Bringing kids along to the farmers’ market is a wonderful way to help them learn about healthy eating, make meaningful community connections, and learn about nature’s bounty directly through their senses. They can also develop an appreciation for the Earth, their hard-working local farmers, and the effort it takes to grow their food.
This collection of numeracy and literacy-based lesson plans, recipe ideas, books, videos, and creative hands-on activities are sure to keep them engaged and exploring for hours!
1. Smelling of Produce Activity
After placing mystery produce in a box, blindfold kids and have them touch and smell the fruits and vegetables to guess what’s inside. Why not offer a reward as an added incentive?
Learn more: Farmers Market Coalition
2. Make a Scavenger Hunt Part of Your Annual Family Tradition
Scavenger hunts are a great way to develop problem-solving and concentration skills while discovering an assortment of fruits and vegetables. Kids are sure to get excited about the gamification element while exploring all the tantalizing sights, smells, and tastes of their local market.
Learn more: Shape Your Future Ok
3. Dramatic Play Idea for Whole Family Entertainment
This adorable dramatic-play center is a fantastic way to develop food literacy and gain an understanding of locally-grown produce. Have kids cut out the free food labels and pin them on assorted baskets of food. Combine family bonding time with creativity for neat experience kids won’t soon forget!
Learn more: Inspired Motherhood
4. Try a List of Vendors’ Questions About Common Produce
Check out this list of questions that kids can use to learn directly from vendors about mutant veggies, dairy farmers, and just exactly how farmers grow all their delicious produce to support the larger community.
Learn more: Keeper of the Home
5. Farmers’ Market Math Activity
Why not teach children about math while they learn about the bountiful food found at their local farmers’ market? This activity can be incorporated into a weekly produce shopping budget as kids determine the cost of putting together a fun recipe from a grocery list of items.
Learn more: Nourish Interactive
6. Farmers’ Market Word Search
This simple word search is an accessible option for early readers. By connecting their developing vocabulary words to a farmer’s market shopping trip, you can help reinforce their budding language skills.
Learn more: Nourish Interactive
7. Read A Themed Book
Follow a young girl as she explores the flowers, baked goods, and rainbow-colored fruits and veggies in this vibrant book that is sure to delight young readers. This is also a great introduction to any farmers’ market trip or can be combined with a simple writing reflection activity after a day of grocery shopping.
Learn more: Amazon
8. Watch a Farmer’s Market Video
This tour of Vancouver’s famous Granville Island Farmers’ Market takes viewers on an exciting adventure as they shop for goodies, enjoy live music, and play the day away. Can kids spot all the seagulls on the pier, find all the yellow, green, and purple veggies, or keep track of the farmer’s names?
Learn more: Brecky Breck
9. Fresh Produce Shopping Memory Game
This fun farmers’ market memory game combines vocabulary words with critical thinking skills while challenging players to match up the items on their shopping lists with the correct cards.
Learn more: Twinkl
10. Favorite Foods Count and Graph
This count and graph activity cleverly combines basic numeracy skills with an opportunity to teach kids about healthy eating habits by featuring colorful farmers’ market illustrations. It can be combined with a tally, bar, or pie graph for additional data skills practice.
Learn more: Twinkl
11. Counting Coins at the Farmers’ Market
The farmers’ market is a great place to learn about counting money and the value of various coins and bills. Connecting mathematical learning to real-world applications is a fantastic way to reinforce recall and motivate student learning.
Learn more: Education
12. Create a Farmers’ Market Map
Help your little farmer learn position words and geometry vocabulary with this fun market mapping activity. Can they map all the produce and correctly label each of the stalls?
Learn more: Education
13. Learn Vocabulary with Flash Cards
These vibrant flashcards are an easy way to teach counting, fruit and vegetable names, and categories, as well as develop young imaginations through imaginative play. Kids can also use them to match up with real products on a family outing to their local market.
Learn more: The Littles & Me
14. Farmers’ Market Printable Pack
This comprehension farmers’ market collection consists of addition and subtraction tasks as well as plenty of hands-on sequencing practice. Students can compare and contrast healthy and unhealthy foods while considering what choices they would make on a local trip.
Learn more: The Fraggle Momma
15. Try a STEAM-Based Activity
Pretend-play with colorful produce is a great opportunity to teach important critical thinking skills. Young learners can discuss what they might see at a farmers’ market, the cost of a piece of fruit and whether they would be a buyer or a seller.
Learn more: The Keeper of the Memories
16. Enjoy a Farmers’ Market Recipe
This delicious collection of recipes makes comparing, smelling, and tasting all your products that much more fun! Why not have kids choose from recognizable foods and decide what meal they would like to prepare later at home?
Learn more: Nest of Posies
17 Build-A-Bridge Activities For Students Of All Ages