Nuts!

Materials

various nuts

Instructions

1. Talk about what animals do to prepare for the winter. Explain that
animals such as squirrels collect acorns in the fall to eat in the winter.
2. Check your class list for food allergies, making sure that no one is allergic
to nuts before you do this activity. Safety Note: If any of the children is
allergic to nuts, it is safest NOT to do this project. Some children can have
an allergic reaction simply from inhaling the smell of nuts.
3. Have a variety of nuts for the children to crack open. Let them taste the
nuts, if appropriate.
4. Tell the children that nuts grow on trees so peanuts, which grow
underground, are not really nuts! Peanuts are legumes.
More to do Art: Use nut shells to make a collage.
Games: Play "What's Missing?" Place four to eight nuts (depending on the
age of the children, and the variety of nuts you have) on a tray. Use a
handkerchief to cover the nuts and remove one. Ask the children to guess
which nut is missing.
Sensory: Place nuts and nutcrackers in the sensory table for exploration.