It’s Fun to Eat Fruits and Veggies!

1 For children ages 3 4 conceptPromote the importance of and encourage eating a variety of Fruits andvegetables every needednmyPlate poster (see MyPlatelesson plan)nA Visit to the Marketby PeggySissel-Phelan, and vegetable pictures(included)nindex cardsnnon-toxic school glue or gluesticksnGive Me 5 A Day!music cd (seereferences)nShoebox with lidngreen construction paper or spraypaintnone pair of adult scissorsncraft sticks (5 per child)goals1. children will become familiar with a variety of Fruits and vegetables. 2. children will be made aware of where to find Fruits and vegetables(grocery store, fruit and vegetable stand, farmers market, and gardens).3. children will be made aware of the importance of eating Fruits andvegetables each children state different locations where produce can children recognize the two sections of myPlate which representfruits and vegetables. 3. children recall the importance of eating Fruits and vegetables.

2 Activities1 Have the children sit in a circle on the , Today we will belearning about Fruits and vegetables. Point to the green section of the MyPlate poster and say, Do you rememberlearning about the vegetables group of MyPlate? Allow the children to answer then ask, What are some foods that you wouldfind in this group? Encourage the children as they give examples of vegetables. Point to the redsection of MyPlate and say, Do you remember learning about the fruitsgroup of MyPlate? Give the children a chance to answer. Continue by saying, Can you namesome Fruits that would be included in this group? Allow the children time to answer then say, Very good! It sFuntoEat Fruitsand Veggies! 119it S fun to eat Fruits and veggieS2ask, Where do you get Fruits and vegetables from?Does your mom or dad (or aunt or grandma) buythem at the grocery store? Give each child a chance to answer. Continue by saying, There are a lot of places to get healthy Fruits andvegetables.

3 Have you ever picked an orange off a tree orpicked strawberries off vines on the ground? After giving each child a chance to answer, say, Thereare a lot of places to get Fruits and vegetables. We canbuy them at the grocery store, at a fruit or vegetablestand (also called a produce stand), at a farmers market,or we can pick them from a garden. Has anybody evergone to a farmers market? 3read the book A Visit to the , Fruitsand vegetables are full of important vitamins andminerals and give us energy to help us grow strong. Theyalso keep you healthy so you can play games. Let s play agame about Fruits and vegetables called the GardenGame! 4 How to play the garden gamea. make copies of the fruit and vegetable pictures(included) and glue them onto index all ofthe children sit in a circle. Give each child a card with apicture of a fruit or a vegetable along with the name ofthe fruit or vegetable written below the picture.

4 Wheneach child has a card, say, Everybody look at the fruit orvegetable on the card I gave you. Does everybody knowwhat fruit or vegetable you have? Raise your hand if youneed help. Go over each card to ensure every child understands thename of the fruit or vegetable that was handed to after all the children know what they have,explain the game by saying, i m going to say thename of two Fruits and I say thename of the fruit or vegetable on your card, then youwill trade places where you are sitting as quickly as youcan! Let s practice. Are you ready? Start the game by saying, Apple and zucchini tradeplaces. Practice again by saying Banana and strawberry tradeplaces. Give lots of praise and encouragement and assistance asneeded!c. after the children understand how the game isplayed, have fun playing and trading places!Repeat asmany times as the children are interested and timeallows. After all the children have had a chance to trade fruit and vegetable places, say, Let s make a tossedsalad!

5 Everybody stand up and move around to toss thesalad! SPecial note: While playing the Garden Game, considerplaying the CD Give Me 5 A Day!on low in thebackground. Music can motivate and stimulate thesenses and add enjoyment to any a shoebox each child with ashoebox garden plot. Cover shoeboxes with greenconstruction paper (or spray paint green). Pre-cut fivesmall slits in each shoebox lid just big enough for acraft stick to fit. Then make copies of the fruit andvegetable pictures (included) and glue them onto the topportion of the craft sticks. Place the craft sticks with theglued pictures of Fruits and vegetables on the center of atable(s). Say, Each of you may pick five Fruits andvegetables for your garden. It is good to have multiple pictures of the same fruit orvegetable in case children want to pick the same children how to push the fruit and vegetable craftsticks through the slits in their shoebox.

