Wave 2 - various themes 2

Here's a range of activities, each divided into less/more time and complexity: Everyday learning, Keep active, Finding out and exploring, Worksheet activities, Interactive games and quizzes, Cooking, Being creative, Activities to do over a few days and Something to do together.

Less time / Less complex

1. Literacy: Look around your kitchen and choose two pieces of equipment that are used to prepare, cook or eat food. Find out what they are called in four different languages. For example, in Spanish a fork is tenedor, in French fourchette, in Welsh fforc and in Russian вилка.

2. Literacy and numeracy: Find five recipes in a book or online. Each recipe may have different measurements for the ingredients needed, e.g. metric measurements [grams (g), kilograms (kg), millilitres (ml), litres (l)], or imperial measurements [ounces (oz), pounds (lb), fluid ounces (fl oz), pints (pt)]. There may also be teaspoons, dessert spoons or tablespoons, or even cups! Write down the different measurements in the recipes. Why not practice measuring different amounts of water?

3. Washing up: Do you enjoy eating with your family, but are not so keen on the washing up afterwards? You are not alone! Why not put on a favourite song or use a countdown timer to make the time pass more quickly?

More time / More complex

4. Science: Good hygiene is important when preparing and cooking food. Create a coded set of instructions to tell people to wash their hands thoroughly before touching food. Use different symbols for each letter of the alphabet. An example of a coded message can be found here.

5. Literacy, numeracy and cooking: Good time management is essential when cooking. Otherwise, food could be overcooked or parts of a meal might be ready at different times. For example, when making cottage pie, the potatoes should be prepared and put onto boil before the meat layer is made, so that the cooked potatoes can be mashed and ready for the time the meat is cooked. Choose a dish to cook or a meal to make and create a time plan. Make the dish or meal following the plan. How did it work out? Was everything cooked or ready when you thought it would be? If not, how could you improve next time? An example of a time plan can be found here.

6. Literacy, art and cooking: Oats are a great way to start the day. There’s lots of possibilities! Use the Porridge generator for ideas. Write about or sketch the breakfast you have created. Write a list of instructions and follow these to make a delicious breakfast.

Less time / Less complex

1. Be an animal: Travel around your house like an animal: hop like a bunny or frog, or squat and waddle like a duck. You will be using muscles you didn’t know you have!

2. Challenge: How many star jumps can you do in one minute? Challenge your family – who can do the most? Keep a record! What other activities could you do?

3. Fun with the family: Play ‘Simon says’. Where one person gives the instructions and the others have to follow if you say ‘Simon says’ at the start of the instruction. For example, the leader says “Simon says put your hands on your head” and everyone must put their hands on their heads, and then says “Simon says put your hands on your hips” and everyone must put their hands on their hips. This continues until the leader gives an instruction without saying “Simon says …". If anyone follows the instruction this time, they are then out of the game. The game then continues with the remaining players.

More time / More complex

4. Play: Place three empty plastic bottles on the floor in a triangle and roll a soft ball, or a balled up pair of socks, to knock them down. Challenge yourself by moving further away from the bottles each time you roll the ball.  Make it a competition with your family!

5. Yoga Yak! Why not try some yoga poses with change4life?

6. Helping at home: Did you know that cleaning the house is great way to use energy and be physically active, particularly when you can’t get outside to run around? So, help at home and clean your bedroom! Be more active and sweep or vacuum around the house every day for the next week!

Less time / Less complex

1. Literacy and art: How many different types of pasta can you find out about? Find at least five! Describe each type and draw their shape.

2. Science: Find out something interesting about 10 different fruit or vegetables. For example, is a banana a fruit? Which part of a plant is lettuce?

3. Celebrations! Make a list of celebrations from different cultures and find out what special foods are served. Create a menu for one of the celebrations. Use the Religion and food traditions around Europe presentation to start your research.

More time / More complex

4. Science: Do you like boiled or poached eggs, or maybe an omelette? Have you ever wondered how the liquid egg becomes a solid? Find out about the term ‘coagulation’ and write an explanation of how your egg for breakfast changes from a liquid to a solid.  Is this a reversible change? If not, why not? For information about coagulation, click here.

5. Literacy: Find two different food adverts. Answer these questions for each advert: What is it describing? Who is the food aimed at? What is the message? In your opinion, is it a good advert? Explain your answer. Finally, would you buy the food?

6. Food and choice: People choose to eat different food for a number of reasons.  These could include the religion that they follow, their culture, the climate of the country they live in or because of personal preferences, e.g. whether they like or dislike something. Research the reasons why people choose a particular diet, or way of eating, and complete the What people eat and why booklet.

Less time / Less complex

1. Literacy and numeracy: Read the Amazing lunch box story and then complete the Add it up worksheet to calculate the cost of some healthy lunchboxes.  

2. Being creative: Create a dish which uses left over ingredients. Use the Leftover cards, List of store cupboard items and Food in season presentation to generate ideas. Make sure that you remember that cooked foods should only be reheated once.

3. Food and geography: Did you know that there are over 4,000 edible potato varieties grown throughout the world and they are many different colours, shapes and sizes? Use the Where do potatoes come from? presentation to find out more, and then complete the Potato parts worksheet. If you don’t have a printer, draw and label the potato plant using the image on your computer screen.

