The food plate is a model of the five food groups that should be consumed, and in what quantities they should be eaten in relation to one another. For your health and nutrition project, have kids construct food plates on construction paper by drawing a large circle and then separating the circle into four quadrants. The vegetable food category is the largest quadrant, followed by equally-sized sections for grains and proteins and a smaller quadrant for fruit. Dairy is off to the side as an extra, small section. In each food group section the kids draw pictures of the types of food they find in the group. For one week, have kids put star stickers on their food plates in the sections of the food groups they eat for lunch. At the end of the week, see who the healthiest eater is in class or at home.
Parents and teachers can make their own safety project that teaches kids how to identify safety hazards in the classroom, in home or in general. The project is a hazard hunt. The teacher or parent sets the environment up with safety hazards, such as outlets filled up with electrical cords, electrical cords left next to the sink, a book of matches left out in the open and other things that could pose danger. Together with the kids, the adult walks around the environment and asks kids to point out the safety hazards. As the children see the hazards, they call out what the hazard is and then the adult and children correct the hazard so that the area is once again safe.
Health comes in a variety of forms, such as physical health, dental health and mental health. Teach kids about the types of health and how to maintain it. For instance, exercise is good for physical health and brushing your teeth is good for dental health. As a project, have kids keep track of what they do that is healthy by writing it down in a health log. If a child brushed his teeth that morning, he can write it into the log. If another kid played soccer for an hour, that counts as an item for the physical health. At the end of the week, host a show and tell session where kids boast about what they do that is good for their physical, dental and mental health.
Fill a basket with a variety of foods, from vegetables to cookies. For this project the children must remove the items from the basket and make two piles: one for the healthy foods and one for the unhealthy foods. This project tests children's awareness of which foods are more nutritional than others. After the piles are made, talk to the kids about why the foods in the healthy pile are nutritious and the foods in the unhealthy pile are not.