The Quad has been filled with the zesty aroma of citrus this week as Pre-School have been taking their phonics learning outside. The air has been filled with the sound of little hands eagerly squeezing fresh oranges (and lemons!) whilst also squeezing in some serious /o/ sound practice- what a juicy combination!
Armed with an assortment of handheld juicers, pots, and pans, the children got to work, squishing, squelching and squirting, whilst enthusiastically bouncing their new /o/ /o/ /o/ sound. A perfect recipe of learning, laughter and sticky hands!
What’s more, these tangy fruits made us dig into some super science! We investigated and counted the tiny little seeds called ‘pips’ (which we discovered hidden inside the flesh of the fruit, like little secret treasure chests), measured and compared how much juice we pressed and then tried to guess the taste- would it be sour or sweet? Spoiler alert: the zingy lemons were not our favourite!
The children also noticed how the juice smelled fresh and citrusy, the skin felt waxy and the ‘pulp’ felt cool and squishy in our hands. We could even hear a squelchy POP when we pressed it hard enough!
Who knew that squeezing fruit could squeeze in so much learning? Next up- pineapples! Squeezetacular!
