Watermelon! Exploring Watermelon with Kids!

10 FREE Resources Exploring “Watermelon”

Books and the Watermelon

August 3rd is National Watermelon Day! August is the perfect time to celebrate this sweet fruit that is 92% water. Hence the melons compound name and its refreshing effects on a hot summer’s day!

If you have been following our “Farmers’ Market” series, then you are aware this is a collection of resources for you to use with your kids. We have book recommendations, learning video finds, and free resources for hands on fun and reinforcement. There are so many books about watermelon. Our top three books are rather fun and more fiction than non-fiction: The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli, Watermelon Day by Kathie Appelt, and Peter Spit a Seed at Sue by Jackie French Koller.

The Watermelon Seed

Every child I have ever met has wondered if a watermelon seed would grow inside of them if they swallowed a seed. This is an adorable read and every student I shared this book with asked me to read it over and over, again.

Watermelon Day

This is a beautiful story about patience, and a watermelon. It is an older book but definitely still worth a read, or to follow along with this read aloud.

Peter Spit a Seed at Sue

Peter Spit a Seed at Sue is another fun book. One seed can start an entire ruckus and before anyone knows it the entire town is making one big mess. What a fun book!

This book inspires a fun math activity. It is important to be polite and kind to each other, but that doesn’t mean we can’t also have fun! If you can find a watermelon with seeds, why not have a watermelon seed spitting contest outside? Make it a math lesson by measuring the distance. Just be careful that no one is in the splash zone and make sure you have wipes on hand. I know, I know, I can hear the buzz of WHAT???? All you need are a few items from around the house and you have some hands-on math and science, too.

Watermelon Seed Spitting Data Collecting

Supplies

White Garbage Bag or tarp
4 Rocks (to secure bag on the ground)
Watermelon Seeds
Containers for Seeds
Tape Measure
Masking Tape or Chalk
Recording Data Sheet
Markers
Paper Towels

Method

Most important – remind kids this is all in the name of science and math. It is a controlled environment and spitting should only be done with certain rules.
Outside on a nice, non-windy day, set up the white garbage bag by placing one rock on each corner of the bag, on a flat surface.
Share the watermelon with the children, and have them save some of the seeds in a container/or on a paper towel.
Use the masking tape or chalk to create a starting line that must be stood behind when spitting seeds.
Have each student spit a seed, measure and collect the data.
Compare data and discuss the findings.
Longest, shortest, average, ETC…
Have fun and giggle a lot!

Watermelon spitting might be a little too messy or difficult for some students so some ammendments might be necessary. Perhaps a simple mathematical seed estimation project, as part of an afternoon snack will do. Guessing and collecting the seeds out of a large piece of watermelon then counting, is fun for any young learner. Have plenty of napkins handy and most of all have fun with math.

Implementing math with hands-on activities to early learners will help children understand math is all around their world. Math is more than a worksheet, and more than just numbers.

Videos

Kids are going to ask, “why are some watermelons seedless?” Be prepared to answer them by watching this video before exploring watermelons with your kids. Honestly, until I watched this video I really didn’t understand how scientists were able to remove the seeds. Personally, I like the seeds, they are nostalgic for me.

The next video is about agriculture and how the watermelon goes from farm to market. There is a lot of work that goes into watermelon farming and it is hard labor, too.

The last watermelon video is one of my favorite songs for kids. My very first year teaching kindergarten my kiddos designed their own version of the song to perform for the parents, my heart still melts after all these years! “Down By the Bay” by the Learning Station.

Additional FREE Resources

The final four resources are from some of my peers on Teacher Pay Teacher. Even if you are not a traditional classroom teacher any caregiver can download free and /or purchase these teacher created resources from the TpT website.

SOURCE: Deana Thelen of First Grade Chatter

I LOVE this idea! Creating a keepsake book for the class is cool. My class would have really liked to have made one of these. The download is a template for the cover and an easy to follow page for young learners.

How fun is this little freebie. Having kids use a magnifying glass to find the words in the picture, is just perfect for young learners! Plus, when they are finished kids can color the picture. All 15 words are watermelon related. Brilliant!

Adjectives, crafts, and watermelon related words all in one fun activity. Totally cute! Winner!!!

This freebie is really cute, too! Watermelon Syllable Counting is one that you are going to want to use over and over. Center option, too! I would recommend laminating. Cute!

This freebie is from my own TpT store and is a sample to a larger paid farmers’ market packet that includes a variety of fresh foods you can find at the market.

Thank you for taking the time to read my collection of free watermelon resources. These can be used with the Farmer’s Market Poetry Journal packet paid resource. The packet contains 10 original poems and clip art for young learners to paste and illustrate into their poetry journals.

Thank you, see you soon!!