Fruit Sensory Exploration: Whole vs Sliced

Apr 23, 201353,914 views

For the toddler

Sensory Activities: Fruits Exploration and whole fruit vs sliced fruit

by TurkeyMom in For the toddler

Ages2–5 yrs

Prep20 min

Activity30 min

Leveleasy

MessMedium

Works for1:1 · Small group · Class

Set up a bin of everyday fruits in four columns: whole fruit, a sliced piece, the skin, and chopped pieces to taste. Kids then explore with all five senses through touch-and-guess and taste-and-guess games, and talk about skins, seeds, colors and halves.

⚠️ Safety first

Adult does all cutting and peeling with the knife, away from the kids.
Choking risk for toddlers: cut tasting pieces small, keep kids seated while tasting, and supervise the whole time.
Keep seeds (e.g. apple and pear seeds) away from little ones who might swallow them. Supervise the seed-comparing closely.
Check for food allergies before anyone tastes (citrus, kiwi, strawberry, banana and others), and follow your school's food policy.
Wash all fruit well first, because kids touch, smell and taste the skins too.
Orange peel and citrus juice can sting eyes and small cuts. Wash hands afterwards.

Before the kids arrive

Write four labels on construction paper: Whole Fruit, Sliced Fruit, Skin, and Chopped! Taste it!
Check for food allergies and wash all the fruit.

Steps

Tape the four labels across the top of the bin: Whole Fruit, Sliced Fruit, Skin, Chopped! Taste it!
Adult: for each fruit, put a whole one in the first column, a sliced piece in the second, some peeled skin in the third and small chopped pieces in the last.
Look closely at the fruits and find what's the same and what's different.
Touch game: close your eyes while an adult hands you a whole fruit, then name it using just your sense of touch.
Taste game: close your eyes, taste a chopped piece, and name the fruit.
Smell each fruit and its skin.
Talk about skins: which fruits can you eat with the skin on? Compare skin color with flesh color.
Compare the seeds. Which fruit has its seeds on the outside?
Describe how each fruit feels and smells, and spot the halves, wholes and fourths.
For toddlers: put a whole fruit and a slice in their hands, compare the two, and name the fruits and their colors.

Tips

It's not really an 'activity', more of a talking, feeling and exploring kind of afternoon. But boy oh boy did they love it!from the author
My toddler went for the strawberries and started eating them before I even had a chance to tell them what we were doing, so expect some snacking.from the author
The taste game was great for apples and pears. Peeled and chopped, they look alike until you taste them.from the author
The kids tried orange and kiwi with the skin on and obviously went 'ewww', but apple skins were extremely tasty. The faces are half the fun.from the author
My 4 year old actually came up with the touch game herself. Sometimes she used the texture of the skin, sometimes the shape and size.from the author
It's a good pick for mixed ages. We did it with a 2 and a 4 year old, just hanging out in the backyard with a box of fruits.from the author
A parent planned to try it with a child who likes to smell everything before eating, as a gentle way to warm up to fresh fruit.from readers

Make it your own

Add watermelon to compare a very different skin color and flesh color.
Do the same setup with vegetables.
Smell-only round: name the fruit by sniffing the fruit or its skin with eyes closed.

The story behind it

By TurkeyMom · April 2013

I can't even call it an activity, since it was more of a talking, feeling and exploring kind of afternoon. But boy oh boy did they love it!

1 / 5

What readers say

💬 5 comments ✍️ 1 answered by the author 🍎 tried with 1 classes or groups

✨ Readers' twist

Gentle way to try fresh fruit

A parent whose son is newly eating solid foods plans to use this to encourage trying fresh fruit, since he likes smelling food first.

“He is very into smelling everything before he eats it. I'm going to try this activity out with him”
Misha Estrada, Jun 2013

🍎 In the classroom

Teacher plans it for her little ones

A Portuguese-speaking teacher loved the idea and plans to do the fruit exploration with her young students.

“Se ou professora e irei fazer c os meus pequenos.”
Laci, Jun 2023

Read all 5 comments

Laci · Jun 2023

Ameiii a ideia!! Se ou professora e irei fazer c os meus pequenos.
Misha Estrada · Jun 2013

I love this! My son has multiple handicaps and was tubefed for many years. I eventually was able to switch him to drinking a formula, and now I finally have him getting almost all of his nutrition from solid foods. I have not been able to get him to try fresh fruit or vegetables yet. He is very into smelling everything before he eats it. I'm going to try this activity out with him and see if we can't make some progress.
TurkeyMomAuthor · Jun 2013 · replying to Misha Estrada

Thanks for your comment. Please try to come back and let us know if it worked!

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