If you are following my 5 senses weekly lesson plan, day 2 is all about taste. The sense of taste is one we all know and love, it also happens to be one that preschoolers have lots of opinions on. You would know this if you have ever given a four-year-old a grilled cheese sandwich with the wrong colored cheese in it.
One thing is certain, preschoolers know what they like and don’t like to taste. But do they know how to use their words to describe and compare different flavors? That is what we focus on during the day’s activities.
I like to start the day by reading the book, “The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog” by Mo Willems. I think I might love his books for shared reading just as much as the kids do. In the book, Pigeon finds a delicious hot dog and before he can devour it, a sly duckling comes into the scene asking lots of questions about the taste. In the end, kids learn to share even their most prized possession.
If you are looking for any other books for your 5 Senses week, I have this Amazon Storefront shop set up of my favorite read-aloud stories and sensory books for students to explore themselves.
Jello Taste Test
The first activity of “Taste Day” is an extra fun one for the kids. How often do you get to try jello flavors in the classroom?! To prepare for this sensory experience I purchased several different flavors of jello and prepared them in small, kid-size containers. Another option could be to purchase small containers of pre-made jello.
You can start the activity by having your little learners make predictions about what flavors they might taste. Next, show them the taste test station with the “I Taste with my Mouth” and “I Taste with my Tongue” signs as visual reminders. Kids can then try the jello and decide what flavors they taste and match them to the coordinating laminated cards.
This is a fun and silly activity and I never tire of hearing the things the kids come up with. Some students might not want to taste the jello for various reasons and that is ok too, I just encourage them to smell it instead.
After the taste test, we talk about what words we could use to describe different flavors and what they liked and didn’t like. If you are looking to extend the activity further, you could make a class graph of their favorite flavors.
Fruit Loop Bracelet Making (Patterns)
The next activity we do is a fun hands-on way to practice patterns and talk about taste, it’s making fruit loop necklaces! To prepare, all you need is pipe cleaners, fruit loops (or a similarly shaped rainbow cereal), and the laminated pattern cards from the weekly plans.
Students choose a card from the stack and recreate the pattern by threading the fruit loops on their pipe cleaner. This is great for their fine motor skills too! Since today is all about taste, students can try the cereal and discuss and compare the flavors.
There are 6 different pattern types in the set, but you pick and choose which ones to use based on your little ones’ abilities.
All of the instructions and printables for these activities can be found in my 5 Senses Weekly Curriculum, along with 5 days' worth of book recommendations, sensory activities, and more! You can also read about how I teach Touch here.
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