Presentation

  1. 1

    Invite the child. Wash hands and put on aprons.

  2. 2

    Hold the carrot by the top end, with the other end resting on the cutting board.

  3. 3

    Place the peeler at the middle of the carrot and push it down and away from your body in one stroke. Pushing away is the difficulty isolated here.

  4. 4

    Turn the carrot a little and peel the next strip. Continue all the way around.

  5. 5

    Turn the carrot over and peel the other half the same way.

  6. 6

    Put the peels in the bowl. Seeing the bright orange under the peel is the point of interest.

  7. 7

    Invite the child to peel. Then cut the carrot (with an adult) and serve it, and put peels in the compost.

  8. 8

    On another day, show egg peeling (crack on the board, roll gently, peel under water) and orange peeling (start the peel with a thumb at the top).

Extensions, easiest to hardest

  1. Peel a cucumber or zucchini
  2. Peel and separate orange segments to share
  3. Peel eggs and slice them with an egg slicer

Control of error

Unpeeled strips remain visible; the peeler catches if angled too steeply.

Ready to move on when the child…

  • Peels a whole carrot with strokes away from the body
  • Peels an egg without breaking the white apart
  • Cleans up and composts the peels

Guide note

Present the peeler one-to-one and watch the first several uses closely.

Try “pink tower”, “tummy”, “diaper”, “grace and courtesy”, or “October”.