Montessori-Inspired Eat-a-Rainbow Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now 

I love promoting healthy eating, and I'm excited about the printables and activities I have for you today!  An eat-a-rainbow unit is a great way to encourage kids to eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables each day. 

Here I'm sharing lots of ideas for eat-a-rainbow activities using free printables. At Living Montessori Now, I have a long list of free eat-a-rainbow printables, including my monthly subscriber freebie pack! 

You'll find many activities for preschoolers through first graders throughout the year along with presentation ideas in my previous posts at PreK + K Sharing. You'll also find ideas for using free printables to create activity trays here: How to Use Printables to Create Montessori-Inspired Activities. 

At Living Montessori Now, I have a post with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. 

Shelves with Eat-a-Rainbow-Themed Activities 

   
My shelves include materials from my Montessori-inspired eat-a-rainbow numbers and letters (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

You could also include a free hand-painted printable lettuce culture card  and free hand-painted printable orange culture card designed by The Montessori Company. Because my shelf space is limited, I like to display the cards vertically where I can rotate one of the books on display. 

The books on my shelves are Rainbow Foods: Exploring Fruits and Vegetables by Color by Kathy Mansfield and Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert. 

You could mix your eat-a-rainbow-themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special eat-a-rainbow area something like the one pictured. This has a mixture of skill levels. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, just rotate them. 

Lettuce and Orange Culture Cards 

I have two lovely hand-painted culture cards from The Montessori Company. One is a painting of lettuce, and the other is a painting of an orange. I’m hosting the free printables as an instant download at Living Montessori Now. You can always access the free lettuce culture card here and the free orange culture card here. The lettuce description says: “Lettuce comes in many different varieties and is used most often for its leaves. It grows quickly and is used in salads and other meals.” The orange description says: "An orange is a citrus fruit that can be sweet or sour. Oranges grow on trees in warmer climates and might be used to make your morning juice!" 

Fruit Memory Game Free Printable: Fruit Memory and Match Up Cards from 1+1+1=1 

For this activity, I simply used a Montessori Services basket, the fruit cards with words, and the fruit cards without words. I chose the 8 most colorful fruits to use as a simple memory game. 

Fruit Number Puzzle  (or Vegetable Skip Counting Puzzles) Free Printable: Fruit Number Sequence Puzzle from Montessori By Mom; See ideas for using the puzzle for babies through kindergarteners at Living Montessori Now! 

Free Printables for Older Kids: Vegetable Skip Counting Puzzles from Liz's Early Learning Spot 

For this activity, I used a basket I had and the printable. This is super easy to prepare. Just choose a puzzle that's appropriate for your child's skill level. 

/f/ for Food Puzzle Free Printable: Food Puzzle (Movable Alphabet Letter)  (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

This activity just took a few minutes to prepare. I used a Montessori Services clear acrylic tray along with a small tabletop easel and separate container for the puzzle pieces. To make the work a bit easier, copy the page twice and have one copy (not cut apart) on the tray or on a stand. 

If you'd like ideas for teaching phonics, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics post. 

What Am I? Fruits and Veggies Game Free Printable: What Am I? Fruits and Veggies Activity from Early Learning with Marta, Eaton, and Nathaniel (Note: I used the editable riddles so that I could change "peal" to "peel.") 

For this activity, I just used a Montessori Services basket and the pieces from the printable cut apart. 

This is a fun introduction to riddles! You can have the pictures laid out across the top of the rug and add the riddle below the picture once your child discovers the answer. 

Letter F Object Basket 

Free Printables: Fruit Letters for Letter F Object Basket y (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

I used Beanie Babies and small objects I had that started with the/f/ sound. Again, If you'd like ideas for teaching phonics, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics post.

Rainbow Salt Writing Tray Free Printables: Fruit Letter F Rainbow Writing Tray (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

Free Printable: Rainbow Stripes from Open Clip Art (This is actually a printable of the rainbow flag. I simply downloaded the PDF, printed it out at 96%, and cut the edges to the size of my box. You can always use strips of colored  paper if you don't want to use the printable. I had first seen a rainbow salt tray on Learning 4 Kids, and you can find directions for a paper strip tray there.)

For the tray, I used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though.

