Exploring Plums with Pestle and Mortars

This week, our preschool children enjoyed using pestle and mortars to squash fresh plums picked from our beautiful plum tree in the garden. They explored the fruit by crushing, mashing, and mixing it, noticing how the texture, colour, and smell changed. The children were excited to share their observations and describe what they could see, feel, and smell.

This hands-on activity supported learning across several areas of the EYFS. It developed Communication and Language as the children learned new vocabulary such as pestle, mortar, crush, and squash, while talking about their discoveries. Physical Development was enhanced through the controlled movements needed to use the pestle, strengthening fine motor skills and hand muscles.

The activity also supported Understanding the World as the children explored fruit grown in our own garden and investigated how natural materials can change through physical action, encouraging curiosity and early scientific thinking. Mathematics was promoted as they compared sizes, quantities, and used language such as more, less, bigger, and smaller. The children also demonstrated Personal, Social and Emotional Development by taking turns, sharing resources, and working cooperatively throughout the activity.

It was a wonderful sensory experience that encouraged curiosity, exploration, and an appreciation of the natural world through hands-on learning.