Watermelon

Have you ever noticed how certain foods seem to inspire fun and creative activities for children? Apples, pumpkins, and popcorn have these creative qualities and so does watermelon! Below are some wonderful watermelon activities you can use at your daycare.

• Using a whole watermelon, children can take turns rolling a melon across a room and time how long it takes to reach the finish mark.



• A variation of the circle game, "Duck, Duck, Goose" can be played using the words, "Seed, Seed, Watermelon" instead.



• Lined up behind each other, children can take turns balancing several watermelon seeds on a spoon and to walk across a room and back making sure the seeds stay on the spoon and not fall to the floor. Then hand the spoon off to the next child and repeat until all players have gone.



• Have children color a slice of watermelon on paper and then glue on real watermelon seeds. Incorporate simple math skills, and have the children count the seeds as they glue them.

Besides being fun and delicious, watermelon is nutritious too. A source of vitamins C and A, fresh watermelon provides disease-fighting phytochemicals.

In choosing a whole watermelon, it's suggested to choose one that is heavy for it's size. The underside of a ripe watermelon will be a pale or creamy yellow, not white. The rind should have a healthy sheen.