Eating out is easier when kids have something to do while waiting for the food to arrive. Sometimes those crayons and color-on place mats just don't do the trick. Why not pack a busy bag for your evening out?
Last week we looked at ideas for keeping kids quiet during a worship service. This week we will look at some ways to help kids learn about food and nutrition while waiting in a restaurant. Try some of the ideas below and be sure to check out the photo album at the bottom of the page for examples.
- Next time you are in the grocery store, snag some of those free recipe cards from the display in the produce department. Kids can play matching games, identify food groups and look at the pictures on the cards. Plus, you might get some nutritious dinner ideas.
- Use some of the free printables at Nourish Interactive to make a food group magnet game. Cut up some of those junk mail promotional magnets that come to your house and glue pictures of different foods to them. Use a small metal tray such as a cake pan or toaster oven insert to make the game portable. Kids can move the magnetic foods to the correct location on the pyramid.
- Use coloring sheets as templates to make your own travel-sized food felt set. Grocery stores like Publix give away free food-themed coloring books to kids. For an easy felt carrying kit, cut an adhesive-backed felt sheet to fit a shoebox lid. Store pieces inside of the box and use the lid as the feltboard. For information on making your own feltboard pieces, see Make a cheap and easy felt or flannel board. For a ready-made food pyramid felt set, see Funfelt.
- Bring along a stack of cheap paper plates and a set of crayons or markers. Have your child draw a meal on the plate with items that represent something from each food group. If you have lots of time, your child can draw a plate for each person at the table. See the picture at the top for an example.
- If you don't feel like creating a food-themed busy bag, just buy one. Learning Resources has two food sets that already come with carrying cases. One is Animal Crack-ups, an adorable animal puzzle set that comes in a cracker box. Another is Trail Mix and Match, which is a lacing kit with snack items that comes in a little lunch bag. See the photo album at the bottom of the page for images of these products.
Be sure to subscribe to these articles by email or in a reader for more educational activities and ideas.
You might also enjoy:
Busy bags
Busy Bags: Keeping kids quiet in a worship service
TV-free ways to keep kids busy part one
TV-free ways to keep kids busy part two
TV-free ways to keep kids busy part three
TV-free ways to keep kids busy part four
Back to school lunches: creative and educational solutions
Comments
oooh Busy Bag I love it...we will be flying with a 3 and 5 yr old next month and that is what they both need - a busy bag each thank you...please keep adding to the list of ideas for the busy bag!
Thanks, Lisa!
I will have a travel busy bag feature coming up in a few weeks. Maybe that will help. A lot of the items in my list of TV-free ways to keep kids busy (link at the bottom of the article above) can also double as busy bag items, and most of those are under $1 each.
Thanks so much for the article. It is great! I have recommended it on my list of suggested reading for "Kids eat free in Wichita Falls" It really complements my article.
Thanks! What a great idea letting parents know where kids can eat free.
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