Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
Fruit and Vegetables
Current research suggests that a growing number of children are overweight and spending
less time in active play and exercise. As a result, there is increasing community awareness of
the need to establish healthy eating and exercise habits in early childhood.
In this series, we take a playful look at fruit and vegetables. During the week we feature a
fresh fruit and vegetable store and a Farm Calendar that includes many different types of
fruits and vegetables. We also include stories, songs and cooking experiences that highlight
good health through a playful approach to diet and exercise. We encourage children and
their families to use these experiences to explore the smells, textures and tastes of different
fruit and vegetables.
Page 1 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
Monday
SONGS
Tutti Frutti
Composers: Richard Penniman, Dorothy La
Bostrie & Joe Lubin
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts
Composer: Fred Heatherton
PRESENTERS
Alex Papps – Jay Laga’aia
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
TOLD STORY
Humpty and the Bean Stalk
(A story told by the Play School team)
FILM
Meerkats at Taronga Zoo
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Visit your local greengrocer and choose
lots of different fruits and vegetables to use
in the kitchen.
Make your own pretend fruit and
vegetables using household objects,
recycled materials, crepe paper and other
art & craft materials.
Dress up like a farmer!
Crazy, Crazy Conga
Composers: Chris Harriott & Simon Hopkinson
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Oh What a Beautiful Morning
Composers: Richard Rodgers & Oscar
Hammerstein II
Publisher: Williamson Music Co./EMI
Hop Hippity Hop
Composers: Peter Dasent & Garth Frost
Publisher: Origin/Control
We’re Going Up
Composer: Ron Gamack
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Shaky Shaky
Composers: Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field, Murray
Cook & Greg Page
Publisher: Wiggly Tunes
Round and Round and Round We Go
Composer: Colin Buchanan
Publisher: Rondor
This is the Way
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Page 2 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Healthy Salad
What you need:
Lettuce
Celery
Apples
Snow peas
Grapes
Olive oil
Lemon
Salt
Caster sugar
Wash the fruit and vegetables.
Tear the lettuce into small pieces.
Chop the celery and apples into bite-sized pieces.
Grate the carrot.
Place all fruit and vegetables, including the snow peas and grapes, in a large salad bowl.
Toss to combine.
To make the dressing, place a tablespoon of olive in a small jar. Add a squeeze of lemon, a
pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Screw the lid on tightly and shake to combine. Pour
dressing over salad and serve.
Page 3 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
Tuesday
SONGS
Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar
Composers: Roberta McLaughlin & Lucille
Wood
Two Little Dickie Birds
Writer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
PRESENTERS
Abi Tucker – Alex Papps
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
STORY
Sleepy Places
Author: Judy Hindley
Illustrator: Tor Freeman
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
FILM
Yoga Class
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Make some healthy fruit kebabs! Pick some
different coloured fruits, cut them into
chunks and thread them onto bamboo
skewers.
Go for a walk and see if you can see
and/or hear the birds in your
neighbourhood.
Hanging Around
Composer: Don Spencer
Publisher: MCA/Gilbey
Everybody’s Got a Body
Writer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
I Jump Out of Bed in the Morning
Writer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
A-Jump
Composers: Roberta McLaughlin & Lucille
Wood
Publisher: Bowmar
Ten in the Bed
Writer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Page 4 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
MAKE AND DO
Exploring Fruit!
Visit your local greengrocer and buy a selection of different fruits. Take them home and use
your senses to explore them!
First, close your eyes and use your hands to feel each fruit. You might like to ask someone to
pass you different types of fruit whilst your eyes are still closed. Try guessing what they are by
the way they feel!
Open your eyes and look closely at the colour, size and shape of each fruit.
Ask an adult to cut each fruit open. Compare the inside to the outside. Note differences in
colour, pattern, smell and texture.
Ask an adult to cut the fruit into small segments for eating. Notice the differences in flavour
and texture – sweet, sour, juicy, dry, soft, crisp, hard, etc.
Page 5 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
Wednesday
SONGS
Watermelon
Composers: Peter Dasent & Arthur Baysting
Publisher: Origin/Control
Fruit Salad
Composers: Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field, Murray
Cook & Greg Page
Publisher: Wiggly Tunes
PRESENTERS
Alex Papps – Rhys Muldoon
There’s a Worm at the Bottom of My Garden
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
Put on Your Hat
Writer: Colin Buchanan
Publisher: Rondor
STORY
A New House for Mouse
Author and Illustrator: Petr Horacek
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
Dingle Dangle Scarecrow
Composers: Molly & Geoffrey Russell -Smith
Publisher: EMI
FILM
Milliner Makes a Hat
(Play School, ABC)
I Like Dogs
Writer: John William Fox
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
IDEAS FOR LATER
Create a compost bin in your garden using
an old plastic bucket and food scraps. The
worms will love it!
Make a recipe book and fill it with pictures
of your favourite foods.
Use recycled materials, such as cardboard
boxes, shoe boxes, scrap paper and
cardboard to make cosy homes for your
toys.
Dress up as a scarecrow using an old shirt
and hat and a pair of gardening gloves.
