Favourite Meal Art Project
Plants and Animals in Our Lives
30 minutes
Individual work with teacher support
Art
Learning Objective
Identify plant and animal sources in meals through creative expression
Materials Needed
- Paper plates
- Crayons and markers
- Magazines with food pictures
- Child-safe scissors
- Glue sticks
- Examples of local meals (pictures)
Preparation
- 1Show examples of common local meals (callaloo soup, roti, rice and peas)
- 2Cut out food pictures from magazines
- 3Set up art stations with materials
- 4Prepare example plate to show
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1Show children pictures of local meals and discuss ingredients
- 2Ask children to think of their favorite meal at home
- 3Children draw or collage their favorite meal on the paper plate
- 4Help them identify each food: 'Is rice from a plant or animal?'
- 5Label each food item with 'P' (plant) or 'A' (animal) with teacher help
- 6Children share their plates with a partner
Assessment
- Can the child identify most foods as plant or animal sources?
- Does the child include multiple food items in their meal?
- Can the child explain their food choices?
Extensions
- Display plates in 'Our Food Comes from...' bulletin board
- Create a class cookbook with favorite meals
- Graph most popular foods
- Invite families to share recipes
Teaching Tips
- Accept all family food traditions respectfully
- Help children who struggle with fine motor skills
- Use this as opportunity to learn about different cultures
- Connect to nutrition concepts simply