We eat lots of fruit and veggies at home so they were readily available for this adjective activity. I like the idea of using something healthy for the kids to describe.
Describing Fruits and Vegetables-Learning About Adjectives
You will need:
- a variety of fruits and vegetables
- If you want to include tasting the fruit and vegetables that do not require cooking in your exercise, you will need a way to wash the fruit and veggies and a knife and cutting board to cut them up.
Explain that adjectives are words that describe other words such as a bouncy ball, a slippery floor or a big dog. Let them know that they will be coming up with adjectives to describe the fruit and vegetables you have placed in front of them. Let the children come up individually to pick an item and come up with a corresponding adjective. Then, that child can pass the item around while other children add to the list of adjectives. Write these down as they are brainstorming.
Once all of the produce has been described, have the children figure out which adjectives apply to more than one item. Call out an adjective, such as smooth, and have them list what produce fits that adjective and so on. You could also have them put things together in a way that makes sense to them and then they can describe what they did to organize the fruit and vegetables. Our son Grayson, unprompted, organized by color at first. Then he began to describe other ways that the fruit and vegetables were the same or different.
If you are doing a tasting component, you can prepare the items in front of the children and allow them to help or have them prepared in advance. They can then describe the taste and texture as they experience it and those descriptors can be added to the list of adjectives.
Extend the learning:
- Take your list outside and see if your adjectives can be used to describe other things. The word shiny from the apple may also describe a ball or metallic railing. A rock may be bumpy like the asparagus.
- Start to take phrases from the books you read, such as “the large hairy dog” and have the children pick out the adjectives
- Have the children bring something to show and tell where they come up with five to ten adjectives to describe what they brought. This can also be done at home.
Here are some more learning activities with Fruits and Vegetables from the Early Childhood Education Team #TeachECE:
14 Ways to Build Language Skills While Making a Pot of Soup by Growing Book by Book Fruits and Vegetables Beginning Sounds Sort by Learning 2 Walk
Fruits and Vegetables Beginning Sound Clip Cards by Mom Inspired Life
Sorting Fruit and Vegetables by Color by Powerful Mothering
Potato Printing Tessellation by Rainy Day Mum
Fruit and Vegetable Hunt Farm Sensory Bin by Life Over C’s
Writing about Fruits and Vegetables by The Educators’ Spin On It
.
there is nothing better than real things to touch and feel and learn about! I plan to do this on our next trip to the city when we buy a bunch of fruits and veg.
A great way to build language and vocabulary!
Hi Nicolette.
It is great when kids can touch and explore things. Enjoy your next trip into the city. I imagine that is an interesting place to explore.
: 0 ) Theresa
Hi Growing Book by Book.
Thank you. They have been enjoying using their new skill.
: 0 ) Theresa
What a cool activity for little ones. I'm pinning this for sure and putting it on our winter to do list! A little tasting of the fruit/veggies is a cute idea too. Thanks!
Thank you Natasha.
I hope your family enjoys it.
: 0 ) Theresa
Excellent activity idea! I love that it just uses real fruits and vegetables that you already have in your home. Such a great way to build vocabulary!
Thank you Danielle.
It was nice that we could use what we already have. That makes prep super easy!
: 0 ) Theresa
This is a really great idea for building whole brain learning. Touching the actually objects and seeing it while reinforcing the vocabulary is a great idea!
What a simple, smart idea!! i'm totally going to do this with my preschooler!
What a fantastic way to build vocabulary!
Hi T. Austin.
Thank you! It is fun to add experiential components to learning.
: 0 ) Theresa
Thank you Alyssa.
I hope your preschooler enjoys it!
: 0 ) Theresa
Thank you Erin.
I is cute to see them feeling proud of themselves when they learn new words.
: 0 ) Theresa
what a fun idea.. my daughter would really enjoy this!
Thank you Working Mom Magic.
I hope she enjoys trying it out some time.
: 0 ) Theresa
What a great idea, I've never even thought of that. I love it!
Thank you Jennifer!
: 0 ) Theresa
This is a great idea. The possibilities are endless in regards to the types of adjectives that my kids could use.