Educational Nutrition Material for Select Age Groups

Nutrition is vital to the health and well-being of all human beings. This is even more applicable to a child’s health. Young children must eat nutritious, healthy foods in order for their bodies to develop properly. Eating the right foods, especially at a young age, is vital to help a child grow up to become a strong adult.

One of the ways that the importance of nutrition can be taught to young children is through online activities and games. Offering these types of educational nutritional materials in a fun format makes learning more attractive to kids. They will be having fun while at the same time learning what foods to eat and how to make healthy food choices now and throughout the rest of their lives. This article provides links to games, activities, and fun information on nutrition for children in three age categories.

3-4 Years Old

• Super Star Nutrition for Kids- Sponsored by the Oregon Department of Education, this site features a variety of printable activity sheets, each offered in five different languages.
• Watermelon Coloring Books – Run by the National Watermelon Promotion Board, this website offers downloadable activity and coloring books for younger children.
• Favorite Snacks Memory Game – This memory game, which requires a flash player to play correctly, has three levels of difficulty and asks kids to match friends with a healthy snack.
• FSA Coloring Pages – Sponsored by the USDA Farm Service Agency, this site offers printable coloring pages and coloring books.
• WIC Preschool Activity Sheets – This site sponsored by WIC provides printable activity sheets designed for two to four year olds.
• Kids World Nutrition Coloring Book – Sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, this site allows kids to use an interactive paintbrush and color pages online about nutrition.
• Juice Moose Matching Game – This game, which requires Java to function correctly, asks kids to match AJ and his friends.
• Super Crew Coloring Pages – Printable coloring and activity pages are offered on this website.
• Games & Puzzles to Print and Play – Sponsored by the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, this page offers a variety of printable games and puzzles, including connect the dots and coloring.
• Food Fun from Apples to Zucchini – Provided by the University of Illinois Extension, this site offers games and coloring that can be played online or printed out for later use.

5-7 Years Old

• Fruit & Veggie Color Champions – Sponsored by the Produce for a Better Health Foundation, this site offers kids an interactive guide and provided games and coloring pages for ages 2 to 5 and 6 to 8.
• Milk the Cow – This fun interactive game asks children to virtually milk the cow as fast as possible by clicking on cows in a race against the clock.
• Who Eats What? – Kids are asked to match the animal to the type of food it eats (for example, which animals eat meat, fish, etc) on this site.
• My Pyramid Blast Off Game – Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this site provides an interactive game where kids have to fuel their rocket with healthy foods and physical activity.
• Just for Kids: Fun Food Groups – Sponsored by The Hospital for Sick Children, this site teaches kids about foods as they help kids unpack grocery bags.
• Plant Parts Salad – The Howard Hughes Medical Institute runs this site which allows kids to build a salad using the correct parts of plants.
• Halloween Candy Game – This fun interactive game by Nemours KidsHealth.org has children place candy into a pumpkin’s mouth to count up a day’s worth of calories.
• Nutrition Café – These interactive games by the Pacific Science Center, which require Flash to play, offer several opportunities for kids to learn about nutrition.
• CoolFood for Kidz – This website provides a variety of fun, interactive games for kids on nutrition, building healthy habits, eating out and more.
• Kids World – Nutrition – This site provides games, coloring pages, activities and more, all with a focus on nutrition.
• Puzzle Page – USA Pears – Sponsored by USA Pears, this site offers a virtual, interactive jigsaw puzzle for kids to complete.
• Meet the Taste Buddies – Run by the American Institute for Cancer Research, this fun site provides interactive games where kids get to meet characters who teach them about nutrition.
• Strawberryville Puzzle Activity – This site offers four interactive puzzles for kids having to do with strawberries and their nutritional value.
• Bad Fat Brothers – Sponsored by the American Heart Association, this site features two animated brothers who teach kids about the bad fats (trans and sat).
• Brain POP Nutrition – This site features movies, interactive games, and quizzes all about nutrition.
• Fun Healthy Food Games for Kids – This game features Chef Solus, who guides kids through a Food Pyramid Adventure. Requires free sign-up to play.

8-11 Years Old

• Nutrient Roundup – This interactive game asks kids to choose lunch items and then shows them how nutrients are taken from each food item and used by the body.
• Nutrition Explorations – This site offers interactive nutrition games testing kids’ knowledge of the food groups and food pyramid.
• Word Find Game – Sponsored by Dole, this website provides an interactive word game, with all of the words focusing on fruit.
• Small Step Kids – Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this site, which requires flash, offers kids activities on food and nutrition.
• Calcium Calculator – The Washington Dairy Council provides this fun, interactive calculator designed to count the calcium in various foods.
• The Healthy Refrigerator Kids Quiz – Provided by Open the Door to a Healthy Heart, this site features an interactive refrigerator and asks questions, with nutritious foods as the answer choices.
• ZOOM Kitchen Chemistry - Sponsored by PBS Kids, this site for fourth through sixth graders offers an interactive virtual kitchen with games, puzzles, online experiments, and recipes. 
• Food Detectives – This site features interactive games that teach kids how to properly handle foods to prevent the spread of bacteria.
• Smart Mouth – Sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, this site features games and activities about healthier choices of foods.
• Sunkist Supermarket Sports – Sponsored by Sunkist, this site features a variety of interactive games teaching kids aspects of nutrition.
• Kidnetic.com – This site provides interactive games on eating the right foods and getting the proper amount of physical activity on a daily basis.
• Caffeine Machine – Sponsored by Harcourt School Publishers, this site features an interactive game where kids have to choose foods that have caffeine to fill a machine.