries in a clear glass with whipped cream in between them and asked my littles what type of rock it represented- sedimentary! I pointed out the layers they were seeing and connected it to how sedimentary rocks are made from layers of sand and dirt that harden over time, giving the rock a stripey look just like our dessert. (I ran out of glasses so mine was more like a mixture! LoL)
–Art:
-Strawberry rock painting: We found rocks outside that resembled strawberries in shape, then my littles painted them red. They added black dots for seeds and a green stem when they had dried. I got this idea from Play Ideas.
-Grape bunch finger painting: I had my littles use purple and green paint to make bunches of grapes using their fingerprints.
-Painting with berry juice: I saw this idea on Sunny Day Family and thought it sounded fun! It didn’t disappoint! First I squished some blackberries through a strainer so I had a tablespoon or so of juice (I used like 6 but only needed 3-4). Then I showed my littles how to draw a vine with leaves on it. Next they added berries to their vine by dipping a Q-tip in the juice and making dots along the vine.
-Muffin making imaginary play: I don’t know if this is art, but it was fun so I’m putting it here! LoL I gave each of my littles some playdough, red beads, and muffin wrappers. I put a muffin tin in between them, then let them play bakery as they “made muffins” with their materials.
-Citrus stamp art: I cut oranges in half, then gave my littles some pink, yellow, orange and green paint (citrus colors) and showed them how to use the orange to stamp the paper, making a citrus print!
–Extras:
-Letter of the week: You should be finished the alphabet by now, so you can either just review the ones your little doesn’t know or skip this part!
-Word of the week: can, each day we do a different activity focused on our word- introduction/sound the word out/have your little practice writing it on the chalkboard or whiteboard, word family list- think of other words that rhyme with your word of the week, use the word in a sentence (have your little come up with the sentence and write it for them) then have your little illustrate the sentence, and workpage practice.
-Bible verse: This month’s Bible verse is “Be kind to one another, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 I write each word in the verse on a post-it, stick them to the wall then have my little point to each word and read it each day all month.
-Character trait of the month: forgiveness…this word is reviewed and posted at the start of the month then each time one of my littles freely demonstrates generosity I use the word to specifically praise what they’re doing and encourage the trait in them. (ie. “Thank you for forgiving your brother for grabbing that toy from you.”)
–Supply/shopping list:
- scrabble tiles
- strawberries
- raspberries
- blueberries
- blackberries
- milk
- honey
- dice
- lemons (2)
- water
- sugar
- yogurt (vanilla) or whipped cream
- citrus fruits (lime, grapefruit, oranges)
- rock
- Qtips
- playdough
- beads
- muffin tin
- muffin wrapper
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