Incorporating food-related play in the curriculum
Overview
Engaging in food and messy play can help reduce anxiety around new foods and textures by creating playful and stress-free interactions with food. Some ideas are better suited to activity stations, while others work well for structured group activities.
Art and design
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It might be helpful to explore the sensory properties of different foods and discuss their similarities and differences.
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You could wrap food in foil tape or paper to create food sculptures.
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Try placing a single food item in a Ziplock bag , squeezing all the air out and closing it. Squishing, crushing and pushing the food around to make patterns can be fun, especially when observing the changes against a window.
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You can explore thin slices of foods on a DIY light table, moving them around and reordering them to make patterns.
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You could create music by shaking different foods in containers and experimenting with various containers to observe how the sound changes.
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You could look at food through different coloured lenses, coloured acetate, down a tube, or through a mini kaleidoscope to magnify pieces and slices of food.
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You could paint with tomato ketchup, chocolate custard, or smooth yoghurt on darker paper.
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You could sponge paint foods onto the window using squares of washing-up sponge held in soft-touch clothes pegs as dabbers.
Understanding the world
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It may be helpful to read stories that include food.
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Gardening could provide opportunities to support engagement in messy play activities. Curiosity in the growing process may help children engage with foods.
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If outdoor gardening is not an option, growing mustard and cress indoors might be a good alternative.
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Cooking, including ‘no-cook’ recipes, can be a practical way to engage children with food.
Maths
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You could ask children to sort different foods into separate containers and match them by shape, size, or colour.
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You could count units, spoonfuls, and other measures that could help develop numerical skills.
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You could create a simple repeating pattern with two or more different foods
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You could make a simple pair of scales with a tub or box at each end and compare the weight of different foods.
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You could play a simple game of pair matching with foods.
Literacy
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You could share stories that include foods and use real food props to talk about their sounds, looks, smells, and tastes.
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You could draw foods you have looked at together and add text as appropriate for the age group.
Personal, social, and emotional
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You could ask them to keep a journal of food experiences, likes, not sure and don’t like yet. Note how they explored the food
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You could play with paper bag puppets with your finger as a tongue to ‘taste’ foods. Children can present different foods from fingers or using tongs, fork or child’s food pick. You could describe sensory properties from the puppet’s perspective using positive language. It may be helpful to explore what the children do or don’t like about the food offered.
One step at a time: Eating and drinking
If the child does not like touching food items, you could have them sort food packaging into different categories (e.g., color, shape, texture). This helps them engage with foods without eating or touching them.
Watch again
Jump straight to what parents and early years professionals have said about food and drinks
