Nutrition Theme for Preschool

Nutrition Theme for Preschool ? The Preschool Cubby preschool-plan-

Preschool Nutrition is just one part of the equation for healthy children. Fitness and exercise are also important. I was not surprised to learn that 70% of obese children or adolescents grow up to have adult obesity issues. However, the results of a recent study about preschoolers did surprise me: 1 in 5 preschoolers is obese. As early childhood educators, we have a great opportunity and responsibility to work with families to help preschoolers learn about nutrition and making healthy food choices. It is my hope that we can help our children and families become more aware of healthy food choices that will help them to become healthy adults. Some graphics for this theme were created by Amanda at Creatively Crafting

Using the Standards Conversion Chart

1. Type in each of your program's equivalent standards next to my standard.

2. Save to your computer. 3. Refer to this chart each time you use a theme from Preschool Cubby

Using the Weekly and Daily Planning Forms In the weekly planning form, ALL of the boxes are editable! Simply print as they are OR move activities to the days you want them or replace activities with your own! You'll find my standards listed under each activity. This is where you will enter YOUR program's standards (that you added to the Conversion Chart) 1. Refer to the conversion chart you completed and look up my Standard Letter/Number. 2. Replace that letter and number with YOUR program's equivalent that you typed into

the Conversion Chart. 3. Print!

The Weekly AND Daily Planning forms are both 100% editable so you can move the activities to the days you want to do them or even replace them with your own activities! (If you do that-be sure to change them on the daily planning forms as well AND replace the standards in that box with the correct standards for the activity you have replaced mine with!) NOTE: The blue areas will NOT print blue, don't worry! Those areas are the "editable areas". They will print with a white background when you print!

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CIRCLE

Nutrition Theme WEEKLY PLANNER

ART

MATH/MANIPULATIVES

SCIENCE

MUSIC & MOVEMENT GROSS MOTOR STORY TIME

MON

Standards

Puppet Show:

Fruit & Veggie

Someone's Grumpy! Prints 1,7,16,36,37,44,45 1,13-18,21,31

Fruit & Veggie

Potato Dough

Tasting

3,23,26,35

2,13-15,21,27,29,42

Are You Eating:

Pass the Egg

Eating the

Healthy Foods Song 1,6,7,9,11,35-37, Alphabet by Lois

3,7,33,34,40,41,44,45 44,45

Ehlert 1,6,38-40,44

TUES

Standards

What Did You Have Pizza Pie

For Breakfast? 6,13, 15,16,29,30,36,37,45

3,13-15,23,24,

27,29,36

Kitchen Tool Match Make Bread File Folder Game 3,16,23,26,35 13,14,24,26,30

Aiken Drum 3,7,33,34,30, 41,44,45

The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food by Jan & Stan Berenstain 1,6,38-40,44

WEDS Kitchen Tool ID

3,7,24,37,44,45

Standards

THURS

Standards

Food Pyramid 3,7,16,24,37, 44,45

Kitchen Tool Painting 1,13-15,18,21,31

How Many Worms? Activity Mat 13,14,23-26,30,35

Berry Cute Bakers Vegetable People

Day 1

13,14,16,17,21,

3,23,26,35

23,25,30

The Need For Water Nutrition Dance Day 1 2,7,13-15,20,27, 6,8,10-12,17

28,30,35,42

Carrot Garden 2,7,13-15,20,27, 28,30,35,42

Food Charades 3,7,33,34,40, 41,44,45

Watermelon Roll The Very Hungry 4,6-8,10-14,16 Caterpillar by Eric

Carle 1,6,38-40,44

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood 1,6,38-40,44

FRI

Standards

Mystery Food Game ! 3,7,24,37,44,45

Berry Cute Bakers Food Sorting

Day 2

13,14,20,21,

8,13-15,21,24,31 24-26,30

The Need for Water One Potato Jump Fruit, Fruit,

Day 2 2,7,13-15, 4,6,10-12,20,21,33 Vegetable

20,27,28,30,35,42

3,7,10,12,35

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff 1,6,38-40,44

SUGGESTED CHANGES TO INTEREST CENTERS FOR THE WEEK

B.lock Center: Harvest Time: Add tractors, play Dramatic Play: Restaurant Encourage preschool nutrition in Easel: Celery & Carrot Top Painting Provide

vegetables and other farm items (equipment your own restaurant. As a large group, discuss some healthy carrots that have a lot of greens on the end and

and animals). The children can harvest their farms! 3,6,7,13,22,27,30,36

foods that could be ordered in restaurants. Make up a menu for celery with leaves and let the children use them

those foods and set up your Dramatic Play area as a restaurant: table, chairs, kitchen area, etc. 3,4,6,10,13-16,19,30,36

as paintbrushes!

