Healthy Habits – Younger Children – Healthy Eating

Preschoolers will listen to a poem entitled “The Food Pyramid” which is a good introduction to talk about healthy and unhealthy food. During didactic and movement activities, they will classify the products according to their impact on our bodies and they will make colorful and healthy sandwiches on their own.

Materials:

a song entitled ‘Welcome song’, cards with vegetables and fruit with double-sided tape stuck on the other side, tambourine, a poem entitled “The Food pyramid”, bag/box, cards presenting healthy and unhealthy products, picture cards with a smiling and sad face/thumbs up and down, a song entitled “Healthy Food”, a song entitled “Healthy habits”, products needed to make sandwiches: e.g. dark bread, cheese, cottage cheese, vegetables, fruit, peanut butter.

Activity description:

1. ‘Welcome song’ – greeting children with a song – teacher and children stand in a circle. Teacher sings the song and shows the correct movements. Children try to imitate them.

Hello everyone, how are you? (wave to each other)
How are you? How are you?
Hello everyone, how are you?
How are you today?

Hello everyone, clap your hands! (clap your hands)
Clap your hands! Clap your hands!
Hello everyone, clap your hands! (wave to each other and clap your hands)
Clap your hands, today!

Hello everyone, stomp your feet! (stomp your feet)
Stomp your feet! Stomp your feet!
Hello everyone, stomp your feet! (wave to each other and stomp your feet)
Stomp your feet, today!

Hello everyone, touch your nose. (touch your nose)
Touch your nose. Touch your nose.
Hello everyone, touch your nose. (wave to each other and touch your nose)
Touch your nose, today.

2. “The Food Pyramid” – listening to a poem – children sit comfortably in a circle and teacher reads the poem and presents the Food Pyramid.

The Food Pyramid

Hey, I’m carbs eat six of me
I’m in potatoes and rice and give you energy.
We’re fruit and veg eat us five times a day
Vitamins and minerals is what we pay.
Calcium here, I’m good for your bones
Milk, cheese and yogurt is where I’m at home.
Hey, we’re meat, and fish and peas
We heal your cells with our proteins.
I’m fat, don’t eat a lot of me
Or I could block the main artery.
We make the Food Pyramid – teacher presents Food Pyramid
eat us the right way,
And we will help you through the day.

Next, teacher asks preschoolers:

What gives us carbs?
Where we can find carbs?
What gives us vitamins and minerals?
What is good for our bones?
What is good for our cells?
Should we eat fat?

Then, teacher discusses with children about the Food Pyramid.

3. “Fruits and vegetables” – movement activity – teacher spreads the cards with fruit and vegetables on the carpet (in the amount corresponding to the number of children so that each fruit and vegetable appeared twice – if the number of children is odd – add one more card, which a teacher will take away). While playing the tambourine, children run freely between the cards, when there is a break in the music, each one picks up one piece of paper from the floor and sticks it on their shirt in a visible place. Children make a circle and name the fruit or vegetables that are stuck on their blouses – if they have difficulty naming a fruit or vegetable – other children help, and ultimately a teacher.

4. “Healthy-unhealthy” – didactic activity – teacher places picture cards on the carpet with smiling and sad faces/thumbs. Children take turns to draw cards from the bag/box showing healthy and unhealthy products, talk about them (Have they ever eaten them? Do they like them? Do they eat them often? Etc.) and put them under the appropriate emoji/thumbs – smile/thumb up – healthy products; sad/thumb down – unhealthy products.

5. “I know what is healthy and what is not” – movement and didactic activity – teacher places a sad and smiling face/thumbs from the previous activity in two places in the room and spreads the cards with healthy and unhealthy products from the previous activity on the carpet. Children take one piece of paper each. Then, they run around the room to the rhythm of any music e.g. “Healthy Food”, when there is a break in the music, they stand next to the appropriate emoji/thumb – according to the note with the product they are holding. Each time teacher checks the correctness of the task – if the child is in the wrong place, teacher asks for the justification of his/her choice and then conducts conversation in such a way that the child himself/herself concludes that he/she should change the place to the correct one. Then, children return to the center of the room and exchange pieces of paper. Repeat the game several times.

6. “Healthy habits” – listening to the song – children actively listen to the song – each time they hear the word “healthy” they clap their hands. After listening to the song, teacher talks to children about the content of the song. Children listen to it again and repeat the teacher’s words of the first part of the song.

Healthy habits

When I am healthy I feel strong and good
I need to try eating lots of healthy food
Fruits and vegetables are good for me
And drinking lots of water keeps me happy and healthy.

When I am healthy I can jump and leap
I need to try get a really good night’s sleep
If I go to bed early I’ll have energy
To help me play and learn so cleverly.

When I am healthy I feel sharp and keen
I need to try keep my whole body clean
I wash my body, hands, my hair and teeth
I wear fresh clothes so I am clean clean clean.

When I am healthy I will shout hooray hooray hooray
I need some exercise and time to play
I shouldn’t watch television all day long
Cause when I am healthy I feel so good and strong
Cause when I am healthy I feel so good and strong.

7. “Colorful salad” – movement activity – children sit in a circle on the carpet and carefully listen to a teacher. Teacher says various slogans, e.g. white vegetables, red fruits, peppers, round vegetables, fruit with seeds, etc. and children to whom a given password applies (according to the cards stuck on their shirts) go around the circle and sit in a different place than before. When children hear the slogan “colorful salad” – children run in a circle and then sit on the carpet. Repeat the game several times.

8. “Healthy and colorful sandwiches” – preparing sandwiches – teacher presents children with 2-3 simple ideas for interesting, colorful and healthy sandwiches. Then, teacher asks children to wash their hands and take a seat at the tables. There are products needed to make sandwiches on the tables. Teacher then explains and shows how to make individual sandwiches, and children try to make sandwiches according to the pattern or according their own idea.
You can find ideas for interesting sandwiches for children here, here and here.
Children can eat sandwiches instead of lunch.