One Tomato - A Garden Counting Book is a lovely little hardback book that takes you on a journey through a garden where there are many different vegetables to count, insects to see and a yellow dandelion can be found hiding on each page. It is written by Rebecca Mullin, illustrated by Anna Mullin and published by Rubber Ducky Press. The words and numbers are bright and clear and my son loved the book so much it had to be read 3 times in one sitting so it is definitely a hit in our house.
Activities
Seed planting and documenting
What plants need to grow discussion
Vegetable washing
Trip to the garden centre - seed spotting
Vegetable spotting at the supermarket/food market
Cutting and peeling vegetables
Fun vegetable shapes snack
Imaginative vegetable wraps
Vegetable printing
Shapes, colours and numbers discussion
Make a Mr Potato Head
Make a Mr Grass Head
Outdoor
There are lots of fun outdoor activities to go along with this book and it is based outside so I though that it would be a good place to start. You could plant some seeds with your child/children and encourage them to visit their plants daily and monitor what happens. Older children could document what they see by writing or drawing and younger children could take a photo. It could be good to talk to them about what plants need to grow. If you are doing vegetables for dinner then you could fill a big bowl or bucket up with water and let your child/children wash the vegetables that you will be using. It will save you a job and they can feel the different textures of the different vegetables and it should keep them quiet for a while. Out and about you could take your child/children to a garden centre to see the seeds and different plants that they have available or you could take them on a vegetable spotting trip to a supermarket or food market.
Food/Cooking
If your child is old enough you could teach them to cut and peel vegetables safely. Have a chat with them how to be safe when using sharp objects and how to treat minor cuts if anything does go slightly wrong. If you are worried that they may cut themselves then you could get them to wear their winter gloves for a layer of protection and don't forget to tell them that they are only allowed to use the knives with your permission. You could cut some fun shapes out of the veg for snack time or you could give your child/children some different vegetables and they could create their own animals/monsters or whatever else they can think of. For a lunchtime you could do fun vegetable wraps and your child/children can make their own wraps using the vegetables that you provide for them and they can get creative and have fun being imaginative with the different vegetables. Different faces showing feelings like happy and sad is a fun one for younger children and older children could try making a vegetable animal to go on their wrap.
Indoor
For a messy activity you could do some vegetable printing with your child/children. Cut some vegetables in half and then get them to dip them in some paint and print them on some paper. You can discuss different shapes and colours with your child/children and you can also incorporate some numbers in the activity by getting them to print a certain number you give them. For a cleaner activity you could set up a market stall where your child/children can sell you fruit and vegetables. My son is lucky enough to have been bought some wooden ones for Christmas but you could make some on some card or use some from a board game if you have one containing fruit and veg. If you are making some try and make more than one of each vegetable so that you can ask for a different number when you go to the market shopping. You could make a Mr Potato Head with your child/children. Get a real potato some cocktail sticks and then some different fruits and vegetables cut up. Your child can then be as creative as they want sticking the different vegetables onto the potato using the cocktail sticks. This next activity can be done indoor or outdoor. Sticking with the head theme they could make a grass head. Put some soil into some old tights or stockings and then sprinkle some grass seed on the top and then tie a knot in the tights so it is like a ball. If you don't have grass seed you could use chives or cress. Put the ball on a small pot like a yogurt pot or small plant pot and make sure that the seeds are on the top. Using googly eyes and some felt and other crafty bits your child can decorate their head. Waterproof glue works best when sticking things on. Don't forget to get your child to water their head every two to three days and they can enjoy watching the hair grow. When it is a good length they can turn into a barber and give their grass head a trim.
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