Peeling a Clementine

Safety

Check the school's allergy list before offering this or any food work.
Whole citrus segments in their membrane are slippery and tapered, so the adult removes seeds and cuts each segment in half or smaller before the child eats it.
The child sits to eat, one piece at a time, with an adult within arm's reach.

Presentation

1
Check the allergy list. Invite the child, wash hands together, and put on aprons.
2
Hold up the clementine and name it. Press a thumbnail into the peel at the stem end to make an opening.
3
Pull off one piece of peel slowly and put it in the bowl. Smelling the peel is the point of interest.
4
Hand the clementine to the child. Wait while they pull off the next pieces. Help start a piece only when the child cannot.
5
Show how to push both thumbs into the center at the top and pull the fruit into two halves, then pull off one segment at a time.
6
Remove any seeds. Cut each segment in half with the butter knife, or into smaller pieces for a child under 2.
7
The child sits and eats the pieces one at a time, or offers some to a friend.
8
Put the peel in the compost, wipe the tray, and wash hands, because citrus juice stings small cuts and eyes.

Extensions, easiest to hardest

The child starts the peel themselves with a thumb
Peel off the white threads from a segment
Place one segment on each of several small plates for friends

Control of error

Peel still on the fruit is visible; juice running from a segment shows it was squeezed too hard.

Ready to move on when the child…

Removes the whole peel once it is started, with no more than one request for help
Separates the segments without crushing them
Puts all the peel in the bowl

Guide note

Some feeding guidance allows whole segments for an older toddler who has shown they bite and chew them well. The adult decides for each child by watching them eat, not by age alone.