Learning what happens to the food we eat and how to take good care of our digestive systemsAdditional Note: I did this lesson with a group of preschoolers and they ATE IT UP!
For this lesson you will need:Speaker Bear
Sticker Basket
Colored Construction paper
tape
Saltine Crackers (in a bowl)
Paper Towel Tube
Empty milk jug that is see-through
Spray bottle filled with water
Pastry cutter (or fork)
2 pieces of bread moistened and smooshed
Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
5 small balls, marshmallows or any other small item)and something for them to hide in
Bucket (or large mixing bowl)
Piece of paper with a ‘5’ drawn on it
Printed and colored diagram of digestive system: see below
2-3 Foods from each food group
Plate
Welcome Song: Sung to tune of “Old MacDonald”
Welcome welcome everyone
So glad that you are here
Today we’re gonna have some fun
So let’s give out a cheer,
Woohoo!
Clap clap clap clap
Slap slap slap slap
Clap clap clap Let’s go! (group highfive)
Question of the Day: What did you eat for breakfast this morning? Pass the “Speaker Bear” to each child and allow them to answer the question. Share your answer as well.
Number of the Day '5': Hide five small balls (or other small items) in a lunch bag. Pull one out of the bag and show it to the children. “Do you think I can juggle this?”
Proceed to throw it up and catch it in the other hand. “That was pretty easy. Do you think I can do two?” Pull out another ball and juggle the two balls. “That wasn’t too hard.” Pull out the rest of the balls and ask if they think you can juggle all of them. Have them count the balls aloud with you. For kicks, go ahead and give it a shot. Say “I guess I’m going to need a little more practice. But for now, I think we’ll try something else.”
Place a bucket on the floor. Tell children that they must stand behind a designated imaginary line, and take turns trying to get all 5 balls into the bucket. Have them count aloud each time they toss one.
When the game is done, pass around the sticker basket and ask each child to pick out 5 stickers while counting aloud. Have them stick the stickers on the sticker chart.
Letter of the Day 'E': Before class, use colored construction paper to gift wrap the letter E. Wrap it in several layers, each layer being a different color (enough layers for each child to unwrap one.) Top the gift with a bow. Tell children you are going to play some music, while they pass the “present” around the circle. When you stop the music the person who is holding the present will get to unwrap one layer. Repeat this process until each child has had one turn, and the letter is revealed.
Demonstrate how the capital and lower case letter E is written. Allow children to practice in their writing notebooks.
Teach the ASL sign and sounds for the letter E, and ask what words they can think of that start with that letter. Teach ASL sign for Ear, Elephant, and Eat.
Introduction of Topic: Give each child a Saltine cracker and tell them to eat it.
After children are finished eating, ask “What happened to the cracker?!” (We ate it!)
“Where did it go after it went in your mouth?” (In my throat, in my tummy)
“How did it fit down there?” Show them another cracker and how big it is. Act surprised that they could each swallow such a big piece of food!
Have them describe what happened inside of their mouths to make the cracker small enough to fit in their throats and tummies.
Hold up the Saltine for children to see “Today, we’re going to find out exactly what happens to food when we eat it.”
Show digestive diagram and have children say “DIGESTIVE SYSTEM” aloud, (It’s always fun to hear little mouths use big words).
Have children repeat after you as you introduce each part of the system.
Point to your mouth and say, this is where it all begins, in the __________! (Mouth!!)
“Inside our mouths we have many different parts that help us to break food down and make it smaller so it can fit in our throats and tummies, just like what happened with your cracker." Point to your teeth and ask if anyone knows what job the teeth are in charge of. (CHEWING FOOD!)
Ask what would happen if we didn’t have teeth and emphasize importance of taking good care of our teeth. Explain process of chewing and breaking down food.
Have children stick out their tongues, and look at the person’s tongue sitting next to them. “Are our tongues wet or dry?”
“The wet stuff on our tongue and in our mouth is what we call Saliva. When food enters our mouth, it touches the saliva, and the saliva helps the food to become soft so it’s easier to chew and swallow.”
Activity: Demonstrate how saliva works to soften foods, by allowing each child to squirt some water from a spray bottle onto the saltine cracker. Have children observe and tell you what is happening to the cracker, each time someone squirts. Then have each child crush the softened cracker with a pastry cutter or fork (acting as the teeth).
