Banana Fish

Some fruits like avocados and bananas are a perfect mechanical soft texture right from the peel.Because bananas and avocados both have peels, you can use either and start with a deconstruct activity. Let your child help you remove the banana or avocado peel (or watch while you do it, if they really don't want to touch it). I find that if I leave a strand of banana peel hanging, kids will usually reach to pull it down. It's kind of like a string of string cheese, irresistible to pull!You can continue to make this a deconstruct activity and mush the insides of these foods with your hands. How to they smush and break? Have fun exploring with your child. If you're having fun and fascinated with these foods, chances are your child will at least be interested, even if they're not jumping in right away wanting to get their hands dirty, too!Language and Senses:Talk about how the peels feel, how the inside of the peels feel and how the outsides feel. Are they smooth, bumpy, rough, dry, wet? What colors are the foods on the outside and the inside?Add Pretend Play:Make a banana or avocado boat and pretend to sail wherever your child wants to go. Make banana fish and feed them from the boat.Add A Song:Sing a song about fish swimming in the ocean, a song about what the fish like to eat, or what you like to eat. Sing a song about how you are make your fish or what you're making it out of.Make It A Game:Chunks of banana make great game pieces for an obstacle course or board game.Have fun, explore and get silly!Happy food play!