B is for Berries

• Exploring Berries
1. Buy different kinds of berries at the store (or pick them if you have that ability near you). We used Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, and Huckleberries. 
2. Explore the berries through the 5 senses
• Sight – what color are they, what shape are they, are they big or smal
• Hear – Say the name of the berry. When you say “berry” in the name (ie: StrawBERRY) say it loud or clap.
• Smell – Smell it. Does it smell good or yucky
• Touch – is it bumpy, smooth, rough, slimy, soft, etc.
• Taste! – is it sour, sweet, salty, etc.

• Pom pom Berries
1. Using craft pom poms (we used blue, pink and black, big and small sizes) put them in a pile on the table, thrown out on the floor, in a sensory bin, or on a piece of green paper to look like a bush.
2. Have your preschooler “pick” the berries and sort them by color. We put them on matching colored paper.
3. Then sort by size for each color.

• Water bead Berries
1. Sensory bins are always a win, even if you don’t put anything else in but water beads! Again I used black, blue and pink (and clear) water beads.
2. They then sorted by color and played with them in the water.
• I like water beads for this one because they are round and small like a lot of berries.

• Berry Math
1. Pick a color (or many colors) of playdoh to make “berries” – small round balls of playdoh.
2. Cut out a piece of green paper, felt, foam, etc to resemble a bush.
3. Berry Math – (Berry picking [subtration] or berry growing [addition])
• Put all the berries on the bush and roll a die/dice.
• Count the dots and “pick” that many berries.
• Repeat until all the berries are picked.
• Roll the die/dice again.
• Count the dots and add that many berries to the bush (they’re growing).
• Repeat until all the berries you made have grown.

• Cheerio Box Blueberry activities
1. Cheerios had a perfect activity on the back of their Blueberry Cheerio's box and I saved it for today. They had:
• Blueberry memory match
• Berry Rhyming questions

**For more BERRY inspired preschool activities, click HERE**

Healthy Strawberry Fruit Parfaits

 

We just went strawberry picking this morning and decided to make a yummy strawberry snack. I forget how DELICIOUS these are! I try to teach my kids how to make yummy & healthy snacks. The funny thing is, if I had put these in a regular bowl, they might have complained, but since they were in fun ice cream cups, they gobbled them up
Parfaits are also great because the kids can help. My 3-year-old added the strawberries and sprinkled on the granola.

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Strawberry Parfaits

Yogurt, any flavor (we used vanilla)

Strawberries (any fruit would work, we also like blueberries)

Granola

Whipped cream (a little for the top)

1. Layer the yogurt, strawberries and granola until the cup is full.
2. Top with a little whipped cream

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TIP!  I don’t buy Cool Whip anymore. Have you ever looked at the ingredients label? I just whip regular whipping cream, plus a little sugar and vanilla in the mixer for about 5 minutes. Sooooo yummy.

Strawberries!

Since summer is just around the corner and official preschool at our house ended last week with letter Z, I decided to start posting summer and summer holiday projects and preschool-type activities!

To start, I love this idea from Laura at Come Together Kids …

Red, White, and Blue Strawberries.

How simple. How pretty. And how delicious! Perfect for the kids. Strawberries should be ready for u-pick around June 15th here (I called this morning hoping it would be earlier) and these will definitely be on the menu!

Red, White and Blue Strawberries @ Come Together Kids

We love going to U-PICK farms all through the summer and fall for berries, apples, and pumpkins. I use this site www.pickyourown.org to find great local u-pick farms. And I use it just as much to learn how to freeze and store what we do pick. Start here to select your state.