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Friday, November 5, 2010

Thanksgiving - Corn

Corn is one of the traditional side dishes served at Thanksgiving.  Indian corn is also used for a variety of different decorations.  The harvesting of corn is synonymous with the fall season, so it only makes sense to include it in our harvest celebration.

Corn preschool lesson plans





Art Activities

Corn Cob Printing
Allow your child to use a dried corn cob as a brush or roll the cob in paint and onto a piece of paper.

Corn on the Cob Painting
Cut uncooked, shucked corn on the cob into small sections.  Attach corn cob pins on either side if you have them available.  Place a small  amount of paint onto a paper plate.  Have the children roll the corn in the paint, then onto a piece of paper.

Corn Collage
Use corn kernels for this project. First draw the outline of a corn cob on a piece of paper. Then put glue inside the outline and have your child place the kernels inside the shape.

Torn Paper Corn
Draw a ear of corn on a piece of white paper. Tear yellow paper into dime sized bits (enough to cover your corn drawing.) and green paper into strips. Have your child glue the torn pieces of paper onto the drawing of the ear of corn, using the yellow paper as kernels, and the green paper as the husk.

Kernel Collage
Let the children glue corn kernels onto a piece of paper.

Fingerprint Corn
Supply each child with a piece of white paper and yellow non-toxic stamp pads. Show the child how to make fingerprints on the paper, using only one finger at a time. When finished, add husks with a green pen.

Paper Plate Shaker
Take two sturdy paper plates. (The stronger the better) Place some kenrals on one of the plates and place the other plate on top of the first so that both eating surface areas are facing each other. Use masking tape to seal the plates together. Have your child decorate with markers, glitter, construction paper, or ribbons. When dry, shake. Shake to music, shake it each time you take a step. Shake, Shake Shake!!!

Husk Rubbings
Have the child place a corn husk under a piece of paper, and rub the paper with crayon, and the husk shape will appear. This works much better with green husks.

Indian Corn Art
Print up a picture of an ear of corn.    There are two you can use:
corn coloring page
corn collage template
Place yellow, orange and brown paint in a small pie tin or on a paper plate.  Have the children dip a Q-tip into the paint, then onto one of the kernels of corn.  Repeat until all the corn kernels have been covered with paint.     You could also have the children paint the husks green, or print the corn on green paper.

Indian Corn Art 2
Print up a picture of an ear of corn.    There are two you can use:
corn coloring page
corn collage template
Use a hole punch to create many holes from red, orange, yellow, brown and white paper.  Have the children glue the holes to the corn shape.  You could also have the children paint the husks green, or print the corn on green paper.  Or have the children tear green paper into strips and glue onto the paper for husks. 

Indian Corn Art 3
Print up a picture of an ear of corn.    There are two you can use:
corn coloring page
corn collage template
Place yellow, orange and brown paint in a small pie tin or on a paper plate.  Have the children dip a pencil eraser into the paint, then onto one of the kernels of corn.  Repeat until all the corn kernels have been covered with paint. You could also have the children paint the husks green, or print the corn on green paper.

Indian Corn Art 4
Print up a picture of an ear of corn.    There are two you can use:
corn coloring page
corn collage template
Children can indian corn kernels onto the corn shape.  You could also have the children paint the husks green, or print the corn on green paper.


Indian Corn Art 5
Variation Submitted by Julia
Print up a picture of an ear of corn, or draw your own.    There are two you can use:
Cut many square shapes from red, orange, yellow, brown and white paper.  Have the children glue the squares onto the corn shape.  Have the children glue two tan or light brown cupcake liners to the ear of corn for the husks.

Corn Art 
Print up a picture of an ear of corn.    There are two you can use:
corn coloring page
corn collage template
Children can glue popped corn or corn kernels onto the corn shape.  You could also have the children paint the husks green, or print the corn on green paper.

Painting with Corn:
Trace the shape of the lid of a container onto a white piece of paper. Cut out the shape so that it is smaller than the inside of the lid. Place a small amount of paint on the inside of the lid, then place the paper on the inside of the lid. Pour a small amount of orange and yellow paint inside of the bowl and place a few pieces of  corn or popcorn kernels inside the bowl. Place the lid onto the bowl.  Have your child turn the bowl upside down and shake. When finished remove the paper and allow to dry.  You could also use a triangle shaped piece of paper.

Corn Kernel Shaker
Place about 1/3 of a cup of popcorn kernels in a plastic bag.  Seal the bag, then tape it.  Have each child decorate their own paper bag with paints, crayons, markers or bits of construction paper.  Place one plastic bag inside each of the paper bags.  Fold the paper bag and seal with glue.  When dry the children can use the shakers for music and movement.

Corn Kernel Shaker 2
Have each child decorate two paper bowls.  When the bowls have dried, add 1/3 cup popcorn kernels into 1 of the two bowls.  Place the second bowl on the first so the bowls are top to top.  Secure with staples or hot glue.  You can also add ribbons or crepe paper between the bowls.  After dry, the children can shake the bowls to a song and dance. 

How much is a handful? Art
Have the children grab a handful of dried corn or popcorn kernels and count how many each child grabbed.  Trace the child's hand, and write their name and number on the bottom of the hand shape.  Then have the child glue the corn pieces onto the hand.

Bubble Wrap Indian Corn
Cut bubble wrap in the shape of a corn cob.  Have the child paint the bubble wrap with yellow, red, brown and white paint.  Have the child press a sheet of paper onto the bubble wrap, then gently roll a rolling pin over the paper.  You may add green paper for the husks after the paint has dried.

Popcorn Garland
Make popcorn. Let it cool. Supply the children with a piece of yarn and a child safe needle (plastic and big) Have the children thread the popcorn onto the yarn to make garland.