13,14,27-30,36

Sand/Water Table: Bubble Bonanza Place some dish

Writing Center: If I were a Food... Encourage the children to draw

detergent in your water table and provide egg beaters and a story about what type of food they would be if they could! As

whisks as well as bowls. You could also add a squirt of yellow

they are drawing, ask them to tell you their story. Begin it with, "If I could be a food, I would be ______________. I would....." Have

food coloring or paint to represent egg yolks! They can serve them fill in the rest! Staple their story to their pictures and read

up some "Preschool Nutrition Bubbles"! 13,14,25,27,28,30 them at your next large group/circle time! 13-15,30,36,37,42,43

? Preschool Cubby preschool-plan-

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MONDAY Nutrition Theme

You'll Need:

Circle

2 puppets, Someone's Grumpy script in this packet; Apples, bananas, strawberries, potatoes, peppers, corn on the cob, etc., paint, paint trays, paper; Bananas, melons, strawberries, cucumbers, carrot sticks, etc, plastic knives; Potato Dough playdough recipe in this packet; Healthy Foods song poster from this pack; Hard boiled eggs, one uncooked egg; Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

Puppet Show! Someone's Grumpy! Needed: 2 puppets, Someone's Grumpy script in this packet. Who can have a conversation with your preschoolers about nutrition and healthy foods. One of my colleagues uses 2 puppets and they typically have a "problem" that needs to be solved that we may be seeing in class! It could be not sharing, running, etc. You could use 2 puppets for this Preschool Nutrition circle time activity! 1,7,16,36,37,44,45

Art

Fruit and Vegetable Prints

Needed: Apples, bananas, strawberries, potatoes, peppers, corn on the cob, etc.; paint,

paint trays; paper. Cut the foods in half (have the children help you!). The children print

on paper for a colorful paper or use a LARGE paper to make a mural! Of course, have

some extra for snack time! 1,13-18,21,31

Math/Manipulative Fruit and Vegetable Tasting Needed: Bananas, melons, strawberries, cucumbers, carrot sticks, etc; plastic knives. In advance, create a large chart with three columns. In the first column, draw (or glue pictures) of the foods you will be tasting with the children. Label the second column "LIKE" with a smiley face. Label the third column "DON'T LIKE" with a sad face. Have the children help you to peel and cut the foods. Discuss the importance of eating fruits and vegetables and how healthy they are for their bodies. Ask each child if they like each food as they try it. List their name under the proper column of the chart. EXTENSION: Have the children write their own names in the proper columns. If they are not at the point of writing their names yet, pre-make name cards with their names on several cards. They choose their name and place it under the correct column. 2,13-15,21,27,29,42

Science

Potato Dough Use the playdough recipe in this packet. I have included 2 recipes: one to make with a small group and one for the children to make their own individual portions of dough! 3,23,26,35

Music & Movement Are You Eating...Healthy Foods? Needed: Healthy Foods song poster from this pack. Teach the children the After singing it once, have one or two children name a healthy food they like. Sing again and have 1-2 more children share their favorite. 3,7,33,34,40,41,44,45

Gross Motor Story Time

Pass the Egg Needed: Hard boiled eggs, one uncooked egg. Where do eggs come from? After talking about it, show the children what the inside of a hardboiled egg looks like and what an uncooked egg looks like! Then, provide a hardboiled egg in the shell to pass around the circle while music plays. When the music stops, the person who has the egg, should roll it across the circle to a friend...be careful! Also, provide hard boiled eggs as an addition as a preschool nutrition snack today! 1,6,7,9,11,35-37,44,45

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert 1,6,38-40,44

? Preschool Cubby preschool-plan-

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TUESDAY Nutrition

Theme You'll Need:

