Pre-K / Kindergarten

Art

Popped Animals!

Materials Needed: construction paper, glue popped and unpopped kernels, googly eyes

The children dip popped and unpopped pieces into glue and place on their paper to create their own animal!

More Than Just Painting
Materials:  easel, paper, poppoed corn,thin tray, paint, stick, glue

Paint with popped corn at the easel during this theme. They can hold a piece and dip into a thin tray of paint or you can glue it to the end of a stick or brush.

 

Cooking/Snacks

Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them to learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific themed questions while making these fun snacks!

 

Popcorn Balls

There are tons of popcorn ball recipes online or you could use one of your favorites.  Kids love to make popcocorn balls

Materials Needed:  Pre-popped popcorn, food service gloves, smocks,  popcorn ball recipe ingredietns 

Cinnamon Apple Popcorn

Ingredients needed: 3 quarts popped corn; 1/4 cup butter, 1 cup dried apples, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 tablesppons sugar.

Pour melted butter over popcorn. Add sugar and cinnamon to popcorn and mix. Microwave on high for one to two minutes. Stir in apple chunks.

 

Games

Bingo!

Materials: Use any bingo game you have: numbers, letters, shapes, animals, etc. However, use popped corn instead of the paper or plastic markers!

Number Recognition

In advance, write the numbers 1-10 (or the numbers you are working on with your students) on individual colored index cards.

Glue the correct number of popped corn on each card.

Provide an additional set of numbered cards WITHOUT the corn on it.

Provide a bowl of popped corn and let the children count out the correct numbers onto their cards (and, of course, eat some popcorn, too!)

Patterns

In advance, make up and glue patterns on strips of paper. (kernel, popped, kernel popped or kernel, kernel popped, kernel, kernel, popped).

Encourage the children to either duplicate the pattern you made or extend the pattern with what would go next.

Science

Estimating and Predicting

Tape a line where the children will stand. Give them each a sticky dot. Tell them to place the dot on the floor where they think they will be able to throw a piece of popcorn to. Then have them throw a piece! Were they correct?

Have them re-predict and throw again!

EXTENSION: Give them rulers and tape measures to “measure” how far their corn went!

Songs

I Am Popcorn (Sung to Frere Jacques)

I am popcorn. I am popcorn.

See me pop. See me pop.

Pop pop pop pop popcorn

Pop pop pop pop popcorn

See me pop. See me pop.

Popcorn

Pop, Pop, Pop (clap at each pop)

Pour the corn into the pot (pretend to pour)

Pop, Pop, Pop! (clap at each pop)

Takeit and shake it till it’s hot (pretend to shake a pot)

Pop, Pop, Pop! (clap at each pop)

Lift the lid What have we got? (pretend to lift the lid off a pot)

POPCORN!!!!

Credit: Pre-school plan-it – https://www.preschool-plan-it.com

Elementary School

The Popcorn Book Lessons

Students in grades K-3 read and use Tomie dePaola’s The Popcorn Book to study corn and complete math and language arts activities.

Popcorn History

Students in grades 3-12 research and create a timeline of the history of popcorn.

Popcorn Geography

Students in grades 3-8 use corn kernels to create a “Top Corn-Producing States” map or graph.

Popcorn Econmics

Students in grades 4-8 experience scarcity, relate the concept of scarcity to situations in school and their community, and learn that people make choices because of scarcity.