Page 6 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
MAKE AND DO5
How to Make a Fruit Salad
How to Make a Scarecrow
You will need:
A range of fresh fruits
Large mixing bowl
An orange
You will need:
Broom
A balloon, or an old stocking and
newspaper
Marker
Tape
Old shirt and hat
Wash fruit and peel if necessary.
Ask an adult to cut fruit into bite-sized chunks.
Mix fruit together in a large bowl.
Use an old broom for the body of your
scarecrow.
Squeeze an orange and pour the juice over
the fruit salad. Toss to combine.
Blow up a balloon or fill an old stocking with
newspaper to create a round head.
Serve and enjoy!
Draw on eyes, a mouth and nose with a
marker.
Tape your scarecrow’s head to the broom
handle.
Dress the scarecrow in an old shirt and hat.
Place your scarecrow in the garden!
Page 7 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
Thursday
SONGS
Making Things (It’s Fun to Make Things)
Composers: S. Aplin & P. Barton
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Bags
Composer: Don Spencer
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
PRESENTERS
Georgie Parker – Jay Laga’aia
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
TOLD STORY
Soup to Share
(A story told by the Play School team)
FILM
Building a Cubby House
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Eat a fruit or vegetable that you’ve never
tried before!
Play shops using fruit and vegetables and a
home-made shopping bag.
Let’s Go Walking
Composers: Satis Coleman & Alice Thorne
Publisher: The Willis Music Co. (c/o Campbell
Connelly)
Tutti Frutti
Composers: Richard Penniman, Dorothy La
Bostrie & Joe Lubin
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Hot Potato
Composers: Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field, Murray
Cook & Greg Page
Publisher: Wiggly Tunes
May I Come Over to Your Place?
Composer: Henrietta Clark
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Page 8 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Shoulder Bag and a Backpack
You will need:
Large paper shopping bags
Craft off-cuts, such as coloured paper, material, ribbon etc.
Glue
Long pieces of ribbon, cardboard or fabric for straps
Tape or stapler
Glue coloured paper, material, ribbon or anything you like onto a paper bag.
Use a long piece of ribbon, fabric or cardboard to create a strap for a shoulder bag. Use two
long pieces of ribbon, fabric or cardboard to create two straps for a backpack. Attach using
tape or a stapler.
Use the bag to play a shopping game!
Page 9 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
How to Make Guacamole
How to Make a Veggie Face
You will need:
1 avocado
1 lemon
Sour cream
You will need:
Guacamole
Carrot sticks
Cherry tomatoes
Celery sticks
Ask an adult to cut the avocado in half and
remove the stone.
Scoop the avocado flesh into a bowl. Add a
squeeze of lemon and mash with a fork until
smooth.
Spoon guacamole onto a plate and flatten out
using the back of the spoon to create a circle.
Use carrot sticks to make a nose and mouth.
Use cherry tomatoes for eyes.
Add a dollop of sour cream and mix well.
Use celery for hair.
Eat and enjoy!
Page 10 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
Friday
SONGS
Like a Leaf or Feather
Composer: Mary Champion De Crespigny
Publisher: EMI Music
This is the Way
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Who Do You Think I Should be Today?
Composers: Ann North & Martin Wesley-Smith
PRESENTERS
Rhys Muldoon – Alex Papps
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
STORY
Mr McGee and the Blackberry Jam
Author and Illustrator: Pamela Allen
Publisher: Puffin Books
FILM
Gymnastics
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Rake up the fallen leaves in your garden.
Create a pile of leaves and jump up and
down on them! Then, rake them into a pile,
load them into a wheel barrow and take
them to your compost heap.
Go for a ride in a wheel barrow
Make your own veggie patch! Plant some
seedlings, such as corn or zucchini
seedlings, and watch them grow.
Everybody Likes Fruit and Vegetables
Composer: Jay Mankita
Publisher: Dreams on Tape Music
The Muffin Man
Composer Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Dance with a Dolly
Composers: Terry Shand, Jimmy Eaton &
Mickey Leader
Publisher: J Albert & Son
I Can Tickle Myself
Composers: Peter Dasent, Arthur Baysting &
Justine Clarke
Publisher: Origin
Singing a Cowboy Song
Composers: Margaret Dennison & Margaret
Fletcher
Publisher: EMI Allans Music Australia Pty. Ltd.
Page 11 of 12
Theme Notes
Series 256: Fruit and Vegetables
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Corn Husk Dolly
You will need:
1 corn husk
5 hair ties
Marker
Tissue paper
Tape
Secure a hair tie around the corn husk to form a head.
Use a texta to draw on eyes, a nose and a smiling mouth.
Fold over one piece of corn husk and secure with a hair tie to create an arm. Repeat on the
opposite side.
Cut a small hole in the centre of a square of tissue paper. Slide the tissue paper onto the corn
husk dolly to create a skirt. Secure with tape.
Fold over one piece of corn husk under the skirt and secure with a hair tie to create a leg.
Repeat on the opposite side.
Make your corn husk dolly dance!
Page 12 of 12