A child is never too young or too old to start learning about the significance of healthy eating. Teaching kids the importance of nutrition gives them the knowledge they need to make better food choices and why it's important; the benefits' positive effects can last a lifetime. Nutrition projects that involve the senses -- growing a vegetable garden, cooking healthy snacks and sampling exotic fruits -- are all fun, hands-on approaches to teaching kids about nutrition.
Create A Food Pyramid
Creating a food pyramid provides a visual for kids to see the types and amounts of foods their bodies need to stay healthy. Food pyramids can be constructed using many objects, including play dough. Let the kids draw a blank food pyramid and cut food photos from magazines to place in each section of the food pyramid. Stack cardboard boxes on top of each other and add real foods to make a lifelike food pyramid. The kids enjoy handling all of the food items and placing them in their proper categories.
Fun With Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables play a key role in nutrition and can be consumed in a variety of ways besides eating them fresh. Projects that involve making dehydrated fruits such as bananas, strawberries and apricots teach not only nutrition but also science. Use real fruit leather as a snack to get in a serving of fruit. Make chips out of potatoes or sweet potatoes to show how vegetables can make a good snack.
Plan and Cook A Balanced Meal
Cooking is an easy project to use to teach kids about proper nutrition. Kids are more likely to try new foods if they helped prepare them. Use the food guide pyramid to let the child plan a well-balanced meal using foods they enjoy or foods they have never tried. Planning and cooking a meal is also a good time to teach the importance of using healthy oils, low-fat ingredients and organic whole foods.
Ingredient Detective
Kids love to play detective and find things. Use this concept and let the kids research the ingredients in their favorite snacks by going online or to the library. To make this project easier, list all the ingredients and their effects on the body on different strips of paper. Let the kids find each ingredient and glue it onto a poster board. When the project is done, let the kids read out loud the ingredients and the effects they have on the body. They may be surprised at how unhealthy their favorite snacks really are. This is the time to introduce them to healthier snack options.
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