Fruit and Vegetable Beginning Sound Clip Cards 
 

Free Printable: Beginning Letter Printables from Fruit and Vegetable Montessori Printables at Welcome to Mommyhood 

For this activity, I used a Montessori Services basket, the printable, and some small colored clothespins. 

I like to place a colored dot on the back of the correct letter as a control of error (self-correcting feature). 

Eat the Rainbow Practical Life and Sorting Activity Free Printable: Eat the Rainbow Printable from Growing Up Gabel 

Free Printable: Sorting Fruits and Vegetables from Powerful Mothering 

For this activity, I used a multicraft tray, the printables, 5 different colors of fruits from Learning Resources Super Sorting Pie, containers for the pieces (I used 2 Bambu condiment cups), and toast tong (or whatever tool you prefer) for the fruit transfer. You could use any small fruits or vegetables. I just wanted to be sure I had red, orange, yellow, green, and blue/purple for the rainbow effect.

  
This was a fairly long process, but my 3-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, loved it. First she transferred the fruits to each of the colored words. Then she sorted out all the fruits and vegetables by color. 

Finally, she chose 5 colors of fruits and/or vegetables she'd like to eat. 

I Can Eat a Rainbow Activity  
Free Printable: I Can Eat a Rainbow by Curriculum Castle at Teachers Pay Teachers 

Free Printable: A Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables from Preschool Is Fun 

Free Printable: My Healthy Plate from Fruit and Vegetable Sorting Cards (Subscriber Freebie) at Wise Owl Factory 

For this activity, I used a multicraft tray, the printables, crayons (mine are in a central location), and a glue stick. 

There are a number of ways you can use this printable. To use over and over again, you could color the crayons and rainbow, laminate the page, and have the fruits and vegetables available for your child to choose each day. You could even have Velcro pieces on the rectangles or plate and backs of each fruit or vegetable. Or your child could color in the page and glue on the fruits and vegetables according to color. Older children could cut out their own fruits and vegetables.

 

You could use the "I Can Eat a Rainbow" printable or this "My Healthy Day - 5 Fruits and Vegetables" printable. (I keep both printables on the tray.) This could even be laminated as a placemat for your child to use when choosing fruits and vegetables for the day.

More Free Eat-a-Rainbow Printables

Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free eat-a-rainbow printables from around the blogosphere: Free Eat-a-Rainbow Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities. And be sure to subscribe to my email list if you'd like to get an exclusive free printable each month (plus two more awesome freebies right away): Free Printables.

More Nutrition Activities at Living Montessori Now

• Montessori-Inspired Fruit Unit 
• Montessori-Inspired Vegetable Unit
• Kids in the Kitchen Healthy Recipes

If you'd like to focus on manners with children, please check out my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy! It's written for anyone who'd like to feel comfortable teaching manners to children ages 2-12. I'm also one of the coauthors of the book Learn with Play – 150+ Activities for Year-round Fun & Learning!

Happy healthy eating!
 

Deb Chitwood is a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies from Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. Deb taught in Montessori schools in Iowa and Arizona before becoming owner/director/teacher of her own Montessori school in South Dakota. Later, she homeschooled her two children through high school. Deb is now a Montessori writer who lives in San Diego with her husband of 41 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and 3-year-old granddaughter live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now.

COOKING HEALTHY & DELICIOUS FOR CHILDREN

DEVELOPING THE TASTE BUDS OF CHILDREN

A quick thank you to my guest summer guest bloggers, Leo Lundholm of the Sunnyside Head Start Center and Corey Ferrugia of MyTown Music.  I'm so thankful for their June and July contributions!  It's also great to be back.  I'm Enrique, the Founder and Director of Education for the Fostering Arts-Mind Education Foundation, a national non profit leader in Professional Development.  My passions in life include:

• My Family
• Early Childhood Education
• Music in it's many forms
• Dancing Salsa with my wife
• and FOOD!

I'm a total foodie.  I'm the chef in my home and proud to say so!  In this blog, I've combined my passion for food and early childhood education.  It's SO important to open up the taste buds of our young ones as soon as we can.  Here are some tips, followed by some recipes.

1. It's all in the name!  Quite often, if we describe a food in a playful way, giving it a fun title, children will at least be interested enough to try it.

2. Having tasted a certain food ourselves as adults is key.  We have to expand our own sense of taste and model the trying of new foods for our children.