Circle

Large piece of paper with each child's name listed in a column on the left; a marker; Paper, scissors, glue, red paint; Kitchen Tool Match game in this packet; Frozen bread dough, bread pans, Pam spray, waxed paper; Aiken Drum song poster in this packet; The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food by Jan & Stan Berenstain book

What Did You Have For Breakfast? Nutrition begins at home! Many parents feel very rushed in the morning and their children may not "be hungry" and therefore not eat breakfast before they arrive at school. It is important to: A) Know which children do not eat before school. B) Use that information to let families know how it affects their child's day and, C) Offer suggestions for healthy, quick breakfast foods they can offer their children. Needed: Large piece of paper with each child's name listed in a column on the left; a marker. Label the chart: What I had for breakfast today. Show the children the chart and ask each child what they had for breakfast and list it. Compare and contrast what they eat--some will eat the same types of food, some will have foods that the other children have not had! Talk to the children about the importance of food. It gives us energy to play and work and run! However, we need healthy foods to do this. If we eat only unhealthy foods, we will be grumpy and not have very much energy. 6,13,15,16,29,30,36,37,45

Art

Pizza Pie Needed: Paper, scissors, glue, red paint. The children cut a piece of paper into their

own pizza shape (round, rectangle, triangle, their choice! It's all about learning to use the

scissors!) and paint their pizza with the red paint (for sauce!). They cut pieces of other colored

paper to represent pizza toppings (green, yellow or red for peppers, white for onions, red for

pepperoni, yellow yarn or paper for cheese) and glue on their toppings. EXTENSION: Make

English muffin pizzas with the children for snack! 3,13-15,23,24,27,29,36

Math/Manipulative Kitchen Tool Match File Folder Game Use the Kitchen Tool Match game in this packet. 13,14,24,26,30

Science

Make Bread Needed: Frozen bread dough; bread pans; Pam spray; waxed paper. Spray the pans with the cooking spray. Place the frozen dough in the pans. Cover with waxed paper. Check on dough throughout the day as it rises! The children will be very excited at how much it rises! Bake it for the next day's snack. EXTENSION: Have a ruler handy to measure how high it gets! I've placed a paper on the wall behind the pan and marked the rising as well! 3,16,23,26,35

Music & Movement Aiken Drum Needed: Aiken Drum song poster in this packet. Look up this song on the internet to find the tune to it. You could also just chant it as a poem! 3,7,33,34,30,41,44,45

Gross Motor

Story Time The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food by Jan & Stan Berenstain 1,6,38-40,44

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WEDNESDAY Nutrition

Theme

You'll Need:

Kitchen tools and gadgets; Kitchen tools and gadgets, paint,white paper; How Many Worms mats in this packet; tall, clear plastic cups, food coloring, celery, large pitcher of water; Play food, 2 large bowls or boxes, music; watermelon(s); The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Circle Art

Kitchen Tool Identification Needed: Kitchen tools and gadgets. Have many items used for cooking and preparing food in a large pot with a cover. Some suggestions: Potato masher, slotted spoons, small plastic spoons and forks, spatulas, tongs. Take one item out of the pot. Ask the children if they know what it is. Ask them what it is used for. Continue with each item. This is a great conversation starter about eating and preparing healthy foods. For example, a small plastic knife is used to cut bananas, slicing wheat bread, spreading foods on healthy crackers, etc. Use the tools to paint with in the art area (See Kitchen Tool Painting activity under the Art section of this page) 3,7,24,37,44,45

Kitchen Tool Painting Needed: Kitchen tools and gadgets, paint,white paper. Discuss what the tools are used for in the kitchen, if any of the children have ever used them to help cook, etc. while they are painting with them! (See the Kitchen Tool Identification activity under the Circle Activity section of this page). Provide them with kitchen tools (plastic forks, knives, slotted spoons, potato mashers, etc.) to paint with. 1,13-15,18,21,31

Math/Manipulative How Many Worms OK, so worms are not part of a balance preschool nutrition plan, but apples are! Use the How Many Worms mats in this packet. 13,14,23-26,30,35

