Kids-playing-in-living-room

Fun Ways to Learn About Healthy Food and Get Moving!

June 25, 2025 Children

Eat. Move. Thrive.

Eating good food and moving your body are both important for staying healthy.

Mix good food and physical activity together and you have a recipe for fun!

Learning about healthy food is a skill we need for life. When kids move while they learn, it helps them remember things better. Moving more and sitting less helps our bodies and minds stay strong.

Moving and eating healthy foods helps you and your children:

  • ✓ Stay strong and healthy.
  • ✓ Learn better.
  • ✓ Have more fun!

Let’s Play

Here are some fun games you can play as a family, using items you already have at home.

These games can help you stay active, discover new foods your family likes, and have some fun while you’re at it!

Game: #1

MyPlate Relay Race

This game helps your children learn about different food groups. You can play it inside or outside!

myplate-relay-race

What you need:

  • 5 buckets or boxes (or any other container you have around!)
  • Colored paper or markers to label buckets
  • Bags or baskets – plastic, recycled grocery bag, backpack, or reusable tote (one for each player)
  • Play food or pictures of food (about 5-10 for each food group, for each person). You can also draw pictures or cut them out of magazines!

Here are some examples:

Fruits: apples, oranges, bananas, kiwi, strawberries, and 100% fruit juice.

Vegetables: leafy greens, carrots, broccoli, asparagus, and 100% vegetable juice.

Grains: bread, pasta, cornmeal, barley, breakfast cereals, grits, tortillas, popcorn, rice, and oatmeal.

Protein: fish, meat, poultry, eggs, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, and soy products.

Dairy: milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soy milk.

How to set it up:

  • Label each bucket with a food group: Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, and Protein.
  • Put the buckets where you have room to run.
  • Put 5-10 food pictures or play food items in each bag.

How to play:

  • Give each person a bag of food.
  • When you say “Go,” each person runs to the buckets and puts each food in their bag in the correct food group bucket.
  • Keep going until all the food is in the buckets.
  • Check the buckets and talk about which foods belong in each group.
Game: #2

Musical Fruits and Vegetables

This game uses music and real fruits and veggies!

What you need:

  • Real fruits and veggies
    Try picking new options you’ve never tried before
  • Printed pictures of the same fruits and veggies
  • Small pieces of paper
  • Pen or marker
  • Cup
  • Music

How to set it up:

  • Put the pictures in a circle on the floor.
  • Write the name of each fruit and veggie on a piece of paper and add a fun fact about the food. Fold the papers up and put them in a cup.

Here are a few fun facts to get started:

  • Tomatoes are actually a fruit. They develop from the flower of a plant and contain seeds.
  • Strawberries aren’t actually berries; they develop from multiple parts of a single flower, not a single flower part like a true berry.
  • Pomegranate can hold up to 1,000 seeds.
  • Cranberries can bounce. The small air pockets inside cranberries cause them to bounce when dropped, which is a sign of freshness.
  • Pineapples ripen faster upside down.
  • Watermelons are both a fruit and a vegetable. They’re considered a fruit because they have seeds and develop from the flower of a plant, but they’re also considered a vegetable because they are planted from seeds and harvested like other vegetables.
  • Baby carrots are not babies. They’re actually full-grown carrots that have been peeled and shaped into smaller sizes.
  • Have the real fruits and veggies ready (washed and cut up for small children).

How to play:

  • Play music and dance around the circle.
  • When the music stops, everyone stops on a picture.
  • Pick a paper from the cup.
  • The person on the matching picture gets to eat that fruit or veggie and learns the fun fact.
  • Keep playing until everyone is a winner and has a chance to taste a fruit or vegetable.
Game: #3

Eating Healthy Dance Party

Dancing is fun and good exercise! Studies show that pairing music with creative movement like dancing helps children learn and remember. Find fun songs to dance about healthy food here:

Songs for Teaching

Color Me Healthy

The Learning Station

family-dancing-in-kicthen

Tips for fun:

  • Make up your own songs about healthy food!
  • Make time for play every day.
  • Let kids teach you their favorite dances.

