Physical
Items required: a collection of plastic fruits, two of each kind if possible.
Gather your participants around the table and greet each one with their first name and a hand touch.
Keep the container of fruit on the floor near your chair. Bring up one piece of fruit at a time. With each new fruit ask for verbal recognition but, if it is not forthcoming, provide the appropriate label. Then give the fruit to one individual and encourage them to hold it in both hands and feel its texture and shape. See that it gets passed to the next individual until everyone has handled the fruit. When all the fruits have been labeled and handled, ensure that each participant has at least one piece of fruit. (The objective is NOT to gain a verbal label from participants but to facilitate their physical involvement). Bring up the empty box and request the return of the fruits one at a time; ie, “Let’s put the apples in the box”.
If it is difficult for the individual with the requested fruit to recognize it, move the box closer to that person and make the request again.
Cognitive
Items required: a collection of plastic fruits (two of each kind if possible), laminated color cards (construction paper) one for each color fruit, laminated cards with fruit labels, and a flat basket.
Gather participants around the table, greet each one.
There are several activities that can be done using the fruit and the cards. (1) Give each participant a set of two, three, or four color cards. Present them with a fruit and ask that they place the fruit on the appropriate colored square. (2) Give each participant a set of fruits, two, three, or four. Place the basket on the table. Hold up a label card and ask that they read the card aloud. Assist as necessary. Once the label has been decided, ask anyone with that fruit to place it in the basket. (3) Place one label in front of each participant. Hold up one fruit and ask for the appropriate label. When it is located, place the fruit on the label. (With a small group you can then add a second label.) Once everyone has a fruit on their label(s), end the activity by requesting the fruit be put back in the box, one at a time; “If you have an apple (banana, pear, etc.) , put it in the box”. You could also use color rather than label.