3. Having children grow their own vegetables in a student created garden is a must if we're going to really create the needed paradigm shift needed related to healthy eating as a way of life.

4. Know your allergies and of course check with the families of the children you serve to make sure you're being safe with the foods you introduce to them.

RECIPE TIME

Remember.... modify these to make them your own and allow your children to experiment with you.  You might end up having to throw some unsuccessful experiments away, but get your children involved in the creation of food and they'll be much more interested in eating new foods!

BREAKFAST

Quinoa Cream of Wheat

Ingredients

• Quinoa (amount depends on number of servings needed)
• Several Dashes of Cinnamon
• Several Dashes of Nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon of Honey
• Dash of Salt

Quinoa takes approx. 25 minutes to make.  I like for the flavor of the ingredients to have time to really get inside the quinoa itself, so try the following: Follow the box directions on amount of water and quinoa; add all the ingredients and bring to a boil; bring down to a simmer and cover for 25 minutes and you're done!  With a high protein content, this breakfast will be very filling and you're body will thank you since it knows how to break this food down in healthy ways... Enjoy!

Cuban Omelette

Ingredients

2 Eggs

1/2 a small Plantain (you can substitute with ripe bananas)

Dash of Salt

Dash of Pepper

Canola or Grape Seed Oil

While Eggs are not a new food for children, plantains may be, and certainly the idea of combining different flavor profiles is most likely new.  To build any palette, it's important to introduce contrasting flavors.  In this instance, savory and sweet.  It also helps that this recipe is simply unctuous and truly wonderful and easy to make.  I need to thank my wife's Grandma, Isabelle Perez Sierra, for having been the source of this traditional Cuban dish.

• Heat a pan with about 1/4" oil to medium heat (make sure it's not smoking)
• Cut your plantain (or ripe bananas) in 1/2 inch slices, ideally at an angle.  
• Fry both sides of the plantains and once they're darkened and soft, take a tablespoon and slowly smash them so they flatten out.
• Take the eggs, put them in a bowl, add the salt and pepper, and whisk them until blended.
• Make your omelette and just before it's done, add your plantains, and fold the omelette over them.

LIQUIDS

Water

We all know the importance of water.  Here it is:  Being hydrated makes EVERYTHING in our body WORK BETTER.  Simply put:

• Large Adults: drink at least 8 large glasses of water daily, spread out through the day.
• Small Adults/Large Teens: drink at least 7 glass of water daily.
• Children: 5 - 6 glasses of water daily.

Coconut Water

A great replacement for sports drink and an all natural way to hydrate, increase potassium level and according to some research delay aging.  Some of the brands come with bits of coconut in the water and some don't.  I recently introduced coconut water to preschool children and about 75% of them immediately like it.  Keep in mind that Coconut Water:

• Has 5 electrolytes: sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorous.
• Has approximately the same amount of potassium as a banana.
• Promotes heart and kidney health.
• Low in Calories.
• Makes great freezer pops!

Almond Milk

I used to drink regular milk.  I have been drinking Almond Milk for about 3 years now and my body feels much better.  Also, know that Almond Milk:

• typically has 0 grams of saturated and trans fat
• 0 mg of Cholesterol
• 60 mg of Potassium
• 30% of your daily calcium needs
• 25% of your daily vitamin D needs
• 50% of your daily vitamin E needs
• Oh yeah... and it's really yummy!

Coconut Milk
I don't always eat coconut... pause... but when I do...pause... it's coconut milk.  Actually, my daughter is a vegan and Coconut milk is a huge source of B12.  I use it when I'm making a rare dessert if I want a coconut flavor highlighted, and sometimes I use it with my cereal.  Also, know Coconut Milk:

• typically has a lower caloric value than Almond milk
• 0 mg of Cholesterol
• 65 mg of Potassium
• 50% of your daily need for B12
• 30% of your daily need for Vitamin D 

EMPOWERING VEGGIES

Superman Salad
Kale, Arugula, Cilantro, Basil

In the last 5 years I've slowly lost 65 pounds, lowered my percentage of body fat dramatically, increased muscle and improved my cholesterol levels in significant ways.  I've done this with daily exercise and by changing what I eat.  I'm not perfect and I do eat some naughty things every once in a while.  A staple to my new routine of what I eat are hearty salad.  Here's my favorite:

I COMBINE KALE, the spinach of the Sea...

with ARUGULA, a lovely peppery green...

with a handful of CILANTRO...

and some FRESH BASIL...

