P is for Peas!

“Little Pea” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is probably one of my favorite books. My kids love it, so we found a way to use it for preschool with all of our friends.

We enjoyed lots of fruits and veggies and of course, PEAS!

• Read “LMNO Peas” by Keith Baker … a very creative ABC book. Each page is covered with little pea characters doing things that start with each letter.
  1. Give the kids time to explore the pictures. They’re fun to look at.
  2. Point out the letters that start with one each of kid’s names. I was impressed that even our littlest friends could recognize their letter!

 

• Pea Dot Pictures
  1. After reading “LMNN Peas” I had the first letter of each of the kid’s names cut out for them. They love being able to recognize their own letter.
  2. Glue the cut-out letters to a blank paper.
  3. Use green pom poms (peas!) dipped in a little bit of green paint to make pea prints all over the page just like the book.

• Open Pea Pods! … when there’s a snack involved the kids are excited
  1. Give each of the kids a fresh pea pod.
  2. Encourage them to feel it, smell it, open it, count the peas inside and taste them!
  3. Tell them the next book is about a little pea!

• Read “Little Pea” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal … adorable story about Papa Pea, Mama Pea and Little Pea. Little Pea doesn’t like that he has to eat candy every night for dinner. He says yuck, blech, pleh to all five bites but can’t wait to see what is for dessert. The kids will be surprised!

  

• Fruits & Veggies Taste Test … a fun way to do snack time
  1. Cut up several different fruits & veggies into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Make up a simple chart to record “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it.” This is the chart we used (above) just click to print and write in the names of the foods you choose.
  3. Mark the chart any way you like. We used cute fruits & veggies stickers.
  4. Let the kids take turns choosing which food they’d like to try.
  5. Taste it, then decide if they like it or don’t like it.

• How a Pea Grows video … this is a fun time-lapse video of a pea seed growing.

 

• Plant a Pea Seed
1. Spread newspaper over the table.
2. Pour soil into a large bowl & have spoons ready.
3. Give each of the kids a small paper cup.
4. Let them scoop soil into their cup.
5. Using their finger, make a hole in the soil.
6. Drop 2-3 pea seeds in the hole and cover.
7. Spritz with water and set in a sunny window. Peas like water so don’t let them get dry!