We are coming to the end of Kids Nutrition month here on Ignite. Our Blogs this month have focused on giving you tips on incorporating healthier foods into kids’ diets, information on what makes up common kids’ meals, and suggestions for activities to keep your kids happy and healthy. For this “Fun Friday”, we thought we’d offer up activities for you and the kids that are fun, health-related, and help teach your children how to eat healthy.
Teach Your Kids About The Food Groups
In the spring of 2005, the USDA created a new Food Guide Pyramid because they felt the old one wasn’t doing a good job of telling Americans how to be healthy. The new pyramid has the 5 food groups as well as also includes recommendations for serving sizes, oils, fats, sugars and exercise. CLICK HERE to check out the new Food Guide Pyramid. The USDA also created a Food Guide Pyramid for Kids. To teach your children about the basic food groups and to do so in a fun way, you could print out the new Food Guide Pyramid and the colored blank pyramid coloring page. It’s a great opportunity to let your kids be creative and also helps them learn about eating a well-balanced diet. CLICK HERE to view the blank pyramid coloring page.
Hands On Experience
You can take what you and your kids have learned about the different food groups and turn it into a fun outdoor activity. Here’s an idea - go to any garden supply store, buy some seeds and plant your own vegetable garden in your backyard. Teach your kids about different veggies like tomatoes or green beans by growing them yourself. This way, your kids are involved from the start and more likely to eat the veggies helped grow. And most importantly, it’s fun. Many stores even sell kids gardening sets so your kids can be a big help in the planting process. CLICK HERE for information on a kids gardening set.
And if you’re limited on space, many stores sell indoor herb gardens. You can grow Basil, Dill, or Thyme along with many herbs in your own home. You’ll be able to have fun with your kids and also have fresh herbs for cooking. CLICK HERE to view an indoor herb garden.
Tell us what you think of these ideas. Do you have a Fun Friday idea you would like us to share? Reply to this Blog with your ideas about Fun Friday topics.
Justin - A Lumen