Here is a more detailed description:

• 4 Cups of Kale
• 4 Cups of Arugula
• 1/2 a bunch of Cilantro
• 1 cup of chopped fresh Basil
• Add any fruits or nuts to your liking (I enjoy green apple or grapes)
• Dress as you like (I suggest a lemon vinaigarette)

With young children, I typically introduce Kale and arugula as part of fruit smoothies first.  The same goes for cilantro.  The key is to introduce it in fun, playful ways and in small portions combined with foods they already like.

DESSERTS

Dark Chocolate Covered Edamame

So far, I've shared things we need to grow and make, or that come from a natural source.  I'm going to share one store bought item because it's become a great replacement for something sweet for me and the kids I'm around.  I also realize I'm by default, promoting a store, but I happen to be a big fan of "Trader Joe's" which offers many healthy options.

Dark Chocolate Covered Edamame are a pretty healthy alternative to cake, pie and milkshakes.  With 7 grams of protein in one serving and only 200 calories for a 1/4 cup of these sweet, yet salty treats, you're in good shape.

My suggestion for maximum enjoyment is to put the treat in your mouth and slowly let the dark chocolate dissolve in your mouth and then the dried edamame nut shares its salty flavor with you!

Enjoy these tips and use them in playful ways with your children, your families and yourself.

Cheers!

Enrique

Happier Holidays with the Brains of Children in Mind!

By Deborah McNelis, founder of Brain Insights and author of, The Brain Development Series.

Hopefully it has been a wonderful year for you! Everyone of us either contributing to or following PreK and K Sharing, has been dedicated to making an impact toward happy and healthy children. 

It is a pleasure to be a part of this wonderful community, so I share this post with wishes for beautiful holiday enjoying every moment of this caring time!  

To help make this time of year more enjoyable, hopefully these tips will contribute to happier brains for the children in your life or are helpful to share with other parents! (Many of these tips do apply to adult brains also!)

Holiday Shopping 

The brain likes the right amount of stimulation.The brain doesn't like to be bored and it also doesn't like to be over stimulated. 

The brain also loves having fun, it likes using all of the senses, and thrives from physical activity. There also is a psychological need that makes a child seek attention. When a child is given positive attention and fun interaction, it is less likely that negative behaviors will result. 

When a child is hungry, tired and not getting stimulated in a way that is fun and interesting it is more likely you will have to deal with acting out behaviors. Your child isn't trying to be "bad", his or her brain is just reacting to what it needs. Young children's brains are also of course not developed to the point of being able to control all of their feelings and impulses yet. 

Children need the adults in their life to understand and offer support. Involving your child and interacting in fun ways while shopping will help keep your child's brain stimulated. 

 

     Involve your child in choosing gifts so they can experience the

     benefits to the brain as a result of giving or donating to others

     Name a color. Have your child look for and point out items with

     that color as you shop

    Have your child look for the first letter in their name printed on

    items or signs as you shop

    Give your child a suggestion for a way to move differently in

    each aisle. For example you could say: "In this aisle walk on

    your tip toes." or "This time take 3 steps then hop."

    Encourage your child to describe how various items feel

    Bring a coupon or photo from a flyer for items you plan to

    purchase. Make a searching game. Have your child look for the

    pictured item as you go through the aisles.

Holiday Eating

 A child can play and learn for a good amount of time after eating a balanced meal. This will boot levels of feel good chemicals in the brain. But, if high sugar content foods and candy are eaten on an empty stomach, without the presence of adequate amounts of protein, this sends blood sugar levels sky-high. Then, 30 minutes later, a drop in the sugar levels can lead to aggression, anxiety, and hyperactive behavior.

       Keep water and healthy snacks with you when you are away 

       from home to keep the brain from getting cravings and turning

       to sugary drinks and fast food for meals

      Provide meals that include adequate amounts of protein

      Eat healthy foods before (or instead of) eating sweets. This will 

      help keep brain systems balanced and lessen the chance for

      mood swings

      Put a place mat in the refrigerator with a variety of healthy

      foods on it. Let your child know these are food they "get to" 

     choose from when needing a snack  

  

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Buying Toys for Children
  
  
  
  

  Play is the way the brain learns best. When a child is using several senses, exploring, paying attention, and is trying things out in different ways, brain cells change and the child learns. Children need to participate and experiment… not watch. The brain also needs trial and error and a lot of repetition in fun and interesting ways. All of this is provided through play. It is important to keep this in mind when choosing gifts.  Ensure toys  do any or all of the following....

