Teach children about the six food groups: grains; vegetables; fruits; meats, beans and nuts; dairy; fats; and oils. Obtain a variety of play food items (enough to give each child one item), which you can get at your local department, discount or toy store. Some craft and hobby supply stores also sell faux fruit. Give each child one piece of play food and ask them to think about what food group it belongs to. Then have them each stand up, say what the food is and what food group it belongs to.
Give the children paper, and ask them to draw a picture of their favorite food. It can be anything, from cake to spaghetti. After the children draw their pictures, have them present their drawings to the group and say what their favorite food is. Proceed to ask each child what food groups their favorite food is in—some of the foods they draw will belong to multiple groups. After they answer, ask the entire group if eating that food every day would be appropriate for a healthy diet.
For example, if a child draws a picture of chicken nuggets, he should tell the group that this food belongs to the meat, beans and nuts group. Then, the entire class will likely say it's fine to eat chicken nuggets every day. You should then point out to them that eating chicken nuggets daily is appropriate, as long as they're eaten in moderation--eating five chicken nuggets is different from eating 15 of them.
The “Healthy Alphabet” activity will reinforce the importance of eating a varied, healthful and nutritious diet. You will need flash cards that only display letters--if you don't have any on hand, you can easily make them using a broad-tipped marker and index cards. Sit the children in a circle, and have them say each letter as a group. Then ask the children if they can think of a healthy food that starts with the aforementioned letter.
For example: When you start this activity and show the card for the letter “A”, you should ask the group “What letter is this?” After they all answer “A”, ask one of the kids to name a healthy food that starts with “A”—a common response will be “apple.”
When you get to the less common letters, such as “P,” “Q,” “W” and “Z,” you may notice that the children will have a hard time thinking of a healthy food that starts with that letter. Take this opportunity to introduce the preschoolers to foods they may not be aware of yet, such as pineapple, quinoa, watercress and zucchini.