Grace’s honey tasting

In the story, Grace’s Attic Exploration from the LeapReader™ Read & Write Book Set: Ready, Set, Kindergarten, Grace and her friends enjoy honey tasting. Right now, our local farmer’s markets are filled with many different types of honey! My kids are always begging for honey sticks when we are at the market picking up fruits and vegetables, but I’ve never really tried anything other than supermarket honey that you can buy in the little bear shaped container. We decided to set up our own honey tasting party and it couldn’t have been more fun – or tasty. When shopping for honey at the supermarket, a large jar of a good quality honey can be pretty expensive. We didn’t need a large jar of honey, just several smaller jars. We found that our farmer’s market and the bulk section of our specialty grocery stores had good selections. We purchased 4 ounces each of three different types of local honey. We bought raspberry, clover, and blackberry honey. I was also able to find the honey wands for $1.99 each near the bulk honey. They were a cute addition and the kids loved trying them out.

We set up our honey tasting table with the three local honey types, poured into small glass jars. I wanted the kids to be able to see the slight differences in color through the glass. I put a label on each jar so we would know which variety we were tasting, but it would also be fun to try to guess the type of honey without seeing any labels at all. The flavor of each honey slightly resembles the type of plant they are raised near, which makes it fun to guess. Also on our honey tasting table, we had a platter of crackers, bread, and small rolls. I tried to find very plain tasting crackers and bread. A butter flavored cracker or a graham cracker would have detracted from the honey flavors we were tasting. One last item on our table was a bowl full of wet washcloths. Honey = Sticky and Messy. Wet washcloths are a must!

One of my favorite things about inviting kids to try new food is the opportunity to infuse new language and vocabulary into the experience. Think about trying to use a few of these words as you are tasting the different types of honey.

Vocabulary words

• Sweet
• Sticky
• A bee product
• Slow-flowing
• Golden
• Amber
• Floral
• Berry-flavored
• Runny
• Dripping

When you are finished tasting the honey, chose a group favorite and get ready to head to the kitchen! Search online for a recipe that calls for honey. It’s a great way to spend time in the kitchen and let kids use the honey they have just tasted in a recipe.

Books to extend the learning

If you enjoyed this activity, you might also enjoy reading these books together:

• Busy, Buzzy Bee by Karen Wallace
• Honey Bees: Letters from the Hive by Stephen Buchmann
• Honeybees by Joyce Milton