Sydney Yance, Chelsea Pansé-Barone, Julie C. Parker, and Lori Elmore-Staton

The 4-year-olds in Ms. Sarah’ s Mississippi preschool class are using their senses to learn about fruits and vegetables. During small-group time, Ms. Sarah guides the children as they peel and prepare mangoes, kiwis, sweet peppers, and snow peas. As they work, Ms. Sarah talks with them about how these foods contain vitamins and minerals that help their bodies grow and stay healthy.

“ Ha-Yoon, which one is easier to peel? Snow peas or kiwi?” she asks.“ Lucia, your lips are squished together. How did the kiwi taste? All these yummy foods have lots of fiber and vitamin C. They help keep our tummy bugs happy and help our bodies fight off the yucky germs that make us sick!”

After everyone has had a chance to prepare and taste the food, they create a chart to document their favorites. Besides introducing children to different fruits and vegetables, this activity supports several state learning standards, including for science( compare, sort, classify), physical development( fine motor skills), and math( counting).

Summer 2026 Educating Young Children 35