[Early Childhood Education] Enjoy Autumn! Play and Activity Ideas Inspired by Sweet Potatoes
Many schools and daycare centers probably hold sweet potato digging as a regular autumn event.
Even though everyone gets covered in dirt, they work hard together to dig up the potatoes.
Those memories make you grow so attached to them that you almost don’t want to eat them! In this article, we’ll introduce play ideas related to potato digging—that is, to sweet potatoes! They’re perfect for soaking up the autumn mood, so be sure to include them in your recreational activities in September, October, and November.
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[Childcare] Enjoy Autumn! Sweet Potato-Themed Games & Activities (21–30)
Sweets made with paper cups
@kichijyo Food education cooking 🍠✨ Easy sweets using paper cups.#Nursery school#Today's activitiesFood Education#Cooking#SweetPotatoAutumnpaper cuptranslationGunma PrefectureFujioka City#Kichijo Nursery School
♬ Cooking-Forest-CM-Ukulele-POP ♬(941626) – ImoKenpi-Dou
Made with sweet potatoes! Here are some dessert ideas using paper cups.
Many preschools and kindergartens may incorporate cooking into food education, right? This time, let’s try making steamed sweet potato cupcakes in paper cups.
The children are using knives to further cut the sweet potatoes into smaller pieces after they’ve been sliced into rounds.
It’s best for teachers or guardians to watch closely and have the kids try in small groups.
After mixing the batter, use a spoon to pour it into the paper cups.
Be sure to capture the children’s focused expressions as they work carefully.
The moment they take a bite of something they made themselves, they look proud and delighted!
Sweet potato drawing through feeling
Autumn vegetable: sweet potatoes.
Why not try drawing sweet potatoes freely? Natural things come in all shapes; no two are exactly the same.
So it’s okay to draw them any way you like—there’s no such thing as a mistake in the finished picture.
Enjoy the beautiful purple of the skin, or the vivid yellow revealed when you break it open, and choose whatever form you want to depict.
There’s no right or wrong, so even if you feel you’re not good at drawing, feel free to give it a try.
And after you finish your artwork, you can eat the sweet potatoes—an excellent autumn delicacy you can enjoy again and again.
sweet potato tempura
Using your favorite stuffed animals or dolls—or between parent and child in homes with little ones—why not try a hand-play activity set to a song themed around the autumn treat, sweet potatoes? Let’s enjoy the steps of making sweet potato tempura with fun, cheerful lyrics and motions.
Washing and cutting the potatoes, dusting them with flour, frying them in oil—this hand-play activity lets children learn the steps of making sweet potato tempura while they play.
It’s also fun to use a favorite doll during the activity.
Alternatively, you can lay your child down and play in place of a doll, turning it into a special parent–child bonding time.
Sweet potato taste comparison
Sweet potatoes aren’t just sweet and delicious—they’re also a superb autumn vegetable packed with nutrients like vitamin C.
And there are many varieties to choose from.
Why not try comparing different kinds, enjoying the differences in sweetness levels and textures? Once you bake them the tastiest way, line them up and start your taste test.
The differences are obvious even from the cross-sections when you break them open: some are moist and velvety, others more dry and fluffy.
The colors vary too, from deep orange to pale whitish tones.
A side-by-side tasting might help you find your perfect sweet potato.
Sweet potato origami
Here’s an introduction to making a sweet potato—an autumn favorite—out of origami.
There are no complicated steps, so kids can enjoy making it while learning how to fold.
Once you have purple and yellow origami paper ready, let’s start by folding the skin.
After you’ve folded the base skin piece, make the inside using the yellow paper.
For the finishing touch, use a pen to draw the sweet potato’s texture, and add a cute face to complete it.
It’s okay if the folds are a bit uneven—real sweet potatoes come in all sorts of shapes.
If you make a lot, it’s nice to stick them on the wall as decorations.
Anno Imo Dance
Sweet potatoes are a fluffy, sweet, and popular autumn vegetable.
Among them, Annou-imo—a specialty variety from Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu—is especially sweet.
When you bake it slowly and carefully, even more sweetness and syrupy nectar ooze out, making it taste like a dessert all on its own.
Why not turn the features of Annou-imo into fun lyrics and a dance, and have everyone try dancing together? As you sing and dance this cheerful routine, you’ll naturally learn all about Annou-imo.
After doing the potato dance, you might just find yourself craving the sweet, round little shape of an Annou-imo.
Picture Book “Satsuma no Oimo”
How about enjoying the autumn season by reading a picture book themed around sweet potatoes? If you weave fun songs into the colorful illustrations during read-aloud time, it’s sure to keep little ones captivated.
Move the story along with a lively rhythm—almost like a kamishibai picture-card show—and young children will have a great time.
Since the sweet potatoes become characters and unfold a humorous story, you might find yourself laughing along the way.
Try varying your voice to match each character—sometimes loud, sometimes soft—to add expression and make your reading even more engaging.