As I hinted yesterday, we're embarking on a little fruit & vegetable journey. This project will tie in nicely with the beginning of the farmer's market season, as well as EB's ongoing farm study. It will also motivate me to get my kids eating more fruits and vegetables. (One can hope, anyways.)
So my plan is this: each week going forward we will explore fruits and vegetables in alphabetic order, very loosely following the book, Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert. One day each week we'll visit the market and see what we can find, and we'll set up a binder for storing the information we collect and create. As the seasons turn, we'll add to our notes - detailing produce we tried or spied at the farmstand or grew on our own.
So here are the letter "A" foods we chose, with a few ideas for exploration:
• Apples •
We recently visited the local orchard to choose "our" apple tree for the fall. We observed the stage of the tree at this time (just past flowering, now leafing out). We read these books - and requested this one from the library - in order to understand the cycle of the apple tree. We cut an apple in half and looked at its inner structure, counted the seeds ... I may have tried to work in some fractions while we were at it. We looked over all the different kinds of apples available at the market, and I pointed out my favorite kind. And now we have a nice bowl of rosy apples sitting on our counter ... and one morning EB and I will make baked apples for his brothers.
• Apricots •
We bought dried apricots and talked about the difference between fresh fruit and dried, and the reasons why people dry fruit. Also, why was this an important skill to learn generations ago? We sampled the sweet-tart flavor and "leathery" texture of a dried apricot. We looked up when fresh apricots are in season, and found a local orchard that grows apricots. We bought a jar of apricot jam at Trader Joe's, and with it, we will make oatmeal-apricot squares.
• Artichokes •
We looked at whole artichokes at the store (such odd looking things!), and bought a can of artichoke hearts. (Yours truly likes them on her pizza.) We looked at the jars of marinated artichokes we have on our pantry shelf ... and EB decided he wanted no part of artichokes, lol.
• Asparagus •
We found them at the market, and brought a bunch home. EB helped me wash the spears and prepare them for roasting. We ate our asparagus last night with supper. ("We" meaning everyone but the youngest two.)
(Our house food rule: You must try something once - if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. But you have to at least try it.)
***
Well, I hope you enjoyed a look at our Fruit & Veggie study, such as it is so far! I think it will be fun ... it's pretty easy to incorporate these simple activities into our week. Next week we have the "B" fruits and veggies - I'm thinking blueberries, bananas, broccoli and beets. :)
File Folder post (part 2) to come sometime tomorrow - time got away from me today!
I hope you all have a nice night ... see you again very soon.
❤
