peeling a carrot

This practical life activity is designed for 3-6-year-old children. In this activity, children will learn how to peel a carrot using a peeler.

Peeling a Carrot Activity

The peeling of a carrot activity helps in developing fine motor skills in children. This activity has numerous benefits; a few are listed below.

  • It builds the practical life skill of using a vegetable peeler
  • It helps to develop order, coordination, and independence. 
  • It helps a child to become independent
  • It helps to develop social skills and teaches them how to adapt to society.
  • It strengthens the finger muscles and increases concentration.

Material Required for Peeling Activity

  • Bowl 
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Chopping board
  • A carrot

The peeling activity can be performed with other fruits and vegetables like potato, radish, turnip, cucumber, sweet potato, apple, etc.

How to Introduce the Peeling Carrot Activity to the Child?

  1. Wash the carrots under cool running water – Firstly, ask the child to prepare the carrot before peeling it. To do so, wash the carrot thoroughly with water to remove dirt or impurities. It is necessary to remove all pesticides and any lingering dirt as carrots grow under the soil. 
  2. Place a chopping board on the countertop. The chopping board provides a flat surface. It helps in keeping the carrot steady. It also protects the countertop from cuts and scratches made by the peeler. 
  3. Place a Bowl along with the chopping board – The bowl helps to keep the carrot peel as the child removes them from the carrot. It helps to keep the chopping board and countertop clean.
  4. Remove the Tip and Top of the carrot – Ask the child to remove both ends using a knife before peeling the carrot.
  5. Holding the carrot – As shown in the video, ask the child to hold the carrot from the top using their thumb and forefinger of the non-dominant hand. Hold the carrot by tilting it at a 45-degree angle over the chopping board with the carrot top pointing down.
  6. Using a peeler- Place the vegetable peeler against the top of the carrot. A vegetable peeler removes thin skin slices when pressed against the carrot. Now, to peel the carrot, push the vegetable peeler downwards along the surface of the carrot to its tip. Repeat the process until the entire peel of the carrot has been removed. 
  7.  Clean the chopping board – Ask the child to put the carrot’s skin into the bowl and clean the surface of the chopping board. This step is essential as it teaches children to keep the environment clean by responsibly disposing of the vegetable peels.
  8. Rinse the carrot: Rinse the carrot once again to remove any dirt left on the carrot.

Watch the video to learn how to peel a carrot correctly. Invite the child to repeat this peeling activity and build their confidence. 

The activity instills a sense of achievement and contribution as the child helps in preparing food and enables them to carry out daily household chores.

Related Video Resources :

Some other peeling activities video links:

For more practical life lessons, click here.

Video created by: Strykun Olena

Tags

  • English
  • Practical Life
  • primary