More time / More complex

4. Health and wellbeing: Use the ‘Find your fibre fortune’ instructions and worksheet to create a fibre-filled meal based on three randomly selected ingredients. Fill out the questions on the worksheet. 

5. Science: Digestion involves different parts of the body, each having a different role. Using the Digestive stages worksheet, draw each role different parts of the body (mouth, teeth, stomach, intestines) play in digestion. The Digestion process presentation will help with this or you could watch the video.

6. Food and science: Using the How has it changed? worksheet, make a note of how food changes from farm to fork. Think of two foods that you enjoy. Write down how these change from farm to fork, with some pictures to support.

Less time / Less complex

1. Geography: ‘drag the images’ in these food chains to show where food comes from! Try fish, eggs, wheat, carrots, potatoes and strawberries! Got more time, create your own game showing where food comes from!

2. Literacy and cooking: Watch the recipe videos for shepherd's pie and bread rolls and answer the questions. If you have the ingredients, why not make them for your family?

3. Thinking skills: ‘match’ the images in these two memory games – match the Eatwell food groups to the correct food, or a food to its origin.

More time / More complex

4. Geography: watch these two interactive videos about ‘slippery salmon’ and ‘excellent eggs’ and answer the questions as you go along.

5. Health and wellbeing: investigate the different food groups on the Eatwell Guide. Take notes on each section.

6. Literacy: ‘drag the words’ into the correct places in the ‘brilliant bread’ and ‘mushroom risotto’ recipes. If you’ve got the ingredients, why not make them too!

Less time / Less complex

1. Take 5: Look in your fridge, freezer or cupboard and choose five items to make a meal. 

2. Simple salad! Get creative and make a cous cous salad. Here’s an example recipe – just make up the cous cous and add, beans, veg, herbs – well, whatever you have! 

3. Great green soup! It might be British Summer Time, but it is still a bit chilly outside. Make this lovely warming soup, using savoy cabbage which is currently in season.

More time / More complex

4. Egg-cellent! Prepare your own veg frittata - which is like quiche without pastry!  Just mix the eggs and milk, and use cheese and veg that you have. Delicious!  

5. Food skills: Find out about the different cuts of vegetables used in cooking, for example dice, baton and julienne. Use the Knife skills worksheet and practice your knife skills to carefully and precisely prepare a carrot using each different cut. Show and tell someone what you are doing. Can they follow your instructions and do the same themselves? Use the cut carrot to make hummus and carrot wrap, perfect plant salad, simple spring rolls, minestrone soup or pork burritos.

6. Hot cross buns! Challenge yourself to make an enriched dough and create these fantastic hot cross buns to share with your family.

Less time / Less complex

1. Literacy: Write a poem about a fruit or vegetable. You could write a haiku.  

2. Geography and art: Print, or draw, a map of the world. Choose ten countries and then find out about two foods traditionally grown there. Sketch and colour the foods and add them to your map.

3. Over the rainbow! Draw/paint the outline of a rainbow. Draw or paint different fruit or vegetables into each colour.

More time / More complex

4. Art: The artist Carl Warmer creates ‘Foodscapes’ as educational tools to help inform people about health eating, food culture and nutritional literacy. Have a look at some of his images and then design your own ‘Foodscape’ following his ideas.

5. Food and cooking: Design your ‘dream meal’. Start with a drink, e.g. still or sparkling water. Then decide on an appetiser or starter, main meal and side, and pudding. Would you have bread to accompany your meal? If so, what sort of bread? Ask your family what their dream meal would be.

6. Sing-a-long! Washing hands thoroughly has become even more important recently. Write a song to the tune of ‘happy birthday to you’ to encourage your family to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds.

Primary pupil workbooks

Eight page workbooks covering healthy eating, drinking and physical activity. Each workbook comprises activities for children and their parents/carers. There are two workbooks, 5-7 years workbook and 7-11 years workbook.

Food life skills

The Food life skills activity pack comprises 13 modules designed to help young people learn about cooking different recipes whilst considering healthy eating, food hygiene and safety, time management, budgeting and using basic recipes to create other dishes. Each module has a presentation to set the scene and three recipes.

• Module 1 Getting to grips presentation and recipes 
• Module 2 Indian Excess presentation and recipes 
• Module 3 Pack a lunch presentation and recipes 
• Module 4 Noodle time presentation and recipes 
• Module 5 Mama Mia presentation and recipes 
• Module 6 Take out? Cook in? presentation and recipes 
• Module 7 Back to basics presentation and recipes 
• Module 8 Simple but fun presentation and recipes 
• Module 9 Wakey wakey presentation and recipes 
• Module 10 Fishy tale presentation and recipes 
• Module 11 BBQ frenzy presentation and recipes 
• Module 12 Veg out presentation and recipes 
• Module 13 Impress presentation and recipes 

Look at the Breakfast resources with your family. Discuss what should be in a healthy breakfast and write down some key points. Check these against the breakfast information and presentation. List three examples of a healthy breakfast that meet your key points. Get your parent/carer to do the same. Are there any healthy breakfast options you could make together? For some more ideas, of breakfast recipes and tips, click here.