Recent random veggie yumminess in my life

10: 30 a.m. Hungry. Pick arugula from garden. Pour last summer’s Brandywine canned tomatoes  into favorite bumblebee bowl. Open up snow pea pods that look weary and toss their little tiny peas into soup . Eat. Yum!

Next up are a photos from Easter at my amother-in-law’s house. She’s artful in her tables and reads recipes from magazines. (She’s a philosopher, professor, and artist.)

See what she does with radishes? I don’t know which magazine inspired it. They had some delicious spread underneath and were tasty. Maybe I should make some for the Rah, Rah, Radish  launch party!

Just about the only time we ate collard greens, specifically, was on New Years Day. Then, it was a good luck food, along with black-eyed peas. I grew up in South Carolina and this is a southern U.S. tradition. It also shows up in other countries and cultures, too. Collard greens are a healthy, everyday, part of soul food meals beloved in the South. (more…)

This handout of garden activities, created by librarian Heather Acerro of Ft. Wayne,  goes well with Rah, Rah, Radishes: A Vegetable Chant. It is used with her permission. Click to access this pdf. Sayre ALA 2011 BookTalk Handout2

Act It Out!

Divide students (or teachers) into pairs or small groups. Have each group write out and learn a stanza (four lines). They can decide how to perform it. Here are some aspects of the chant that performers have tried in the past:

saying the entire chant in unison

saying only part in unison

alternating speakers for each word

popping up then sitting down for each speaking turn

adding claps, snaps, and arm shapes

making poster art for each vegetable

bringing real vegetables to show when each is mentioned

Audio samples to help in teaching and reading Rah, Rah, Radishes: a Vegetable Chant and April Pulley Sayre’s other chant books (Trout, Trout, Trout: A Fish Chant; Ant, Ant, Ant: An Insect Chant; and Bird, bird, Bird: a Chirping Chant) are available on the front page of www.aprilsayre.com or athttp://www.aprilsayre.com/2011/04/07/the-chant-books-read-taste-teach/

Here are some concepts to explore during small group and one-on-one readings of Rah, Rah, Radishes: A Vegetable Chant:

Colors and shapes. Engage young readers in discussing what they observe about vegetable colors and frame colors. Study other qualities such as bright, dark, and shiny.

Patterns. Quantities. Are the vegetables dumped straight onto a table? Are they organized in any way? How? Why do you think they are in boxes, piles, and small groups? Who do you think organizes them and why?

Different and the same. Which vegetables are the same? Which are different? Which show up in several parts of the book? Be a vegetable detective!

Vegetable identities. Are there any vegetables your students cannot identify? Research to find other photos of them and compare to the chant photos. (See other books and websites such as the author’s for additional photos.) Even better, bring in the real veggies for hands on study, cross section, drawing, and tasting. Encourage students to use all their senses!

Vegetable math. Encourage readers to count the vegetables. Advanced students might calculate or discuss how much it might cost to buy three baskets, four boxes, and other amounts of vegetables in photos that have prices.

Vegetable art. One of the best ways to know something is to draw it. Why not bring in some live vegetables for children to draw so they can study vegetable colors and shapes?

For garden, harvest, and vegetable book pairings and activities, see the

“In My Garden” handout prepared by children’s librarian Heather Acerro of Allen County, IN.

Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre. New York: Beach Lane Books/S&S, 2011.

Shelf talker (written teaser): What vegetable rhymes with “oh boy”?

BOOKTALK

Keep the front cover of the book hidden. Show the back cover of the book. Ask the audience: “What do you think this book is about?” (Listen/discuss audience suggestions.)

“Hmm…good ideas! Let’s taste a few words and see if you’re right.”

“Repeat after me. Rah, rah, radishes!” (Audience: Rah, rah, radishes.)

“Red and white.” (Audience: Red and white!)

“Carrots are calling.” (Audience: Carrots are calling.)

“Take a bite!” (Audience: Take a bite!)

“This book is about . . .” (Turn over and show cover) “Vegetables! It’s also about exploring a farmer’s market and tasting rhythm and rhyme.”

Just beginning to research veggie links that might be useful for classrooms/educators. Here are a few. Feel free to suggest more

Asian grocery stores are great places to veggie adventure. I’m still learning the names and uses of the exotic fresh produce. Below are some of the vegetables I saw on a recent grocery trip.  Feel free to email me if you can i.d. my mystery roots.

unknownroot

unknown root

unknown root

Thai okra

Lotus root

Chive flowers

Gobo or burdock root

banana flower

Here are some of the main vegetables we could not fit in the rhythm, rhyme, space of Rah, Rah, Radishes: A Vegetable Chant.

1st row: artichoke, avocado, banana squash, and, on the right side of the 4th  photo, bitter melon.

2nd row: celery root, okra, prickly pear leaves, rhubarb.

3rd row: rhubarb, taro root, turban squash, wax beans.