For a lesson about peanuts, read informational stories or books to the kindergarten students. Read a book about George Washington Carver who discovered many uses for peanuts, such as “A Weed Is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver.” As you read, ask kindergarten children questions and repeat back important elements of the stories. After reading to the children, have them share what they learned and draw a picture about the information.
Read a book and share information about how, as nutritious as peanuts are, for some kids they are harmful. A book about peanut allergies with a preschool main character is “Mommy, Is This Safe to Eat?” Talk to the students about allergies and how they can help their friends stay safe.
George Washington Carver took the peanut from the category of food and used it to make numerous products. His work changed the economy of the region and made the peanut a crop worth harvesting. Share about Carver’s life and the difference his research made. Write a short skit featuring Carver and the peanut. Have the kindergarten students learn their parts, and put on the skit for their parents. Have them color a picture of Carver with crayons and, if no one in the class suffers peanut allergies, shell peanuts and glue on the shells for a border.
After talking to children about what peanuts are and how and where they grow, have them draw and cut out a large peanut from construction paper. For an alternate craft, make a peanut person by cutting out a peanut shape from cardboard. Add facial features with markers, crayons or construction cutouts. Cut out arms and legs from cardboard and attach to the peanut body with brads, or make arms and legs out of craft sticks or pipe cleaners.
Collect products, some of which are derived from the peanut. Ask kindergarten children to guess which ones came from peanuts. Talk to the children about the peanut and products made from the peanut plant. Create a worksheet of products produced from peanuts such as dyes, face cream, fudge, flour, glue, ink, lotion, rubbing oils, soap, vinegar and instant coffee. Use a large peanut in the center of the page. Surround the peanut with illustrations of a variety of products, some of which come from peanuts and some which don’t. Ask the kindergarten students to draw a line from the peanut to products produced using the peanut plant. If the kindergarten children do not have allergies to peanuts, gluten or wheat, help the children make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a snack.