“After the saliva and teeth have made the food soft and small enough to swallow, then it goes down a long tube called our esophagus.” Have children drag their fingers from the front of their neck all the way down to their stomach. “The esophagus is kind of like an elevator for our food. Once we swallow, the elevator takes the food down to our stomach.” Demonstrate this by using a cardboard paper towel roll and a milk carton. Put a few of the softened crackers as well as a few pieces of softened bread into the tube and watch it land in the milk carton.
“When the food gets to your stomach, there is a door that will let the food in.”
(Point to the opening of the milk jug.)
“How many of you have ever had a full tummy? When your stomach has enough food in it, your body feels full, and you don’t feel hungry anymore. There are special juices inside the stomach that help to make our food even smaller. They move around like the ocean waves, mixing everything up and making the food smaller and smaller. It’s kind of like a dance!”
Add water (colored yellow, if possible) to milk jug. Move jug back and forth so the contents slosh around, and allow children to observe the movement. Give each child a turn to shake the jug as well.
Show diagram of digestive system. “Where does this mixture go when it’s done mixing in the stomach?” Run your finger along the intestines to show the pathway of the food. Ask children if they’ve ever been in a big tunnel before. (Chuck E Cheese, Theme parks, caves…) Explain that it’s like going through a tunnel, and at different stops along the way, the important parts of the mixture, (the ones that our bodies need) leave the tunnel and go inside the rest of the body. All the stuff that our body does not need will follow the tunnel to the end, and will come out when we go to the bathroom." Empty the contents of the milk jug and rinse it out to be used for the next activity.
Emphasize what a wonderful system this is, and the importance of taking proper care it. “What are some ways we can take good care of our digestive systems?”
Explain that the best way to do this is by eating healthy, and choosing foods that will make our bodies feel good and work well
Activity: Lead children to the table where you have displayed several food items, each separated into the food groups they belong to.
Some ideas of items to display:
Dairy: Milk, Cheese, yogurt
Meat/Protein: Nuts, lunchmeat, Tuna, dried beans
Grain: Cereal, noodles, rice
Fruit: Banana, Apple, Grapes
Veggies: Carrots, Celery, Canned corn
A few pieces of candy
Water
Soda
Cookies or other dessert items
Or
Anything else you have around your kitchen
Food groups may have been introduced during Lesson 2, in which case you may use this as a review. Re-emphasize the importance of choosing a
variety of foods so that their bodies are able to get everything they need.
Ask what would happen if we only ate bananas every day for the rest of our life. Explain that we’d be missing out on a lot of
other vitamins and healthy things that our bodies need to grow.
Hold up the emptied milk jug and say “Did you hear that? I think I just heard this stomach grumbling. What does that mean when your stomach makes grumbling sounds?” (Hungry!!). Ask them to help you choose some healthy foods to feed this hungry stomach.
Say things like: “John, will you please choose something from the Dairy group?” When he chooses an item, explain what benefits that particular item may have in the body. Example: “Great choice! Cheese will help its bones grow very strong.”
Allow child to put a sample of the food item into the milk jug. (Comment each time that the stomach grumblings are growing quieter. “We must be filling it up!”)
After you have requested items from each food group, explain that since this stomach hasn’t had sweets in a while, it’s okay to let it have a little treat too, but just a small one. Allow them to choose only one small piece of candy and put it inside. Explain that treats like candy, soda, cake, etc, are items we should only have every once in a while, not with every meal. Have them each pour a little bit of water in the jug and shake it around a little bit, to help it “digest”. Congratulate them on a job well done. They chose a fantastic meal for this very hungry stomach. Now it will have the energy to do what it needs to do.
Story: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Snack: An apple, pear or plum to go along with
The Very Hungry Caterpillar story
Art: Display several pieces of construction paper (various colors) for the children to choose from. Tell them you are all going to make a big salad, and they have to decide what to put in it. Don’t stick to the traditional. Encourage them to come up with a new type of salad. (could be a combination of pepperoni, bananas, and eggplant. You get the point) Have children draw, cut out and place the salad mix-ins on a real plate, to make it look like a real salad.
Service: Have children pack a few canned food items into a bag to be donated to a local food pantry. Explain that such donations are very much appreciated by hungry people who may not have food in their cupboards like we do.
GoodbyeSong: To the tune of “If You’re Happy and you Know it”
If you’ve learned a lot today, clap your hands (clap clap)
Here’s the letter of the day (sign the letter E), clap your hands (clap clap)
Oh, we’ve had a lot of fun,
Now our preschool time is done (tap index finger to wrist)
See you next time (wave) and we’ll do it all again! (Clap clap.)
