Husking corn is a wonderful way for toddlers to be involved in the preparation of a family meal. It is a great fine motor activity as well as a wonderful sensory experience.
Throughout the summer we watch the corn plants grow from tiny seedlings to huge plants that tower over the boys. We’ve observed the corn husks growing bigger and bigger and some bursting open to reveal the corn underneath. When Henry was two and Oliver four, it occurred to me that the boys had only ever eaten corn that had been already husked and that they had perhaps no understanding of the link between the crop we see when we are out and about and the food on our table. So off we went to our weekly vegetable market to search for corn in its husk for the kids to prepare.
I hardly had to show the kids how to remove the husk from the corn. They automatically started pulling the outer leaves away. The leaves nearer to the ear of the corn were harder to pull off and I had to show them how to hold the corn flat on the table with one hand and pull each leaf off individually with the other hand. For Henry (two) the last leaves were difficult for him to pull off by himself. After the husk, we pulled off the rest of the silks. These stuck to our fingers and clothes and fell all over the floor making quite a mess. Henry happily worked pulling each thread off until he lost interest and gave it to me to finish.
Vocabulary
As the opportunity arises new words can be gently woven into our chatter with children. For this to happen, we need to be familiar with the terminology ourselves. Here are some terms that might be useful to know how to use in context.
- The stem of the plant is called the stalk.
- The Ear is the female part of the corn plant. It contains the cob, kernels, and silks.
- The Husk is made up of leaves that wrap around the ear.
- The Tassel sticking out of the top of the husk is the male part of the plant. It is where the pollen is produced. The wind distributes the pollen onto the Silk for pollination.
- Silks are the long soft strands that start at each ear of corn. There is one silk for each kernel. The pollen travels down the silk for fertilisation to occur and for the kernel to develop.
- Each Kernel is one seed.
Links
- An informative article about the anatomy of corn from the Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary.
- More useful anatomy and facts about corn from Awkward Botany.