Peanut Day

March is National Peanut Month, a time to honor the peanut and it's most popular product, peanut butter. Choose any day during March to celebrate. Besides doing the activities listed below, you might wish to plan a few peanut games. For example, have a Peanut Toss, a Peanut Hunt, or have a Peanut Race and let the kids push peanuts across the floor with their noses. Follow up by providing handfuls of peanuts for counting, shelling, and tasting.

Peanut Shell Collages

Use this activity to recycle peanut shells saved from the other activities in this unit. Cut peanut shapes from heavy brown paper bags or brown construction paper. Pour glue into shallow containers and set out bowls of peanut shells. Then let the kids dip the shells (rounded side up) into the glue and then place them all over their peanut shapes.

The Peanut Plant

Explain that although we think of peanuts as nuts they really belong to the same family as peas and beans. Then use the following poem to help children understand how peanuts grow.

Up through the ground the peanut plant grows,
(Crouch down near floor)
Peeking out its little green nose.
(Slowly start to rise)

Reaching, reaching for the sky,

(Raise arms above head)
Growing, growing, growing high,
(Stand on tiptoe)

Then the flower starts to grow,

(Make a circle with arms)
Bur it doesn't grow up! Not it! Oh, no!
(Shake head)
Down it goes, sending shoots underground,
(Bend over and touch floor with fingers)
And there grow the peanuts, plump and round!
(Kneel and pretend to dig up peanuts)

Children can also color and label the parts of peanut plant on this printable resource.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Let the children help shell a package of unsalted roasted peanuts. Then have them grind the peanuts in a food grinder. Mix the ground nuts with 1/4 softened margarine and add salt to taste. Serve on crackers, apple slices, or celery sticks. Or, for a special treat, spread on slices of whole-wheat toast and top with warm applesauce.

Variation: Make peanut butter in a blender, using 1 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil for each cup of peanuts.

 Printable Activities