It's Getting a Little Seed-y: Garden-Themed (Fruits and Vegetables) Lesson Plans for Preschoolers

Holy bean sprouts! Our newest summer camp unit focuses on growing fabulous fruit and vivacious veggies. The following lesson plans are sure to really grow on your budding preschoolers!

*All clipart found in these plans was from the free clipart website clker.com*

Fruit and Veggie Shadow Match 

Subjects: Math: Matching Shapes of fruit and vegetable silhouette shadows to the fruit and vegetables they represent.


To Do: Teacher places a fruit or vegetable shape on the flannelboard and holds up two "shadow shapes' for the children to choose from. After they have matched  the correct "shadow shape" to the corresponding fruit or veggie shape on the flannelboard, the teacher will place the "shadow shape" next to the fruit or vegetable. 

Read before Activity: Apples, Cherries, and Red Raspberries by Brian P. Cleary and Apples, Apples Everywhere by Robin Koontz 

Healthy Fruit and Veggies and Not So Healthy Foods They Make 

Subjects: Science: (Nutrition): Understanding that fruits and vegetables in their raw form and differently cooked forms are the most nutritious choices for children and that some foods containing these veggies/fruits are not as healthy a choice for their growing bodies.  
Math: Charting Healthy and Not so healthy vegetable choices. 

To Do: Teacher holds up two cards (the uncooked vegetable/fruit and a cooked version which is not as healthy) and asks the children which one of the food choices is healthier for them. After they have made the correct choice, the teacher places them into categories on her chart (which had been previously placed onto a flannelboard) into two categories (Healthy Fruits and Veggies and Not So Healthy Foods They Make). 

Read before Activity: Soup Day by Melissa Iwai 

Bush, Ground, Vine or Tree? Fruit and Vegetable Guessing Game 

Subjects: Math: Having children use logical thinking and previous knowledge they have gained through previous lesson to figure out which vegetable or fruit grows on the ground, vine, bush or tree. 
Science (Botany): Visualizing the physical charteristics of fruits and vegetables through a language and logic based lesson. 
Language Arts: Using botanical language. 

How-to: Teacher holds up a card and asks the children to guess whether the fruit or vegetable grows on a vine or tree (give children only two categories to choose from to make the lesson more developmentally appropriate for preschoolers.) After they have given their answer, the teacher turns over the card so the children can see if they guessed correctly. Continue the game until all cards have been completed or the children's attention span wanes. 

Read before Activity: Oliver's Fruit Salad by Vivian French