By Connie Evers MS, RD, LD – Nutrition for Kids
Connie’s Healthy Eating Blog – Healthy Habits for All Kids! – Part 2
Inspiring those “Aha” Moments
I learned firsthand that lecturing kids about nutrition and food groups is both boring and ineffective. Instead, my approach to nutrition education is to inspire kids to enjoy a variety of healthy foods and learn to be smart consumers. I want kids to become involved in learning by experiencing and discovering nutrition.
The goal is to stimulate lots of questions and lively discussions about food choices. I call these “aha” moments. Below are some examples of experiential activities that I have successfully used with children over the years.
1. Play with your food
Call it “edible art” and let kids have fun shaping, arranging, cutting and sculpting healthy foods into their own personal creations. Because of their vibrant colors, fruits and vegetables make beautiful food art. I know this activity is a success when kids ask, “Is it OK if I eat it?”
2. Grow something edible
From seed to table, growing vegetables, herbs or fruit inspires kids (more…)
