• "The Mystery Box" is a preschool or kindergarten activity to be used in helping children identify various fruits and vegetables in a fun and exciting way.

• The children will reach into the box and try to guess what fruit or vegetable they are feeling, using on ly size, shape and texture as a clue.

• Approximately 5 - 10 minutes per chjild, depending upon how many items are being guessed, and how many times the child wants to repeat the activity.

• A small to medium sized cardboard box (larger than a shoe box)
• Contact paper
• Fruit and vegetable pictures for decoration, if desired
• Fabric flap or old knit shirt sleeve to cover "reach in" hole that will be cut
• Five to seven various real fruits and vegetables that can be handled a lot without becoming "squishy"

• Cut an dult-sized round "arm hole" in the front of the box.
• Make a "pull down" door in the back of the box for placing and removing item.
• Cover the entire outside of the box with contact paper.
• Cut the contract paper covering the "arm hole" into "pie wedges" from center toward box, and fold sections to inside of box to form opening.
• Cover the hold in any manner that lets the child reach into the box without seeing what is inside. (I used an old knit shirt sleeve attached around the hole with 16 evenly spaced brass paper fasteners. Open the paper fasteners on the inside of the box and cover the "wings" with heavy tape to prevent them from pulling out.) Decorate the box with question marks cut from a contrasting color of contact paper, or use fruit and vegetable pictures, or decorate any other way you wish.

Activity

• Have the child close his or her eyes.
• Place a fruit or vegetable inside the box.
• The child will reach into the box and pick up the item. He or shee will try to guess what the object is without looking at it. After the child guesses, he or she may pull the object out through the hole to see if the guess was correct.
• The teach may sit on the opposite side of the box and look into the back opening. The teacher can then give some clues about the object in the child's hand if the child seems to be having trouble guessing the fruit or vegetable. For example, the teacher might say for a potato, "The vegetable you are holding is brown. It grows under the gorund. It can be baked int he oven, mased with milk, or made into French fries."

• This game could be adapted for use with adult participants by using an assortment of kitchen gadgets inside the box instead of the fruits and vegetables. See if the participants can name the items and/or tell how they are used.