Preschool Food Theme - Oranges

Explore oranges with your preschoolers! A preschool food theme about oranges lets your classroom discover the parts of an orange and find out how oranges grow. Plus, there are lots of opportunities for motor skill and sensory activities. Winter is a great time for having the preschool orange theme because it is the peak season for many oranges.

Circle Time with Oranges

Oranges and Growing Oranges:

Display a variety of oranges for your preschoolers. Include a navel orange, a Valencia orange, Satsuma oranges (mandarin oranges), and a blood orange if you can find it.

If you have a navel orange, show your preschoolers the opening at one end that looks like a bellybutton. This is how this variety got its name!

If you have a blood orange, display one that is sliced in half to show the shocking color of the flesh.

Explain that oranges grow on trees and that different trees grow different kinds and sizes of oranges.

Orange Shape, Color, Size:

Ask your preschoolers what shape the orange is. Order the oranges by size. You can have fun with your preschoolers when you ask about the color - ask them how the orange got its name!

Orange Seeds:

Ask your preschoolers if oranges have seeds. Display different varieties of oranges that you have peeled and broken into segments. Show varieties of oranges that have no seeds (navel oranges and some Satsumas) and varieties of oranges that do have seeds. Oranges that do not have seeds are grown by attaching part of the orange tree onto other types of trees.

Food Poems About Oranges

Tie together all the fun facts about oranges with these Preschool Poems About Oranges.

Preschool Orange Activities

Peel an Orange Activity

Place several oranges on a table and set out one bowl for each preschooler. Choose varieties that are easy to peel. Satsumas are perfect for this activity because they are small and you can find easy to peel Satsumas. Make a small hole in the peel of each orange to help preschoolers get started.

Have your preschoolers wash their hands then let each preschooler peel an orange and divide it into sections. Have them place their orange segments in the bowl to explore, eat or save for a later snacktime.

For a fun but messy activity, set out small bowls and presses and let your preschoolers make Satsuma orange juice.

Orange Peel Sensory Table

Place fresh orange peels in a sensory table or on trays on a table. Let your preschoolers touch and tear the orange peels.

Preschool Books About Oranges

 

by Kati Chevaux

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