Strawberry Picking – a Toddler Trick for outdoors

Strawberries are an absolute favourite in our household so we have come up with a great way of having a strawberry picking experience in your own back yard. Over the holidays we were lucky enough to actually go strawberry picking, so we have also  given you some tips and ideas of mounting your own strawberry exbidition if you are lucky enough to live near a strawberry garden as there is nothing like picking and eating sun kissed fruit on a summers day.

 This toddler trick is perfect for any toddler.

 Strawberry picking at home

 What you need:

• - Punnet of strawberries
• - 4 -5 small container lids
• - A toddler sized container to collect the strawberries in

How to play:

1. Divide your strawberries between the lids, 3-4 strawberries per lid.

2. Dot the strawberry filled lids around the gardenGive your toddler the container and demonstrate how to pick up the strawberries off the lid and place in the bucket – it won’t take them long to get the idea.

3. Encourage them to sample the strawberries as they go – as that is the best part of strawberry picking and all part of the fun.

4. Wash the strawberries when you get inside and chop up to serve with icecream or yoghurt and lots of praise for the strawberry picker!

Strawberry picking outing

Strawberries really are the perfect fruit for toddlers to pick;  with the plants being so low to the ground it makes it very easy for your toddler to pull off the branches and navigate themselves around the garden.  Most pick-your-own gardens are very tolerant of children but be sure to ask if there are any ‘rules’ before you head out.

What you need:

• - A pick-your-own strawberry (or other fruit) garden; local papers or a quick internet search should help you to find one
• - Sun block and a sun hat (there won’t be much, if any, shade)
• - Sturdy shoes in case there are prickles
• - Clothes that won’t show the berry stains- red is the best!
• - Water bottle because it is thirsty work
• - Wipes for a quick wipe down before jumping back in the car – strawberry tasting can be messy!

What to do:

1. Select a picking space that is away from others so your toddler can focus on the job at hand. It is best that you hold the container for the strawberries and that your toddler puts their strawberries into the communal lot.

2. Show your toddler how to lift up the leaves to find the red strawberries that are hiding there.  Show them the difference between the green and red berries and get them to pluck a few red ones and put them in the container with your close supervision.

3. I had expected an absolute over-kill of strawberry eating but inspite of strawberries being my toddler’s favourite fruit she turned out to be very intent on picking and not so interested in eating!  She did nibble on a few (as did we all) but by in large she picked far more than she ateIt really didn’t take long – probably 15-20 minutes of actual picking to fill two large containers between the four of us.

4. My toddler had a lot of fun just running up and down the rows, showing us the big berries she had found and checking out all the strawberries in the containers.