Games, Math and Science

Popping popcorn
What happens when you heat up corn kernels? Get an air popper and let the children watch the corn kernels pop. Be sure to let the children know that the container is hot. WARNING: Popcorn is a choking hazard and should never be served to children under the age of three. Children over the age of three should be directly supervised while eating popcorn.

Balance Fun
Provide the children with a balance and a variety of items along with kernels of corn. Have the children place an item on the balance, then even the balance with kernels of corn on the other side.

Lacing Cards
Cut colored poster board into corn shapes and punch holes around the edges. Then let your child lace yarn or a shoestring into the cards.

Stamping Patterns
Use corn shaped rubber stamps to create a simple pattern on the top half of a piece of paper. Ask your child to help you recreate the pattern on the bottom half of the paper. Tip: Start with one stamp, and have your child pick which stamp you used. Start slowly and work your way up to more complicated patterns.

Kernels in the Sand Table
Place popcorn kernels in the sand and water table. Supply the children with measuring cups, funnels, and other toys. 

Dried Corn
Place dried corn kernels in the sand and water table.  Supply the children with measuring cups, funnels, and other toys.

Pretend to be popcorn
Have the children pretend to be a kernel of popcorn. Direct them through the process. First start by having them crouch down, then as you tell them they are getting warmer, have them shake their hands, then head, then they shake all over, then have them jump up and say "pop".

Corn Sequence Cards
Make simple sequence cards for your child. Draw the different stages of a grown corn, planting the seeds, seeing the stalks that are short, tall stalks, then picking the corn.

Corn Sort
Supply the children with different colors of kernels. Have the children sort the kernels by color. (for ages over 3)

How Many Kernels?
Place some popcorn kernels into a clear plastic container. Have the children guess how many kernels are in the container. Record each child guess. Then count them together.

Kernel Jar
For older children. Fill a small jar with corn kernels or piece of popcorn. Ask each child to guess how many kernels are in the jar. For younger children, limit the number of kernels to less than ten. Record each child's guess. Count the kernels.

Kernel Jar for School Agers
Provide three identical jars with pre-counted kernels of 20, 30, and 40. Label these jars 20, 30 and 40. Place 20 to 40 kernels in a fourth identical jar. Allow the children to examine all four jars before they guess. Record the children's approximations. Count the kernels.

Vote and Graph it
Have the children vote for their favorite way to eat corn and graph the results. Corn on the cob, cream style, popcorn, or canned? To make these activities easier to set up you can make a graph that can be used over and over. Many of the graphs include two or three choices. You can choose to do as many choices columns as you wish, but I will instruct you on how to do three. First print each child's name on a piece of card stock. Laminate and place a piece of Velcro on the back of each. Be sure to place the same side of the Velcro on each of the name cards. It is best to include a couple of "visitor" or "New Student" cards for new children. Obtain a large piece of poster board. You can also use your bulletin board. Measure about three inches from the top and draw a line with a thick black marker across the top, three inches from the top. This space is designed for the title of the graph. Next you should divide a poster board into three even columns. Place Velcro piece evenly spaced in a straight line in each column. The first Velcro piece will be used for a picture of the options available. You should have enough Velcro in each column for each student to place their name in one column. Finally, when you choose to do a graph it activity, write out the title and affix it to the top of the poster board with sticky tack, Velcro or paper clips. Obtain pictures of the options, ie. (What type of corn is your favorite? You will affix (with Velcro) pictures of canned, corn on the cob, cornbread.) then ask the children to place their name under their choice.

Planting Corn
Plant some corn seeds in little cups with dirt.  Place in a window and have the children use an eye dropper to water each day.  Check the seeds for growth and sprouting.  Children can use a magnifying glass to inspect more closely.

Corn Counting
Place small pieces of paper numbered 1 through 6 in the bottom of a muffin tin. Supply the children with 21 pieces of corn. The children should place 1 piece of corn in the 1 tin and 2 in the 2 tin. And so on.

Corn Counting 2
Have the children roll a large die. The child would then count out the number of corns corresponding to the number on the die.




Corn Bottle
Clean out an empty plastic pop bottle. Add dried corn kernels or popcorn kernels. Seal the bottle closed using a little hot glue, allow to completely dry before the children can play with it. Tip the bottle back and forth. Roll the bottle on the floor. 

How much is a handful?
Have the children grab a handful of corn and count how many they grabbed.  Try it again.  Did they get the same number or different?  

How much is a handful? Graph
Have the children grab a handful of corn and count how many each child grabbed.  Graph the results.  To graph the results you can write each child's name and number on a small rectangle of card stock, then place them in order from least to greatest along the bottom of a bulletin board. If you have more than one child with the same number, you would stack them.  To make it more interesting you can trace the child's hand, and write their name and number on the hand instead of the rectangle.  Label the graph "How much is a handful?"

Grow Indian Corn
Place an ear of indian corn in a dishpan.  Add a little water.  The corn will start to grow in a few days.

Snacks

Popcorn
Serve popcorn. Popcorn is a choking hazard for children under the age of 3.

Corn Muffins
Have the children help you prepare corn muffins from a mix.

Candy Corn
For a real treat serve candy corn.

Fried Corn
One of my favorite ways to eat corn... mmmm. You can find a recipe here:
Cooks.com

Corn on the Cob
Serve small sections of corn on the cob.

Field Trip

Popcorn Factory
If you have a popcorn factory near your home, it would be a real treat to visit one to see the process of packaging microwave popcorn.

Farm Corn Field
Take a field trip to a corn field. You may even be able to find a corn field maze near your child care.

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