Fun Food Activities for Young Learners
Engage the Senses and Encourage Discussion Using Everyday Food Items
Nov 10, 2009
Children live in a world of discovery and take great pleasure in exploring the world around them. For a young child food is especially exciting because it involves many of the body’s senses including seeing, smelling, tasting and touching.
What do Animals Eat?
Open up a general discussion during circle time with the class by asking them “What do animals eat?” Encourage answers and general discussion. As the children respond write the responses down on a chart.
Most Common Responses Include:
- fruits
- vegetables
- hay
- fish
Expand on the conversation by asking the children if any animals eat the same types of food. For example rabbits and horses eat carrots, seals and cats eat fish and gorillas and monkeys eat bananas. Ask the children what foods they like to eat that animals eat as well.
For each question asked of the class create a poster or diagram of answers. When the activity is over place the poster on the wall for the children to look at and reflect upon.
Felt Board Activity
Use a felt board to illustrate the specific food items that animals like to eat. On one side of the felt board have different food items on display such as apples, carrots, dog bones, fish and flies. On the other side of the felt board have a variety of felt animals including a horse, rabbit, dog, cat and frog.
Ask each child to match one food item with one animal. Allow each child an opportunity to go up to the felt board and move a food item next to the animal that eats the food item.
Coloring Activity
A coloring or drawing opportunity related to animals and food can be included at the end of the learning session wrap up the activity and encourage reflection.
Fun Food Color Activity
Arrange a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in a circle or line on the floor. Include a carrot, butternut squash, eggplant, orange, apple, banana, lemon, lime, celery, mushrooms, pumpkin, peach, pear and plum. Try not to include food items that a child can quickly pop into his/her mouth such as blueberries, cherries, strawberries etc.
- Give each child three small pieces of different colored construction paper. Include a purple piece, an orange piece and a yellow piece.
- Ask each child to take his/her colored papers and place them in front of a different fruit or vegetable that is the same color as each piece of paper.
- Allow the children to talk with one another and walk around the fruits and vegetables until they have placed each paper in front of a piece of food of the same color.
Wrap up the activity with circle time and ask each child to pick out his/her favorite fruit or vegetable from the line and then tell the class why it is his/her favorite.
Fill Your Plate Activity
This activity can be completed at a table. The children will need paper plates, glue sticks and pictures of food. Prior to starting the activity a teacher can go through old magazines and cut out a variety of food items or if the children are old enough they can cut out their favorite foods themselves.
- Provide each child with a paper plate and tell the class they are going to make their favorite meal! Have them glue their favorite food items onto the paper plate.
- This activity can be varied by having the children create a dessert plate, fruit plate, vegetable plate, meat plate and dairy plate.
- The Fill Your Plate Activity is a great way to review each of the different food groups as well as discuss the difference between healthy foods and junk foods.
Wrap up the activity by having each child decorate a large name tag on construction paper. Place the name tag on the wall and then place the child’s plate under his/her name tag.
Alphabet Soup Activity
This is a craft activity that can be done at a table. The Alphabet Soup Activity allows children to review the alphabet using a food related theme.
- Provide each child with a large round piece of white paper.
- On the table have small pieces of colored paper with each letter of the alphabet printed on them as well as a variety of macaroni shells.
- Tell the children that they are going to make alphabet soup and have them glue a variety of letters and macaroni shapes onto the round piece of paper.
When the children have finished their Alphabet Soup Activity, they can then gather together for story time and the teacher can read a story to the class that is related to soup such as Stone Soup by Marcia Brown [Simon & Schuster, 1947].
The activities listed above are a fun and engaging way to encourage a class to learn about food. Enhance each activity by including a circle time session with a story, song or rhyme about food.
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