Pepper Tasting Activity in Preschool with Printable Page

Not only does vegetable taste testing fit right along with our Growing Gardens theme, but it also fits right in with supporting children’s wellness. I don’t know about elsewhere, but right now, in WI, there’s a huge push for wellness education in child care, where many children spend most of their day. I’m currently focusing on adding more physical activity and improving nutrition for my center. This Pepper Tasting Activity in Preschool with Printable Page is perfect for a garden or nutrition theme. It was so easy and so fun for the kids and for me.

Apple Tasting in Preschool

Early in the day, while the kids were having morning snacks, I washed the peppers and put them on the counter. While I was doing this, the kids asked, “What are those?” “What are you doing?” so it was an opportunity for me to get their interest and tell them what we were going to do with them. Throughout the morning, the kids could see them on the counter and look forward to trying them.

After lunch, we play outside. Then we come in and get drinks of water, read a story, and get ready for naps.

This day I allowed time for the taste test after lunch and then outdoor time – after they had played a while and when they don’t usually have a snack.

I cut open the peppers and talked about the colors, the seeds, and what they looked like inside. Then I sliced them and gave each child a slice of red, green, and orange pepper. I gave them their plate and started to read a story. We read The Surprise Garden.

While I read, the kids started to eat their peppers. Most of them, anyway. Afterward, we talked about it and which they liked best. Then we graphed our favorites and circled favorites to show the parents.  Which, by the way, went over very well with parents!

What a great time! This could be done with berries, potatoes, greens, etc. We will be doing this more often, and then I will introduce favorites into our meals and snacks.

Here are the printable forms if you’d like to do a pepper taste test.

Personally, I like them all but red peppers best. What’s your favorite? Do you serve peppers to children? Raw or in a recipe? Let me know!