Watermelon Paper Plates

What You Need:

• Watermelon with seeds
• Paper plate
• Marker or crayon
• Scissors
• Red and green paint
• Paintbrush
• Glue

What You Do:

1. Before you begin the art project, observe the watermelon with your child. Slice it up and take a look at it. What color is it on the outside? What about the inside? What different kinds of seeds are there?
2. When you’ve finished slicing, it’s time to start snacking! While your child is eating the watermelon, ask them to guess the number of seeds in the slice. Help them count out the actual number of seeds as they eat. How close was their estimate? Did their slice have more or less than they guessed? Set the seeds aside for the project.
3. Once they are done snacking, it’s time to start creating! Take a paper plate and draw a straight line across the middle.
4. Help your child cut the paper plate in half by cutting on the line. Familiarity with scissors is an important component of kindergarten readiness. Teach your child how to hold the scissors correctly with their thumb in the little hole. Remind them to keep their “thumbs up” when holding the scissors and the item to be cut. This is also a great opportunity to talk about shapes. What shape is the paper plate? What shape is it after they cut it?
5. Take one of the paper plate halves and have your child paint the ridged outer rim green. This will be the watermelon rind.
6. Have your child paint the inner portion of the plate red. This will be the fruit.
7. Now it’s time to use those watermelon seeds. Let your child squeeze dots of glue onto the red portion of the plate. Have them place the seeds on the dots of glue one at a time. Picking up the little seeds is great fine motor skill practice. Count the seeds together as your child picks them up. When all of the seeds are glued onto the plate, you'll have a brightly colored slice of watermelon art!
8. Set your watermelon art outside to dry.

When you're all done with the project, think about what other fruit art you can make. Combining nutrition and art is a great way to get your child eating healthy and having fun at the same time!