Musical Fruits and Vegetables
This simple, but exciting game incorporates fun music with fruits and vegetables to encourage learning through movement!
Materials Needed:
Eating Healthy Dance Party
Dancing is a great way to get your heart rate up and can be fun for all! This specific dance activity incorporates healthy eating messages into fun movements through music. Studies show that pairing learning with creative movement and music leads to better understanding and retention of learning for children. Share this activity with friends and relatives and invite them to join virtually. Consider scheduling an at-home dance party activity on a virtual meeting platform to show off your new songs and moves!
Visit these websites for fun songs to learn and incorporate movement:
This simple, but exciting game incorporates fun music with fruits and vegetables to encourage learning through movement!
Materials Needed:
- Fresh fruits and veggies
- Pictures of selected fruits and veggies (e.g. printed out, cut out from grocery circulars or invite children to draw their own)
- Slips of paper
- Pen or marker
- Cup
- Music (played through a favorite device or singing to the tune of a favorite song)
- Place the pictures in a circle on the floor and tape each one to the floor to secure and prevent slipping when stepped on.
- Take slips of paper and write down each fruit and vegetable chosen for the game and a fun fact on each slip, then place in a cup.
- Gather the fruit and veggies and have them on hand nearby. Note: This game incorporates tasting the items, so these fruits and vegetables should match the ones in the pictures and be items you have on hand at home. Some ideas are apples, pears, kiwi, bananas, peaches, plums, strawberries, raisins, cranberries, carrots, sugar snap peas, celery, broccoli, etc.
- Start playing the music of your choice. As the music plays, invite children to move and dance around the circle. When the music stops, the children should stop on the nearest space.
- After everyone stops on a space, pull out a slip of paper. The child standing on the space corresponding to the slip drawn wins that piece of fruit or vegetable and joins you to help draw the next slip. Remember to tell the group about the fun fact!
Eating Healthy Dance Party
Dancing is a great way to get your heart rate up and can be fun for all! This specific dance activity incorporates healthy eating messages into fun movements through music. Studies show that pairing learning with creative movement and music leads to better understanding and retention of learning for children. Share this activity with friends and relatives and invite them to join virtually. Consider scheduling an at-home dance party activity on a virtual meeting platform to show off your new songs and moves!
Visit these websites for fun songs to learn and incorporate movement:
- Songs for Teaching uses music to promote learning and provides a library full of nutrition and food songs.
- USDA ChooseMyPlate has three songs to learn and get moving to while promoting MyPlate and healthy eating.
- Color Me Healthy music gets children up and moving to a fun and happy beat.
- The Learning Station brings you the Fruit and Veggie Hokey Pokey! A twist on an all-time favorite dance song.