Have each child create her own mini pizza that contains something from each food group. Provide each student with one half of a whole wheat bun. Then have him add his choice of sauce, meat, vegetables and cheese, ensuring that he has at least one item from each food group. If you do not have the facilities to make pizza, have preschoolers make pretend pizzas using construction paper. Provide a large circle to each student to represent the crust, and ask her to cut shapes from construction paper to represent the other items. Alternatively, you may have all of the foods precut, and simply ask the children to choose which they would like and glue them onto the crust.
Have all children sit in a circle on the floor. Begin by stating either a food group, such as dairy or a type of food, such as cereal. Have students take turns volunteering one item from the food group that was stated by the teacher. If a child cannot think of an idea when it is her turn, the other children in the circle can help her out. Try to get all the way around the circle with ideas for each food group.
If you have access to a small plot of land outside the preschool, consider planting a small garden with the children in the spring. Involve children in all aspects including planting, watering and weeding. Later in the year when the vegetables are grown, have students create and eat their own salad. Alternatively, you may choose to create a garden mural inside the preschool instead of planting a garden. Use a large piece of poster paper or long roll of paper to create a landscape mural with grass, dirt and trees. As you learn about new types of fruits and vegetables, draw them in the proper place on the mural. For example, a carrot would be drawn so that it appears to be in the soil.
Provide children with a cut-out picture of a lunch box. Have them look through newspapers, magazines and flyers and cut out items to glue into the lunch box. Each lunch box should include foods from all food groups. Ask each preschooler to tell you which foods he chose and their food groups. Help children learn that "extras" such as cookies should be limited. Fasten all of the completed lunch boxes to a bulletin board or wall in the preschool to create a colorful display.