I Hear a Pickle (and Smell, See, Touch, and Taste It, Too!) by Caldecott Honor artist Rachel Isadora is indeed an amazing classroom book discovery. It’s a sweet and simple introduction to the five senses and is perfect for kids ages 3 to 6. Since learning to cook and learning about the senses truly go hand in hand, I’d like to present an exciting hands-on classroom activity (which parents can do at home as well) that will be educational, memorable, and fun!
Happy reading...and eating!
This activity spans one week and ties in easily with any classroom curriculum about the senses.
Monday
Read the book I Hear a Pickle aloud.
Tuesday
Create a sensory activity using dill. Give each of the students a piece of dill, explaining that it’s a plant that we use for cooking. Then ask them to use their senses to describe the dill. What does it look like? What color is it? Does it resemble a tree? A plant? A bus? Move on to the next sense. What does it sound like? Is it quiet or loud? What does it smell like? Is the fragrance sweet? Spicy? Does it smell like a dog? Like a cat? Like a pickle? What does it feel like? Is it hard? Is it soft? Smooth? Fluffy? Finally, have them each take a small piece and taste it. How is it? Sweet? Tangy?
Wednesday
Make refrigerator pickles. Have a table preset with ingredients for kids to explore. Point out the dill on the table. Do they remember its name? Pull out the book and tell the class that today everyone is going to make pickles. Follow the recipe/activity below. Take a picture of your new pickles in the jar. Then place them in the refrigerator until Friday. (Make sure you have enough pickles for every student to have half a spear for Friday’s activity. The recipe will give you 24 halves.)
Thursday
Print out your picture of the pickles from the day before. Take the jar of pickles out of the refrigerator and place it on the table next to the picture. Do a compare-and-contrast activity with the picture and the jar. What has changed? What has stayed the same? Place the pickles back in the refrigerator, telling the kids that the pickles aren’t quite finished yet and that they will be able to check on the pickles’ progress the next day and see what they look like.
Friday
Read the book I Hear a Pickle again together as a class. Afterward, ask students if they’d like to also hear their own pickles. You’ll probably get resounding cheers of excitement! (For older students, give them this printout to fill in.) Do the first sense—sight—together as a class: Hold up a pickle spear and ask kids to describe what they see. What color is it? Does it look hard or soft? Then place each pickle spear on a paper towel and distribute one to each student. Ask them to touch the front and the back of the spear. What does it feel like? Do the sides feel different? Then ask them to smell it. What does it smell like? Now ask them to take a bite. What does it taste like? And finally ask them to take another bite. What sound does it make? Does it go crunch?
Note: For this activity, it is best to have teacher assistants or family volunteers. One assistant per eight children is recommended.