This week in our preschool classroom at RisingOaks | John Sweeney, we embarked on a fun and engaging lemon exploration as we prepared lemonade for our upcoming fundraiser. We invited each child to bring in a lemon, and together we collected more than 20 lemons! What began as a simple ingredient-gathering activity quickly turned into a week filled with hands-on learning, sensory exploration, collaboration, and discovery.
In the afternoon, the children explored what happens when we roll lemons on the table. Using their upper-body strength, they pushed, rolled, and even twirled the lemons, developing their gross-motor skills and hand-eye coordination. The children worked alongside one another and eagerly shared their discoveries. Some children began asking, “Is it soft enough yet?” This question opened the door to learning about how rolling the lemons helps soften the inside and makes it easier to release the juice when squeezing.
The following day, the children eagerly took turns using the lemon squeezer. Squeezing the lemons required effort and perseverance, providing an excellent opportunity to strengthen the small muscles in their hands, wrists, and arms. The children also practiced patience, turn-taking, cooperation, and self-regulation as they waited for their opportunity to squeeze. They were proud to see the juice collect and to know that their efforts were contributing to something we would share with our community.
To extend the children's learning, Simone created a sensory lemonade stand provocation. The children were able to use pretend play to recreate the lemonade-making experience, complete with a sign for their stand. Through this dramatic play, they explored communication, social interaction, imagination, and early mathematical concepts such as counting, serving, and exchanging pretend items. The children were excited to practice what they had been learning in the classroom and enjoyed taking on different roles within their lemonade stand.
Our lemon exploration continued even after the lemons had been squeezed. Simone set up the remaining lemon halves in a sensory bin, inviting the children to explore them using their hands and senses. Some children were initially hesitant to touch or investigate the lemons. Ciaran, however, showed curiosity and confidence when he decided to taste a lemon half. Even as he puckered his face at the sour taste, he continued to explore it by licking the lemon until he had finished his piece. His experience demonstrated a willingness to investigate something unfamiliar and make his own sensory discoveries.
The children's learning extended beyond the classroom and into our lemonade fundraiser. They were excited to see their classroom experiences become part of a real community event. Some children proudly wore lemon-themed clothing and helped attract attention to our fundraiser. They were able to share their excitement about the lemonade they had helped make and connect their classroom learning with a meaningful experience in the wider community. It was wonderful to see their sense of pride and belonging as they contributed to a shared goal.
As our two days of fundraising came to an end, we still had a few lemons remaining. Rather than letting the exploration end, the children were invited to try another taste experience. Since we had added sugar to our lemonade, we wondered what a lemon would taste like with salt instead. The children sampled a small piece of lemon with salt and compared the experience with the sweet lemonade. While this combination was not as popular as the lemonade, it encouraged the children to explore different flavours, express their preferences, and make connections between taste and sensory experiences.
Overall, it was a wonderful week of lemons, learning, and laughter! The children were actively involved from beginning to end and had opportunities to explore, question, experiment, and share their learning in meaningful ways. Most importantly, they experienced the joy of seeing their efforts come together to create something they could prou
dly share with others. 