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Provide an opportunity for direct interaction and manipulation

  
  

  Give a child a chance to develop something with their hands

  
  

  Offer a variety of ways for using the toy or object

  
  

  Encourages dramatic play and pretending

  
  

  Spark imagination and creativity 

  
  

  Allow the child to repeat or expand a process

  
  

  Promotes movement and physical play   
  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  With good toys in mind, you may also want to get involved and vote for the worst toy for 2012 by Commercial Free Childhood.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The polls close Wednesday, December 5th at midnight so be sure to visit http://commercialfreechildhood.org/TOADY2012 today. And don’t forget to lobby your friends and family to vote for your selection.

  
  

  
  

  Since there is nothing children want more than fun interactions with their parents .... Brain Insights Activity Packets make very loving gifts! 
  
  

  

  
   

  Enjoy every moment of the season with your healthy brains!!

  
  

  
  

  Happy Holidays!! 

  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
   

Healthy bodies, brains and bellies part 1

Healthy Bodies, Brains and Bellies Part 1

Hello everybody, today I am going to speak from my heart and talk about a touchy subject.  There is a crisis in our country, the food we eat and the lack of exercise we allow can lead to childhood obesity, ADHD and many more things.  It is scary how many children are overweight and the long term damaging effects obesity can cause.  There are many factors that have contributed to this crisis:  fast food, modern conveniences, television, and technology.  Even if a child has a high metabolism they still need to eat healthy.  It is sad how many chemicals and dyes are in our foods these days.  The more color it has the more a child is drawn to it and wants to eat it.  I strongly believe that a lot of the behavioral and medical problems that we deal with in children can be attributed to their food. 

In part one I am going to discuss healthy bellies and how we can make healthy eating fun! 

Healthy eating at home prepares kids mentally and physically for their day.  Create a healthy home environment by offering your kids nutritious options for family meals, lunches and snacks.  Healthy eating isn’t always enough.  You also need to educate your family on why and how to eat healthy.  I will be the first to tell you it is not easy to stay the course with healthy family eating.  It is a battle that requires constant planning and dedication.  Over the last year since my daughter was diagnosed with ADHD I have been on a quest to figure out what diet works for her and our family’s busy schedule.  When I started researching food dyes I was shocked at how many foods had them in it and what the negative side effects were.  Here are some articles on food dyes Click Here and Here, when you have time check out this research on food dyes.  We try to only allow “school lunch” for our kids once a week.  This gives me better control over what they are eating.  As a busy family there are definitely days when we do eat unhealthy foods.  But there is also a balance.  Recently our family has been trying to eat more "clean".  We try to eat no processed foods, dyes, low sugar and only brown pastas and breads.  Since we began "clean eating" and taking Advocare products I have personally lost 40lbs, my husband hasn't had any migraines and my daughter with ADHD has improved her focus.  The question is how do we make healthy eating fun?

One way to make healthy eating fun is to have a “mascot”.  The very hungry caterpillar is a great mascot.  He ate healthy and it helped him grow.  Reading together will also aid in family bonding. 

Allowing children to help with food prep will get them exited to eat more healthy.

Here comes the fun part!  What can we put in our kids lunches and what can we give them for snacks that is fun and healthy?? 

I like to start every “fun” project I do with a theme.  It organizes my brain and helps me come up with better ideas.  We have weekly themes at preschool so you could use the same themes or come up with your own family themes.  After you come up with themes you should plan a menu.  Start with a week’s worth and include your kids in the planning and shopping.  This will be a great way to educate them on cooking, family time and healthy eating. 

Here is my fun snacks and foods pinterest page for ideas.  The ideas on this page are not all healthy but there is a wealth of healthy kid lunch ideas.

http://pinterest.com/kidzoneteacher/kid-snacks-and-food/

I hope you enjoyed these fun ideas!!  Let me know if you would like more information on My weight loss journey!

Rachel Supalla

Director Discovery Kidzone Montessori School

Owner www.discoverykidzone.blogspot.com