Do your elementary children need to learn the basics of good nutrition? Are you looking for some fun, inexpensive nutrition curriculum to add to your homeschool? That’s where I found myself this past holiday season.

Around New Year’s I got a sinking feeling whenever I thought of my children’s eating habits. We are a normal American family that favors eating healthy. We like fresh fruits and veggies. I even try to introduce “new” vegetables to my family on a regular basis just to break up the broccoli and carrot monotony.

But after two months of holiday cooking—cookies, candies, heavy meals and eating out with visiting relatives—I began to suspect that my children were getting used to too much sugar, too much process and way too much convenience in their foods. I figured why wait until they are preteen or teenagers before introducing formal instruction on nutrition.

Edible PyramidMy search uncovered fun, free resources on nutrition for children. First, I began with my local library. A quick online search pointed me to a great non-fiction book: The Edible Pyramid: Good Eating Every Day by Loreen Leedy. This was a fantastic introduction to the newly revised food pyramid. It teaches about the food categories—grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat/beans and oil, sweets and nuts—and serves as a great conversation starter with elementary-aged children.

Following the book’s advice, I visited the government’s nutrition website: www.mypyramid.gov. There, I found free curriculum, printables, games and activities to begin teaching my elementary student the basics of good nutrition and physical fitness.

This has proven to be a fun unit for my child and has started a dialogue about the benefits and necessity of eating healthily and staying active. Enjoy!

If you have other nutrition related activities or books that you recommend, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear your input.