FREE Eat a Rainbow Nutrition Activity for Kids
Healthy Eating and Nutrition for Kids
As a teacher and/or parent, one of the most important things you can do is to help children learn healthy eating habits. It’s important to stress that the best foods for their growing bodies are whole, fresh and unprocessed. Explain that they should fill half their plate with fruits and veggies that have nutrients that will help their bodies grow. The other half should be whole grains and lean protein that gives them energy to run, dance, and play. Show them different examples of these key food groups and then have them take part in this fun “I Can Eat a Rainbow” activity!
Getting Started
This activity is very easy to implement both in the classroom or at home. All you’ll need is the following:
- “I Can Eat a Rainbow” printable
- scissors
- glue
- crayons or markers
- grocery advertisements/magazine clippings
- optional: laminator or sheet protectors
Eat a Rainbow Student Activity
Once each child has been given the “I Can Eat a Rainbow” printable, instruct them color in each crayon with the matching color word. This will help them easily identify which food goes into each particular color group. Next, have each child look through various grocery ads or magazines for pictures of colorful fruits and vegetables. Then, they can cut and paste at least one picture for each color. This step can be skipped if you prefer the children to draw the pictures instead of using real life photos. The finished product makes a great visual reminder to eat a “rainbow” every day!
Extending the Learning
After this activity is completed, have a healthy rainbow snack! Just bring in colorful fruits and veggies to have the students try. You can also laminate the finished student printables to use as placemat. Have students place the fruits and veggies they are sampling on each color of the placemat.
Another quick tip: call your local grocery store and see if they have any educational tours available for kids! Our local market allowed students to come and visit while the employees not only showed them the inner workings of the store, but also discussed the importance of eating a variety of nutritional foods for a balanced diet. It was a great way to wrap up our unit on healthy eating!
Download your copy of “I Can Eat a Rainbow” activity by clicking on the button below. Enjoy!
If you are looking for more healthy eating and nutrition activities for kids, check out our PreK-Kinder & 1st-2nd grade units.
