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On this page, you will find a selection of activity ideas and resources for teaching children aged 3-5 years about eating well.
The sections include notes on running activities around eating well, and the resources needed for the activities.
Towards the bottom of the page you can find simple recipes to support learning about eating well and develop cooking skills.
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Talk and sort
Start the conversation about food with your learners, using these resources.
Different foods
1) Show the children some of the Food image cards. Ask the children to name each food and then ask them to respond with a thumbs up for I like it, thumb sideways for it is OK and thumbs down for I do not like it. Ask some of the children to explain their reasons, and talk about which of the foods they have eaten and when. Focus more heavily on why children enjoy different foods, rather than their dislikes. Explain that different people like different food and drinks. Ask the children to talk about some of the food and drinks their friends and families like. You may wish to have examples of food for children to handle.
2) Ask the children to sort the Food image cards in different ways. For example:
- by colour;
- whether they are soft or hard;
- if they come from a plant or an animal.
Discuss with the children their decisions for sorting the foods as they have.
Fruit and vegetables
1) Show the children a section of images from the Fruit cards and the Vegetable cards and ask them to name the fruit or vegetable shown. Explain that we all need to eat lots of different fruit and vegetables to be healthy. We should eat at least five different types every day.
Ask the children to tell the person next to them one or two of the fruit and vegetables they have eaten in the last few days. Choose a few of the children to report what fruit or vegetables the person next to them ate.
Ask all the children to spend a few minutes thinking of their favourite fruit or favourite vegetable. Choose a few of the children in turn to describe their favourite fruit or vegetable, without naming it, and see if the rest of the children can guess what it is.
2) Divide the children into groups and share the Fruit cards and the Vegetable cards between the groups. Challenge the children to sort their fruit and vegetable cards in anyway they wish. When they have finished, ask them to explain how they choose to sort their cards.
Taste
Tasting
Before this session you will need to check for any allergies, intolerances or dietary requirements amongst the children who will be doing the tasting activity. If you don't already have this information, send home the Ingredient check letter and ask parents/carers to complete and return this.
1) Set up a fruit and vegetable tasting session. Choose 3-5 different fruit and vegetables to taste with the children. For full details about running a tasting session, take a look at the Tasting guide. Show the children how to taste the samples using their senses - what can they smell, feel, taste and hear? Display the Sensory vocabulary cards to help.
You could ask the children to record their thoughts about what they have tasted in the My food book (page six).
Other 'My food book' activities
1) You will need the third page of the My food book, entitled ‘I like this food’, and copies of the Cut and stick foods. Ask the children to select three foods they each like from the images and cut and stick these onto the page. Alternatively, you could provide the children with a selection of magazines that contain different foods and they could cut and stick these onto the page or on a large sheet of paper to create a display.
2) Using page 4 from the My food book (‘My_______ likes___________’), task the children to choose two family members or friends and draw, or cut and stick, images on this page to show the types of foods their two chosen people like. You can write the name and food in the spaces provided. Reinforce that different people often like to eat different foods.
Make
Before any cooking activities:
- you will need to check for any allergies, intolerances or dietary requirements. If you don't already have this information, send home the Ingredient check letter and ask parents/carers to complete and return this;
- talk to the children about the importance of getting ready to cook, so the food they prepare is safe to eat. You may like to run a session around hygiene before you do your cooking session. You can find resources and notes to support teaching about hygiene here.
Below are some recipes for you to try to support learning about eating well and develop cooking skills.
If you would like full session notes and resources to support cooking activities, take a look at the Food-based sessions.
Play
Fruit and vegetable bingo - a game for four players
- Give each child a Fruit and vegetable bingo board.
- From the Fruit cards and the Vegetable cards, select the following food to be used during the game of bingo: mango, dried apricots, kiwi fruit, blueberries, satsuma peach, blackberries. parsnip, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, celery, lettuce and radishes.
- Shuffle the cards and call out each fruit or vegetables in turn. If any of the children have the fruit or vegetable called, they can cover it with a counter.
- As each child completes a board, they can shout 'bingo'! They can then help a friend until all children have completed their bingo boards.
Guess the fruit or vegetable
You will need a small selection of different fruit and vegetables and a bag.
- Without the children seeing, place a fruit or vegetable into a bag.
- Pass the bag to the children and get them to feel the fruit or vegetable, and describe what it feels like. Let three or four children have a go before you reveal what it is.
- Repeat this with the other fruit and vegetables, putting each in the bag one at a time.
- Let different children have a go with each fruit or vegetable. (Ensure that you use fruit and vegetables which will withstand being well handled.)
The Eatwell Game
Read The Eatwell Guide information before the session. This will provide important background information to support your teaching.
Display The Eatwell Guide poster (basic). Explain the picture is called the Eatwell Guide and it shows us what we need to eat and drink to be healthy.
Question the children:
- What can you see? (A circular shape, different coloured parts, a glass.)
- What foods can you see on this picture?
- Which are the largest and which are the medium sized groups?
- Which is the small group?
- Where is/are the – eggs, tomatoes, bread, fish, milk?
- Which food in the picture have you eaten today?
- How many drinks do we need each day?
Play The eatwell game with the children in groups of four.
- Each child will need a copy of The eatwell game board. Make one copy of The eatwell game food cards for the group of four players.
- Shuffle The eatwell game food cards and place them face down in the middle of the table.
- Instruct the children to take turns to take a card, if they are able to place it on their boards, they can keep it, if not, it must be returned to the bottom of the pile.
- The first child to fill their board wins the game and can help a friend until all the boards are filled.
You can find our full range of Food - a fact of life resources for children aged 3-5 years, here!
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