Cultural+Diversity

Activity Goal
 * When Life Hands You a Lemon, Peel It**
 * When Live Hands You a Lemon, Peel It!**

To show children that despite outside differences, people are often similar on the inside.

Activity Gather a group of young children and give one lemon to each child. Then ask the children to "get to know your lemon." Children will examine their lemons -- smell them, touch them, throw them in the air, and roll them around. After a few minutes, collect the lemons in a big basket, and ask the children to find their lemons in the pile. Remarkably, most children will recognize their lemons at once. Some will even get protective of them. Next, ask the children to describe how they recognized their lemons. "My lemon was big," one might say. "My lemon had a mark on one side." And another, "My lemon had dents and bruises." Then talk about how people, too, come in different sizes, different shapes, different shades of color, different "dents and bruises." After exploring these ideas, collect the lemons again but this time peel the lemons before placing them in the basket. Then ask the children to again find their lemon. Presented with this quandary, children will usually exclaim, "But the lemons all look the same!" This reaction opens the door to discussing how people, like lemons, are often similar on the inside. This 15-minute activity can have a long-lasting effect, especially if children are reminded of the lesson in times of conflict.

Variations The lesson also works well with apples or potatoes. Source - http://www.understandingprejudice.org/teach/elemact.htm