We’ve put together five simple ideas that’ll help you engage your little ones and educate them about nutrition and a balanced diet:
1. Sensory fruit bin
A sensory bin is a fantastic way for children to explore different fruit and vegetables, which they may only usually see after they have been cut up for a snack or cooked for a meal. Showing the fruit both whole and cut up will allow them to start understanding the food they eat in greater detail. You could even include some more unusual fruits or vegetables that they may not have heard of before!
2. Seed exploration
This hands-on activity is great for talking about where food comes from. Provide each child with a wide range of fruits and vegetables (peppers, melon, butternut squash, pomegranate, and kiwi fruit are all great for this activity) and let them use magnifying glasses and tweezers to get a closer look and remove the seeds. Once the seeds are out, you can either re-plant them or use them to create food themed works of art!
3. Grow your own
Children will love being able to eat something that they have planted and nurtured themselves and it's a fantastic way of developing a deeper understanding of where food comes from. Allowing your little learners to prepare the soil, plant the seeds and look after the plants until they are ready to pick and taste will give them an interesting and empowering learning experience.
4. Funny face tortillas
Give each child a tortilla on a plate, covered with cheese spread and provide a selection of vegetables cut into different shapes for them to pick and choose to make a face. Encourage them to talk about the different shapes and colours of the vegetables, and which ones they could use to create different features or emotions. Then let them tuck in to their creations!
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5. Hungry caterpillar display
This bold and bright classroom display themed around The Very Hungry Caterpillar is perfect for engaging children and getting them thinking about and discussing the food they eat in a fun way. You can create your display using any materials you want - you may even want to ask children to get involved in creating different sections of it.
For more resources and inspiration see this issue of our Little Learners magazine.
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