Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom Fruit and Veggie Games Color Call Students form a circle, with one player in the center. The student in the center throws a beanbag to a player on the rim, and calls out a color. The player who catches the beanbag responds by naming a fruit or vegetable of the color called, and then throws the beanbag back to the center player while calling a new color. Now the student in the center must name an appropriate fruit or vegetable. The game goes on in this manner, with colors repeated, if necessary. When a player on the rim fails to catch to beanbag or cannot name a fruit or veggie of the color called, he or she is eliminated. When the student in the center drops the beanbag or answers incorrectly, he or she leaves the game, and the questioner moves to the center. The game continues until one player remains—the winner.   Fruit Basket Students sit in a cicle with one player in the center. The center player assigns the name of a fruit to various circle players. The center player calls out “All apples change places with all pears,” or similar. While the two groups scramble to change places, he or she tries to get one of the seats. The center player may also call out the name of several kinds of fruits at once. “Fruit basket turn over” means all students must change seats.   Fruits and Veggies Divide players into two equal lines, one called “Fruit” and the other called “Veggies.” Teams stand about five feet apart, facing each other on opposite sides of a center line. Behind each group of players and about 25 feet away, is a goal line. When the game leader calls out “Fruits!’ that group turns and runs toward its own goal line, with the Veggies in pursuit. Any Fruit tagged before crossing the line joins the other side. The action continues with the leader giving each side a fairly even number of chances to chase their oponents. Fruit, Vegetable, Grain Players sit in a circle, with one student (the caller) in the center. The caller points to any other student and says, “Fruit, Vegetable, Grain—Grain!” By the count of ten, the student must then name a grain (or fruit or vegetable) not previously mentioned. If successful, he or she sits in the center of the circle. If not, the same student remains in center, calling on a different student to name a specific food. Variation: Root, Leaf, Fruit, Stem—The student in the center calls out “Root,” “Leaf,” “Fruit or Stem.” By the count of ten, the student called upon must name a vegetable or fruit that meets the criteria called. Fruit and Vegetable Pairs (Mixer) Cut an assortment of fruits and vegetables in half, or cut pictures from magazines or the Oklahoma Fruits pattern page and cut them in half. Each player is given half the fruit or vegetable or picture. On signal, all scurry about to find their partners. Garden is Ready Students sit in chairs scattered around a room. Without telling the others what he or she has chosen, each student chooses the name of a vegetable that grows in the garden. One player serves as the gardener. He or she stands and says: “The garden is ready to harvest.” Walking around the room, he or she calls out the names of various garden vegetables. When a player hears the name of his or her vegetable, he or she gets up and walks behind the gardener. When most of the vegetables have been called out of their seats, the gardener shouts: “Salad.” At this the students must find new seats. The last student to find a seat becomes the new gardener. Guess My Name Cut out pictures of fruits or vegetables from magazines or the Oklahoma Fruits and Oklahoma Vegetables pattern pages. Without letting the players see the pictures, pin one to each player's back. The players circulate around and ask each other questions to try to identify what fruit or vegetable they are representing. Any question may be asked except the direct one, “What am I?” The first player to guess his or her fruit or vegetable is the winner, but the game continues until all or most of the players have guessed what they are. Observation Place several different vegetables on a table. Have students stand around the table for one or two minutes and try to memorize the vegetables. Cover the vegetables with a table cloth, and have students write down as many as they can remember. After three or four minutes, call time and collect the lists. The player who has written correctly the greatest number of vegetables wins. Tossed Salad The players sit on chairs in a circle, with one player, the grocer, in the center. The grocer gives each of the others the name of a vegetable. He or she then calls out the names of any two vegetables. The two students with these names quickly exhange places, while the grocer tries to get one of their seats. Of the three, whoever does not find a seat becomes the grocer for the next round. At any time, the grocer may call out “Tossed Salad,” and all the players scramble for new seats. Rutabaga Bring a rutabaga and other tough-skinned fruits and vegetables to class. Have players sit in a circle and pass the rutabaga around as they count from left to right, starting with the number one. When the number five or any multtiple of five comes up, the word “Rutabaga” is called out instead. Match the other vegetables to different numbers, and play the game with different multiples. Variation: Play the game with sevens. Whenever “Rutabaga” (or whatever) is called, the direction of the number-calling is reversed. If the game progresses into the 70s, the counting changes to “rutabaga 1, rutabaga 2,” etc. Whenever a player makes a mistake, he or she gets one penalty point and starts the game from the beginning again. Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Department of Education www.agclassroom.org/ok Back to Games Back to Food and Fun