Food Group Games

For preschoolers, food groups and dietary recommendations aren't very meaningful. But you can use food names and food groups to play fun and spontaneous games with your preschooler. Use these games about food to spark dinner conversation, while your kids are waiting for their meal to be served, or to pass the time with an antsy preschooler.

Food Group Game - Name a Food Circle Game

This is a great game to play with the entire family. Your preschooler might not be able to add many foods at first, but by listening to what the older members of the family add, they are learning about how foods go together.

Step 1: Announce a food group. Choose a formal food group - fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, dairy - or choose another grouping that might be more familiar to your preschooler - drinks, breakfast cereals, sandwiches, foods made from milk.

Step 2: One person in the group starts by naming a food that fits into the category. Then each person takes a turn naming another food in that group until someone can't answer.

Helpful Hint: By playing this game in the kitchen or at the dinner table, you can give your preschooler visual hints of foods that fit. For example, point to various fruits in the fruit bowl when it's their turn and they don't know how to answer.

Food Group Game - Guess My Food Game

This game can be played anywhere. Play it to help your preschooler wait in line, in the car, or at the dinner table.

Step 1: Choose a food group, then ask your preschooler to guess what food you are thinking of - "Guess my fruit!" Just like the circle game, you can choose easy categories like breakfast cereals or harder ones, depending on your preschooler's knowledge.

Step 2: Let your preschooler guess away to see if she can guess what food you are thinking of.

Helpful Hint: If your preschooler is familiar with letter sounds, after 10 wrong guesses give a hint about what letter your food starts with. Or, you can name traits about the food after a few wrong guesses. Give away the color of the food, then the shape of the food, then the place in the kitchen where you keep the food, etc., until your preschooler can guess the food.

More Preschool Food Fun

Healthy Food Picture Menu
Make the healthy food picture menu to give your preschooler the freedom to choose and you the confidence that the choice will be healthy. Find out how to make the menu and get resources for healthy food pictures.

How Preschoolers Can Help in the Kitchen
Involve your preschooler in preparing meals by giving them important kitchen jobs to do. There are lots of kitchen jobs a preschooler can do - from mixing batter and measuring ingredients to washing and peeling vegetables.

Preschooler Food Game - How Does it Grow?
Learn with your preschooler about how food grows with this easy food game. Play this game at mealtime and in the grocery store - your preschooler will have fun guessing and finding out the unusual ways some plant foods grow.

by Kati Chevaux

---

Like this article? Get more like it in your inbox. Subscribe today to our free weekly newsletter.