Welcome back everyone!
We hope you enjoyed the long weekend albeit wet and windy. We send especially warm wishes to those of you who have been celebrating Eid and we hope that you found ways to connect with families and friends despite the current circumstances. We would love it if you shared some of your Eid celebrations with us on our Team.
Today’s blog ideas are inspired by something I think you will all recognise…Potatoes!
- Have you got any potatoes at home? Take a look at them and try to describe their shape, size, colour and texture. Are they all identical or is each one a little different? Why do you think that is? Are any of them a funny shape that makes you think of something that isn’t a potato?
2. Do you know where potatoes come from? How are they grown? Watch this video to find out how potatoes are grown on large farms. What facts did you learn?
3. Do you know that you don’t need a farm to grow potatoes? You can grow them by yourself even in a pot or bag. Here are some growing in my garden at the moment:
I didn’t buy special seed potatoes but just used some that were leftover and past their best to eat. They looked a bit like this before I planted them. Have you ever seen potatoes sprouting like this before?
Why don’t you find a pot or bag and some soil and try to grow your own potatoes. We can share our progress on our Team!
4. Potatoes can be used as printing blocks with ready mixed paint. Decide which patterns/shapes you would like and kindly ask your adult to carefully cut them out for you. Then you can make pictures, wrapping paper or maybe even wallpaper for a den! Can you try to make some repeating patterns?
5. Do you know Mr Potato Head? With an adult’s help could you make your own one with a real potato and some other items? Try to add as much detail as possible as you think about the features of you potato’s face and body.
6. Watch, listen and join in with this song. It stops at 7 potatoes but I wonder what number would come next… How far can you count?
Can you play some number games? Maybe you and your adult count, saying alternate numbers – how far can you get? Or perhaps you could say two or three numbers in a row each e.g. ADULT 1,2,3 CHILD 4,5,6 ADULT 7,8,…
Can you do the same activities as above but counting backwards? That’s tricky!
7. Read a story about everyone’s favourite veggie hero – Supertato. If you don’t have any of the books at home you can follow the stories here. This is the link to the first book but more are available.
8. Develop fine motor skills by filling a tray with peas and other small objects. Have your child remove specific objects by using tongs, small spoons, scoops etc. Turn it into a game by challenging each other.
9. Explore how water changes state, specifically through freezing and melting. Use small quantities of frozen vegetables and let your child hypothesise about how best to defrost them. Set up a simple experiment, following your child’s lead (they may suggest leaving in the sun, on a radiator, place on the hob, leave in the fridge…) even if you the adult know the outcome. You can then check on the frozen items in their various spots and make observations. You can then help your child to draw some conclusions about freezing/melting. You could then create your own scientific investigations, led by your child’s curiosity.
10. Do you like to eat potatoes? What is your favourite potato dish? Does someone in your family make a special dish with potatoes?
I sometimes enjoy eating Polish potato dishes…Boiled new potatoes with butter and dill, potato pancakes or pierogi dumplings filled with mashed potato, soft cheese and onion.
Why don’t you try a new potato recipe with your family this week? Maybe potato scones or pizza potatoes!
Maybe you have a recipe you could share on our Team.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/kids-potato-recipes