Science

The Need for Water Day 1 Needed: tall, clear plastic cups; food coloring; celery; large pitcher of water. Place a few drops of food coloring in each cup (use a different color in each cup). Ask children what they think will happen. Explain the importance of water to things that grow. Without it, they would get to dry. Explain that as people, we grow and therefore we need water as well! Give each child a cup of water as you discuss what needs water and why. You'll check on your celery each day. An interesting note that we found one year: We used blue food coloring and red food coloring in different cups with celery. Once the celeries had absorbed a lot of color, the children wanted to keep them both in the water to see what would happen. We had them out at the science table for almost a month! What we noticed is that the RED celery actually began to wilt, turn brown and pretty much die but the blue one was fine. We pondered that result and decided red is not good food coloring for celery. As teachers, we decided there must be something to the concerns with red food dye. 2,7,13-15,20,27,28,30,35,42

Music & Movement Nutrition Dance Needed: Play food, 2 large bowls or boxes, music. Label the bowls or boxes Healthy and Unhealthy. Provide the children with play food. The children should dance with their food piece. When the music stops, they should place their food in the appropriate bowl or box--healthy or unhealthy! 6,8,10-12,17

Gross Motor

Watermelon Roll Needed: watermelon(s). Have the children work in groups of 2 to move the watermelon across a room. BUT, they can only use one hand each, not two! Of course, have some watermelon as a snack when done! 4,6-8,10-14,16

Story Time The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 1,6,38-40,44

? Preschool Cubby preschool-plan-

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THURSDAY Nutrition Theme

You'll Need:

Circle

painters' tape, masking tape, play food, Food Pyramid sample in this packet; Clay recipe from this packet, cookie sheets, oven; peppers, cucumbers, carrots, etc.,raisins, paper plates, plastic knives; Fresh carrots with greens on the tops, potting soil, carrot seeds, small cups; The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood

Food Pyramid Needed: painters' tape, masking tape, play food, Food Pyramid sample in this packet Teach your preschoolers about nutrition by introducing the food pyramid. In advance, make a large pyramid on the floor or carpet (see sample in this packet). Explain that we need foods from each of the food groups to stay healthy. Provide the play food to the children to sort into the pyramid where it belongs. 3,7,16,24,37,44,45

Art

Berry Cute Bakers Day 1 Materials Needed: Clay recipe from this packet, cookie sheets,

oven. Make the clay with the children or in advance. Give each child a portion of dough.

Have them make some figures out of them...anything is acceptable! It's all about building

up those little muscles! When they are done, place items on a cookie sheet and bake at

175 degrees (Fahrenheit) for 4-6 hours. 3,23,26,35

Math/Manipulative Vegetable People Needed: peppers, cucumbers, carrots, etc.raisins; paper plates, plastic knives. Have the children help you wash and cut the veggies. Children should make a face from the vegetables! 13,14,16,17,21,23,25,30

Science

Carrot Garden Needed: Fresh carrots with greens on the tops, potting soil, carrot seeds, small cups. Pass the carrots around so the children can touch and check out the entire carrot. Encourage them to touch, smell and discuss what they notice about them. Explain that the part we eat, the orange part, grows UNDER the ground...it is actually the ROOT of the plant! The green part is the part we would see on top of the soil! Have the children put soil in their cup and then some carrot seeds. Put them in a sunny area and have the children check on their seeds each day. EXTENSION: A great introduction to this activity is the story The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. EXTENSION: Show and help the children to peel the carrots that you have shown them! Then use a grater to grate the carrot. Mix in some vanilla yogurt, raisins and perhaps crushed pineapple to make Carrot Salad! 2,7,13-15,20,27,28,30,35,42

Music & Movement Food Charades Have the children act out different types of food such as: Popcorn popping, toast popping out of a toaster, fish swimming, a peeling banana, etc. 3,7,33,34,40,41,44,45

Gross Motor

Story Time

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood 1,6,38-40,44

? Preschool Cubby preschool-plan-

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FRIDAY Nutrition

Theme You'll Need:

Circle

Art

Variety of fruits and vegetables and other foods (cooked pasta is fun!), box or bag to put them in; sculptures from yesterday, paint, glue, glitter, sequins, misc. arts/crafts; magazines with food, scissors, glue, paper, bowls; Journals, markers; If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff

