Storytime this week is from the book, How Are You Peeling? by Joost Elffers & Saxton Freyman. These authors first came out with the book called Play With Your Food where they make different faces and characters out of fruits and veggies. In How Are You Peeling?, they explore different moods and feelings with the faces of these foods.
We enjoyed reading this book, trying to figure out what feeling the fruit or vegetable was expressing. We talked about emotions and what they were, what kinds of things make us happy, sad, angry, or silly. This is a great book introducing feelings and how our faces look when we are mad or sad or happy.
We couldn’t wait to celebrate this book. We went to the store and I let the kids pick out a few different produce items. We picked a cantaloupe, pear, yellow pepper, 2 oranges, and 2 mushrooms. Then with Mom’s supervision, we carved out mouths and spots for eyes. We used dry black eyed peas for eyes like they do in the book, but I am sure you could use any dry bean you have. My son is making a turtle and my daughter is helping put the eyes in the pear.
Here is a pouty orange and a spikey haired mushroom.
We love our little food with moods. My kids have been playing with them as people and giving them names. It’s going to be hard to eat them!
Another great storybook that goes along with feelings and emotions is Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis. It explores all the emotions a child can have and how this little girl deals with them. It’s one of my favorites.
ill have to try this on my show!! wow thats really awesome!
wow! that is absalutly amazing! they are just darling. i will really have to try that sometime. im so suprised, i cook all the time with veggis and never really saw faces, but now i know i will!
Why doesnt anyone ever make LIMES with faces??? HUH???
Thanks everyone for your sweet comments. And big thanks to Today’s Creative Blog for sending great people my way!
Wonderful, easy idea! We’ll have to do this.
Okay, you have inspired me. I’m going to feel like I’m back to teaching preschool – having a story and activities to go with the story, but I’m going to do it during the summer! Thanks for all the great ideas!
I found you from today’s creative blog also. I love that you’re using all your teacher training with your own kids. I’m a first grade teacher and have an almost one year old son. I look forward to using a lot of fun teacher ideas and crafts with him once he gets older. Thanks for sharing all your great ideas.
I love this book and the others that have followed. Have you seen The Lonely Sea Horse, Fast Food and Dog Food by these same authors? The fruit and veggie faces are just too cute…yours turned out great!
This is my new favorite blog! I “met” you at Design Mom and am hooked. It’s nice to have some lively and simple ideas to chose from when it comes to craft times with the kiddos. I even linked you at my blog The Tip Spot yesterday! thanks for an awesome blog!
Marie, each time I open ur blog I say WOW … what a great mom … u really help ur kids in building creative minds!
thanks a lot 4 sharing such amazing ideas .. wish to follow ur steps
I LOVE your website!! I came over from TCB also and you have great, down to earth ways to get creative with our kids. Thanks for sharing!
Marie… I can’t remember if I’ve commented other than on your giveaway, but I just adore your site. I read it on a feedburner and get over to it very seldomly. But today, I just had to comment on this sweet project. Very, very fun. You are obviously a mommy with a great deal of care and attention for your family. Thanks for this great site.
Amanda – Thanks for the link love. I hope you had fun with your produce. Since we did ours, I now see faces in all the fruit and veggies I buy!
Meg – No bad mommies here, or feeling guilty! Just do what you can. I try to schedule these activities in my day, so that there is kids time too.
How fun! I loved play with your food when it came out! What a fun activity to do with your kids!
Missy
i just came over from today’s creative blog.
wow.
this may be the best blog ever!
you are full of great ideas.
i will try to not feel like a bad mom for not being as creatively energetic as you. :)
i quit subscribing to family fun magazine because of the guilt it brought on.
you seem to have a good time and enjoy being a mommy.
that’s so great.
thanks for inspiring me today.
-meg
What a fun project! I just wanted to let you know that I linked to your post from my blog (again! you have such great ideas!):
librarycollective.blogspot.com
Too cute!
haha, like it. we’ve read the Play with your food and the kids really liked it; I’ll have to look for this one next time we’re at the library.
Thanks, Elise! Luckily I have been exposed to lots of books through being a teacher. Teachers tend to be book hoarders! I have way too many books. When I was teaching, our school used the Scholastic book program. If you can, order your books from a Scholastic catalog. They are way cheap and easy to buy, so I stocked up!
Marie, what a brilliant hands on way to introduce little ones to the idea of emotions.
I have to ask, how on earth do you come across such unique, yet fantastic books that you draw inspiration from?
Your children have done an amazing job with creating their special little foods with moods – just brilliant.
Thank you ever so much for sharing and inspiring.
Elise