Preschool is an ideal time to introduce young children to the importance of nutrition and healthy eating habits. Integrating hands-on nutrition activities into a preschool program is a great way to make learning about food fun and accessible. This article provides a variety of engaging, simple, and budget-friendly craft ideas perfect for preschool settings, designed to fit into any part of the day.
Introduction
Teaching children about nutrition early is more than just encouraging them to eat their vegetables. It's about empowering them to build a healthy relationship with food that will last a lifetime. By incorporating fun, hands-on activities, educators and parents can make learning about healthy eating an enjoyable experience for preschoolers.
The Importance of Early Nutrition Education
Teaching children about healthy eating and dental health is vital for their physical and mental wellbeing. A healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition, protecting against many chronic noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Eating a variety of foods ensures that the body receives all the necessary nutrients to stay fit.
General Guidelines for Food-Related Activities
When planning activities involving real food, it's crucial to choose ingredients that are safe for all children or provide appropriate substitutes, always being aware of any food allergies or dietary restrictions in the classroom. Family involvement is also key to reinforcing healthy habits; sending home a weekly newsletter with a "food of the week" and a simple recipe can be a great way to encourage this. Aim to incorporate at least one small nutrition-focused activity into the daily routine, such as discussing the snack of the day.
Craft Ideas
Fruit and Vegetable Sensory Bin
Fill a bin with different fruits and vegetables (real or toy replicas), along with scoops, tongs, and bowls. This activity stimulates the senses and introduces children to a variety of healthy foods.
Read also: Healthy food access with Highmark Wholecare explained.
Classroom Cookbook
Have each child share a favorite healthy family recipe to create a classroom cookbook. This encourages family involvement and exposes children to different cultural dishes.
Pizza Topping Activity
Use a printable activity featuring a pizza with printable toppings that children can cut out and put on the pizza according to recipes and sample pictures. This is a fun way for kids to learn about the different food groups.
Plasticine Dishes
Use plasticine to create typical dishes from different countries. This activity is a fun and different way to explore cultures and food.
Plate on a Cardboard Paper
Prepare a picture of a plate on cardboard paper for children to decorate with healthy food choices. This simple craft is enjoyable and educational.
Fruit Loop Stringing
Stringing fruit loops is a great game for training toddlers' fine motor skills, color recognition, patterning, and counting all at once. It is a game I learned from my son's occupational therapist.
Read also: Healthy Eating on the Run
Pretend Tacos
Make pretend tacos out of craft paper, using different pieces and colors of paper to simulate a taco. This creative activity can look surprisingly realistic.
Healthy Eating Posters and Pyramid
Create posters and pyramids to show what children have learned about healthy eating. This is a great way to reinforce knowledge and share it with the school community.
Healthy Eating Writing Prompt and Eating Healthy Craft Timeline
Get creativity flowing and pencils moving with this fun eating healthy informative writing prompt so students can learn all about healthy eating. Take students through the writing process with these differentiated graphic organizers then have them top off their writing with a fun healthy eating craft that doubles as an adorable favorite food bulletin board.
Cheerful Carrot Headband Craft
Brighten the classroom with an adorable Cheerful Carrot Headband Craft, featuring a happy, smiling carrot with open arms, ready to spread healthy eating joy. It’s an ideal hands-on activity for teaching about vegetables, nutrition, farm life, or healthy habits.
Tomato Vegetable Headband Craft
Bring a burst of color, creativity, and veggie fun into the classroom or home with an adorable Tomato Vegetable Headband Craft. This Printable Paper Crown Coloring Activity is perfect for teaching kids about healthy eating, farm-to-table lessons, nutrition week, or garden themes.
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Paper Bag Puppet
Learning about healthy eating just got even more fun with this paper bag puppet and fun writing craft. Each craft activity lets students draw a picture of healthy food options.
Fruits & Vegetables Crown Craft
Make learning about fruits and vegetables fun and hands-on with a printable Fruits & Vegetables Crown Craft, featuring a variety of healthy foods-perfect for PreK-2nd grade students learning about nutrition, healthy eating, or food groups.
Mango Puppet Craft
Students transform a simple paper bag into a fun, smiling mango puppet, perfect for healthy eating lessons, fruit units, dramatic play, and tropical themes. This hands-on activity makes learning about fruits and nutrition exciting while supporting fine motor skills, creativity, and storytelling.
Thanksgiving Turkey Craft Activity
In this craft activity, little learners will chose from a variety of options to create their own healthy food plate for thanksgiving. This can also be used as a Thanksgiving placemat. This craft will let your learners choose from what meats to what vegetables to put on their plate.
Doctor Craft Healthy Eating Craft + Writing
There are currently two crafts in the pack, but I am hoping to add more crafts to this pack. The two crafts found in this pack are: Doctor Craft Healthy Eating Craft + Writing.
Alphabet Related Fruits & Vegetables Craft Set
You can make the learning experience more engaging by complimenting your lessons with this craft set. Kids can practice their skills with cut and paste version. You can also use tracing and coloring versions for different abilities and practices. If you cut, laminate and prepare the pieces yourself, It can be also used for individual play times.