6 Instruct thechildren to look for these different Fruits and vegetablesthe next time they are at the grocery store or farmers , let s play the Give Me 5 A Day!cd!This timelet s move our bodies the way the singer tells us to. All the children should stand in an open area with youand follow the instructions on how to dance to eachsong. You can choose to play only one song or the entireCD. Allow the children to dance freely as a form to make copies of the parent letter with thetake-home activity sheet printed on the reverse side tosend home with each child. the community fact sheet isalso included for you to copy and display at your centeror distribute as children ages 3 4 It sFuntoEat Fruitsand Veggies! 120it S fun to eat Fruits and veggieSfor children ages 4 5conceptPromote the importance of and encourage eating a variety of Fruits and vegetablesevery needednmyPlate poster (see MyPlatelesson plan)nA Visit to the Marketby PeggySissel-Phelan, and vegetable pictures(included)nindex cardsnnon-toxic school glue or gluesticksnGive Me 5 A Day!

7 Music cd (seereferences)nShoebox with lidngreen construction paper or spraypaintnone pair of adult scissorsncraft sticks (5 per child)goals1. children will become familiar with a variety of Fruits and vegetables. 2. children will be made aware of where to find Fruits and vegetables(grocery store, fruit and vegetable stand, farmers market, and gardens).3. children will be made aware of the importance of eating Fruits andvegetables each children discuss different locations where produce can be children identify two sections of myPlate which represent Fruits children explain the importance of eating Fruits and vegetables. activities1 Have the children sit in a circle on the , Today we will belearning about Fruits and vegetables. Point to the green section of the MyPlate poster and say, Do you rememberlearning about the vegetables group of MyPlate? Allow the children time to answer then ask, What are some foods that youwould find in this group?

8 Encourage the children as they give examples of vegetables. Point to the redsection of MyPlate and say, Do you remember learning about the fruitsgroup of MyPlate? Give the children a chance to answer. Continue by saying, Can you namesome Fruits that would be included in this group? Allow the children to answer then say, Very good! 2ask, Where do you get Fruits and vegetables from? Does your mom ordad (or aunt or grandma) buy them at the grocery store? Give each child a chance to answer. Continue by saying, There are a lot ofplaces to get healthy Fruits and vegetables. Have you ever picked an orangeIt sFuntoEat Fruitsand Veggies! 121it S fun to eat Fruits and veggieSoff a tree or picked strawberries off vines on theground? After giving each child a chance to answer, say, Thereare a lot of places to get Fruits and vegetables. We canbuy them at the grocery store, at a fruit or vegetablestand (also called a produce stand), at a farmers market,or we can pick them from a garden.

9 Has anybody evergone to a farmers market? 3read the book A Visit to the , Fruitsand vegetables are full of important vitamins andminerals and give us energy to help us grow strong. Theyalso keep you healthy so you can play games. Let s play agame about Fruits and vegetables called the GardenGame! 4 How to play the garden game:a. make copies of the fruit and vegetable pictures(included) and glue them onto index all ofthe children sit in a circle. Give each child a card with apicture of a fruit or a vegetable along with the name ofthe fruit or vegetable written below the picture. Wheneach child has a card, say, Everybody look at the fruit orvegetable on the card I gave you. Does everybody knowwhat fruit or vegetable you have? Raise your hand if youneed help. Go over each card to ensure every child understands thename of the fruit or vegetable that was handed to after all the children know what they have,explain the game by saying, i m going to say thename of two Fruits and I say thename of the fruit or vegetable on your card, then youwill trade places where you are sitting as quickly as youcan!

10 Let s practice. Are you ready? Start the game by saying, Apple and zucchini tradeplaces. Practice again by saying Banana and strawberry tradeplaces. Give lots of praise and encouragement and assistance asneeded!c. after the children understand how the game isplayed, have fun playing and trading places!Repeat asmany times as the children are interested and timeallows. After all the children have had a chance to trade fruit and vegetable places, say, Let s make a tossedsalad! Everybody stand up and move around to toss thesalad! SPecial note:While playing the Garden Game, considerplaying the CD, Give Me 5 A Day!on low in thebackground. Music can motivate and stimulate thesenses and add enjoyment to any a shoebox each child with ashoebox garden plot. Cover shoeboxes with greenconstruction paper (or spray paint green). Pre-cut fivesmall slits in each shoebox lid just big enough for acraft stick to fit.