At playgroup you could provide a healthy snack, plan a snack-making activity, or ask families to bring a healthy snack of their choice. This could be as simple as a piece of fruit being cut up and shared.

Ways to develop numeracy through play

• Talk about the shapes and patterns of food.
• Can you find the star inside of an apple by cutting it horizontally across the middle? (Grate or slightly soften apple before giving it to under 4s).
• Patterns – Make some fruit kebabs.
• Make some shape sandwiches using biscuit cutters.
• Talk about fractions – Can you cut the orange in half or quarters?
• Estimation – Do you think we have enough fruit for everyone?
• Measure and weigh ingredients to make some fruit muffins for snack time.
• When children help to get organised for snack time, they are learning to quantify and compare their worlds.
• Ask children to set the table – How many bowls and cups do we need today?
• Ask children to wash their bowls and cups and sort into groups to put away.

Ways to develop literacy through play

• Sharing food can be a great opportunity to talk about what happened during the day, or what might happen tomorrow.
• Talk about the colour, taste, feel and smell of the food.
• Talk about different food groups
• Refer to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and print off posters to prompt discussions
• Make your own poster of healthy food and ‘sometimes’ food; draw or cut out pictures from magazines or catalogues.
• Talk about food that children like to eat – what do they like about it?
• Cooking – use lots of language to describe what you are doing eg mixing, stirring, pouring etc. Talk to the children about what happens when you add liquids to dry ingredients.
• Read books about food eg The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

• If the weather is nice you could pack a picnic and sit outside, or go to the park and share food together.
• Cooking – make some pikelets or fruit muffins – measure and weigh the ingredients.
• Grouping – make a graph of fruit that children like. Make a poster of food that we like.
• Have a Teddy Bears Picnic.
• Have a shared lunch or celebration – ask families to bring a plate of food to share (be aware of allergies).
• Make some fresh orange juice.
• Make a fruit smoothie.
• Make some frozen fruit ice blocks.
• Try eating a rainbow of different coloured fruit and vegetables.
• Plant some herbs and vegetables and watch them grow.
• See if your local council runs healthy eating sessions, or can have someone come present at Playgroup.

Play prompts:

• Have you washed your hands?
• What are we eating?
• Are you thirsty? Can you pour yourself a drink of water?
• Let’s cut this orange in half, then into quarters.

Parents or carers can:

• Comment on what their children are doing (say what they see).
• Talk in their home language.
• Use literacy and numeracy words (see words to use section above).
• Bring a piece of fruit to share.
• Help their child to prepare the snack or set up the table.
• Support their child to wash their hands – model good hygiene practices.
• Model healthy food choices.
• Share recipes from home.

You can help families by:

• Modelling what you want them to do.
• Talking to them about the focus of the activity and what children might be learning.
• Writing up words that go with the activity.
• Making suggestions on what families can do at home.

Great Start activities are for parents and carers to do with their children.

• Working  it out – problem solving
• Making a family cookbook
• Eating together
• Calling the family together to eat