Strawberry Life Cycle Craft
Explore the life cycle of a strawberry with this fun, foldable sequencing activity. A cross between a worksheet and a summer craft, children learn about the strawberry life cycle in a hands-on way, with differentiated options if required.
Tomato Plant Life Cycle Craft
Help your students understand and review the life cycle of a tomato plant with this differentiated sequencing activity. This resource is a printable PDF with cut-and-paste options. Children put the life cycle stages from tomato seed to ripe fruit in order on their template.
Watermelon Plant Life Cycle Craft
Help your students understand and review the life cycle of a watermelon plant with this differentiated cut-and-paste sequencing craft. Children put the life cycle stages from watermelon seed to fruit in order on their template.
Pumpkin Puppet Craft
Students transform a simple paper bag into a fun, smiling pumpkin puppet, perfect for fall, farm, or Halloween-themed lessons, dramatic play, and storytelling. This hands-on craft is fun, engaging, and educational, supporting fine motor skills, creativity, and imaginative play while tying into healthy eating, fall celebrations, and seasonal units.
Lettuce Process Art Activity
This lettuce process art activity is a food and nutrition craft where children can create their own lettuce art using craft supplies you already have on hand. This activity will give them free range in creating some fun crafts and art and will also stimulate their brains with sensory play!
Additional Activities and Ideas
- Counting with Goldfish Crackers: Use Goldfish-brand snack crackers for a fun counting activity.
- STEM Activity with Food: Learn about giant buildings and how they need to be built in certain ways in order to NOT topple over.
- Candy Color Matching: This activity is designed to teach children to distinguish colors and shades in a playful way. It helps with their observation skills, attention spans, and is so fun!
- Fruit and Vegetable Math Matching: Utilize this activity when you are doing a fruit and vegetable theme with your classroom.
- Nutrition Interactive Notebook: This is a Nutrition Interactive Notebook that includes patterns and worksheets for learning about nutrition. This notebook focuses on the five food groups of my plate: Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, Protein, and Dairy.
- Healthy Eating Informative Writing Prompt: Looking to embed a healthy eating craft with your informative writing unit?
- Healthy Eating Craft: A template for a boy and girl healthy eating craft. The kids can color in the template cut it out and use either a circle like I have or a paper plate for the stomach. I have then used supermarket brochures for the kids to cut and paste in the things that are healthy for our bodies.
- Vegetable Puppet Show: A través de un espectáculo de títeres en español, los niños descubrirán el poder de los supervegetales como el brócoli, la zanahoria y el tomate. Los niños crearán sus propios títeres de papel y darán vida a los personajes, haciendo que aprender sobre nutrición para niños sea tanto divertido como educativo. Ideal pa
- Test-Taking Tips Craft: This folded craft activity teaches students 10 test-taking tips. ✨ This resource is perfect for classroom lessons, small groups, and individual students to support them with classroom and standardized tests. It also helps ease test anxiety!❤️ STUDENTS LEARN 10 TIPS FOR TEST-TAKING SUCCESS:Get enough sleepEat a healthy breakfastCarefully read all directionsStart with the easy questionsTake mini breaksManage nerves with coping skillsBelieve in yourselfLook for key wordsManage your time wiselyBe
- Vegetable Study: As you explore farm fresh foods, healthy eating habits, the food pyramid, and a balanced diet, have a vegetable study! You might choose to do a taste test and a create one vegetable craft per day. OR you might choose to have students craft their favorite fruit to craft after your vegetable exploration.
Addressing Picky Eaters
It’s important to understand that it’s normal for toddlers and preschoolers to be picky eaters. When preparing meals, offer at least one thing you know they’ll eat, paired with a less familiar food. Don’t force a child to try a new food; instead, model eating that food, talking about its taste and texture, and sharing how much you enjoy it.
The Role of Educators and Parents
Educators and parents play a crucial role in shaping children's attitudes toward food. By creating a positive and engaging environment, they can encourage children to explore new foods and develop healthy eating habits. Remember, children are more likely to try new foods if they see a trusted adult eating and enjoying them.
Process Art: Lettuce Process Art Activity
If you have a little one who loves using liquid glue and painting, then this activity is for them. And of course you might want some painting aprons.
- Materials: watercolor paper, liquid glue, watercolors (green and white), watercolor paintbrush, painting aprons.
- Instructions:
- Tape down the watercolor paper onto the table or a tray.
- Squiggle glue all over the paper to create lines that will be the lettuce leaves.
- Allow the glue to dry completely.
- Paint the lettuce leaves using watercolors in shades of green and white.
- Allow the paintings to dry completely before pulling up the tape.
- Practice scissor cutting and “cut out” the head of lettuce.
- Variations:
- Bring in different varieties of lettuce for the preschoolers to look at, handle, and try.
- Make name tags for each lettuce head, giving them different names: spinach, kale, collard greens, romaine, arugula, etc.
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