Farmers' Market

Art/Math

Children will buy and sell vegetables and fruit at a play market.

What You Need

• Farmer dress-up/hats (optional)
• Long table or row of desks
• Construction paper
• Crayons, markers
• Scissors
• Play money in pennies, nickels and dimes

What To Do

1. Divide children into two groups: one group will be farmers, and the other will be shoppers.
2. Brainstorm with children a list of fruits and vegetables and assign a price to each one. Pick a price between 1 and 10 cents. Tell the farmers to pick items from the list that they would like to sell, and make cutouts of those fruits and vegetables with the construction paper.
3. Give each shopper a fixed amount of money in nickels, dimes and pennies of play money. Tell them to use their money to buy things they would like at the farmers' market.
4. Encourage the farmers to advertise their produce with signs or sales pitches. Have them think about how they can make their produce look or sound more appealing.
5. Have the two groups gather to discuss what they bought, or how much money they made. Then have the two groups switch roles, and repeat the activity.