Eating well and staying active helps keep your family happy and healthy.

With these great ideas you can make it fun for the whole family to do so!

Make time for play every day and get moving and learning about healthy food choices!

REFERENCES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (April 24, 2024). Benefits of physical activity. Retrieved March 24, 2025 from
https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/benefits/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (February 1, 2024). Healthy schools. Retrieved March 24, 2025 from
https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/index.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (July 26, 2022). Physical activity facts. Retrieved March 24, 2025 from
https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm

U.S. Department of Agriculture. MyPlate for kids. Retrieved March 24, 2025 from
https://www.myplate.gov/life-stages/kids

Side-Lying Hold

  1. For the right breast, lie on your right side with your baby facing you.
  2. Pull your baby close. Your baby’s mouth should be level with your nipple.
  3. In this position, you can cradle your baby’s back with your left arm and support yourself with your right arm and/or pillows.
  4. Keep loose clothing and bedding away from your baby.
  5. Reverse for the left breast.

This hold is useful when:

  • You had a C-section
  • You want to rest while baby feeds
  • You are breastfeeding in the middle of the night
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position

Cross-Cradle Hold

  1. For the right breast, use your left arm to hold your baby’s head at your right breast and baby’s body toward your left side. A pillow across your lap can help support your left arm.
  2. Gently place your left hand behind your baby’s ears and neck, with your thumb and index finger behind each ear and your palm between baby’s shoulder blades. Turn your baby’s body toward yours so your tummies are touching.
  3. Hold your breast as if you are squeezing a sandwich. To protect your back, avoid leaning down to your baby. Instead, bring your baby to you.
  4. As your baby’s mouth opens, push gently with your left palm on baby’s head to help them latch on. Make sure you keep your fingers out of the way.
  5. Reverse for the left breast.

This hold is useful when:

  • Your baby is premature
  • Your baby has a weak suck
  • Your baby needs help to stay latched
  • Your baby needs extra head support
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position

Clutch or “Football” Hold

  1. For the right breast, hold your baby level, facing up, at your right side.
  2. Put your baby’s head near your right nipple and support their back and legs under your right arm.
  3. Hold the base of your baby’s head with your right palm. A pillow underneath your right arm can help support your baby’s weight.
  4. To protect your back, avoid leaning down to your baby. Bring baby to you instead.
  5. Reverse for the left breast.

This hold is useful when:

  • You had a C-section
  • You have large breasts
  • You have flat or inverted nipples
  • You have a strong milk let-down
  • You are breastfeeding twins
  • Your baby likes to feed in an upright position
  • Your baby has reflux
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position

Cradle Hold

  1. For the right breast, cradle your baby with your right arm. Your baby will be on their left side across your lap, facing you at nipple level.
  2. Your baby’s head will rest on your right forearm with your baby’s back along your inner arm and palm.
  3. Turn your baby’s tummy toward your tummy. Your left hand is free to support your breast, if needed. Pillows can help support your arm and elbow.
  4. To protect your back, avoid leaning down to your baby. Instead, bring your baby to you.
  5. Reverse for the left breast.

This hold is useful when:

  • Your baby needs help latching on
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position

Laid-Back Hold

  1. Lean back on a pillow with your baby’s tummy touching yours and their head at breast level. Some moms find that sitting up nearly straight works well. Others prefer to lean back and lie almost flat.
  2. You can place your baby’s cheek near your breast, or you may want to use one hand to hold your breast near your baby. It’s up to you and what you think feels best.
  3. Your baby will naturally find your nipple, latch, and begin to suckle.

This hold is useful when:

  • Your baby is placed on your chest right after birth
  • You have a strong milk let-down
  • You have large breasts
  • You and your baby are comfortable in this position