Mystery Food Game Needed: Variety of fruits and vegetables and other foods (cooked pasta is fun!); box or bag to put them in. Place one item in the box or bag without the children seeing you! One child places hand in and tries to guess what type of food it is. Ask them to describe what they feel by asking questions such as: Is it hard or soft? Round? Smooth or rough? Can you guess what it is? This activity is fun to do with every theme by using themed items. One of the challenging parts of this for preschoolers is that they want so badly to just take the item out of the box or bag without even guessing because they are so excited by the mystery of it all! You could just let them do this once each! Then, the 2nd time around, tell them they are NOT going to take the item out. They need to leave it in the box or bag and try to guess what it is! 3,7,24,37,44,45

Berry Cute Bakers Day 2 Needed: sculptures from yesterday, paint, glue, glitter, sequins, misc. arts/crafts Let the children decorate their sculptures! 8,13-15,21,24,31

Math/Manipulative Food Sorting Needed: magazines with food, scissors, glue, paper, bowls. Label 1 bowl "Healthy" with a smiley face and the other "Unhealthy" with a sad face. The children find and cut food pictures and then place them in the appropriate bowl. Extension 1: Let children use the pictures to create a food collage. Extension 2: Precut and laminate pictures of foods for the children to sort. Extension 3: Provide 2 bowl for each food group and have the children sort by food group. Extension 4: Provide real (or play) food for the children to sort instead of pictures! 13,14,20,21,24-26,30

Science

The Need for Water Day 2 Needed: Journals, markers. Check the celery each day for changes. It does take several days before any color begins to show in the celery. Have the children journal about what they see. 2,7,13-15,20,27,28,30,35,42

Music & Movement One Potato...Jump! Say this chant with the children: One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, four. Five potatoes, six potatoes, seven potatoes more! Then give them a basket of potatoes. Let them choose 1 or 2 to hold. Then have them count all of the potatoes and jump as they count. For example, You have 1 potato, I have 2 potatoes and another child is holding 2 potatoes. Point and jump as you count the five potatoes that everyone is holding: One potato (jump), 2 potato (jump), 3 potato (jump) 4! 5 potato (jump)...okay that's all. How many potatoes? Right! 5! Let's jump 5 times holding our potatoes! 1-2-3-4-5 Ok, put the potatoes back and now choose 1 or 2 more! 4,6,10-12,20,21,33

Gross Motor

Fruit, Fruit, Vegetable! Teach your children this version of Duck, Duck Goose! Change the name depending upon which food you are learning about (Grain, Grain, Dairy; etc.) 3,7,10,12,35

Story Time If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff 1,6,38-40,44

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Someone's Grumpy! Puppet Show Script

One of the puppets should have a cranky attitude and the other READY TO PLAY!

Puppet 1: I'm SO happy to be at school! What do you want to do today? Want to build a super-duper tower with blocks? Puppet 2: No, I want to just sit here. Puppet 1: Oh, you like to paint! Let's go PAINT a super-duper tower together! Puppet 2: NO...I want to just SIT here. Puppet 1: Ooookkkaaayyyy... I'll bring some puzzles over here. We can do them together while you "just sit here"! Puppet 2: NO! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY! Puppet 1: Whoa!!! Why are you so cranky? It's a great day! We're at school, there's lots to do! I had my FAVORITE breakfast & you are wearing your FAVORITE sneakers today! Why aren't you happy? Puppet 2: Well I didn't have MY favorite breakfast. I got up late & wouldn't eat what my Mom had for breakfast, I didn't feel like it. Puppet 1: Oh! You know, breakfast is very, very, very important. Even if you don't feel like eating. Remember what teacher said? Breakfast gives us the energy to have fun & be happy. Puppet 2: Yeah, I know. I wish I did eat breakfast, my stomach feels grumpy...it's making funny noises. Puppet 1: Because you're hungry. It's almost snack time. How about if we BOTH make sure we eat snack and have energy and then maybe you'll feel like playing? Puppet 2: OK! And from now on, I"m going to eat breakfast, even if I don't feel like it! Puppet 1: Me too! Oh, I hear the teacher singing the clean up song! Let's help clean up so we can have snack! Puppets 1 & 2: It's time to clean up, it's time to clean up we gonna have snack and eat it all up! hahaha!

? The Preschool Cubby preschool-plan-

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