Eat Well-Live Better
Nutrition Art Activities
A curriculum that integrates nutrition education
into arts and crafts activities for children ages 6 to
9 in after-school settings
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Activity Lesson Plan #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
"My Favorite Family Recipe:
A Drawing or Painting"
Activity Lesson Plan #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
“My Favorite Fruit or Vegetable:
A 3-D Art Activity”
Artist: Karen Tran, 9
Activity Lesson Plan #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
“3 Steps to My Favorite Healthy Snack:
A Comic Strip Activity”
Artwork on cover created by the following artists:
Fanny Godoy, Age 8 “Corn”
Gabriella Garcia, Age 7, “James and the Giant Peach”
Rocio Cruz, Age 9, “La Piña”
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Introduction
Today, many people agree that our children
could be healthier, that they could be eating
better. In a survey conducted by the Eat
Well-Live Better Project, 60% of parents
noted that children should be taught to eat
healthier early in life. One way to do this is
to get children to think about healthy foods
as a theme for arts and crafts activities.
Nutrition education can be included in
almost any after-school art activity. This
curriculum gives you three examples of
how the Eat Well-Live Better Project and the
Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco got
children to think about healthy foods. The
activities were tested with mostly Latino
children ages 6 to 9 in San Francisco’s
Mission District, but children from different
backgrounds and ages also participated in
the activities.
1
Acknowledgments
This curriculum was developed by the San Francisco Department
of Public Health Nutrition Services, Eat Well - Live Better (EWLB) Project
team in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco, the
San Francisco Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) Program, and
the San Francisco Project LEAN Mission Latino Family Partnership.
A special thank you is due to the following Boys and Girls Clubs of
San Francisco art coordinators, who worked with the EWLB Project to
develop the activities found in this curriculum and committed many
hours testing them out: Asima Arif (Excelsior Clubhouse), Jessica Sowards
(Mission Clubhouse), and Bill Mayfield (Columbia Park Clubhouse). Thank
you to the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco Administration, especially Lilia Chagolla for facilitation of this collaborative effort. Also, thank you
to the following organizations that allowed the EWLB Project to test out
activities with the children they serve: Mission Learning Center, Salvation
Army, and Women’s Building (Manos Cariñosas).
Excellent technical assistance and guidance was provided by the Mission
Latino Family Partnership, specifically from Laura Brainin-Rodriguez, MPH,
MS, RD and from the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health, in
particular from Jo Ann Johnson, MPH.
The Eat Well – Live Better Project team members included: Coorina
Alcaraz-Alvarez, RD; Amanda Chowenhill; Eric Hernandez, RD; and
Laura Nieto.
Funding for this Healthy Eating and Childhood Overweight Prevention
Grant was provided by USDA Food Stamp Program, through the California
State Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program
Branch and The California Nutrition Network. The USDA Food Stamp
Program is an equal opportunity provider and employer, helping
Californians buy more nutritious foods for a healthier diet. For information
about Food Stamps, please call 1-800-952-5253 or in San Francisco call
(415) 558-4186. For information about the WIC Program please call
1-888-WIC-WORKS (1-888-942-9675) or in San Francisco call (415) 575-5788.
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September 2003
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Activity Lesson Plan
1
"My Favorite Family Recipe:
A Drawing or Painting"
Artist: Jezi Correa, age 9
Eat Well – Live Better Project
Activity Lesson Plan 1
"My Favorite Family Recipe: A Drawing or Painting"
Time Frame:
One hour is needed to conduct a one-day activity. To produce higher quality art, a few
weeks may be needed. For example, the activity can be done for one hour per day a
couple of times a week until the artwork has been completed.
Goal:
Improve children’s awareness of their family’s food customs, cooking, and/or ingredients,
to promote curiosity about cooking.
Learning Objective:
Children will draw or paint one of their favorite family recipes.
Background Information:
Most experts agree that healthy eating habits are best formed at a young age.
Encouraging children to help their parents cook is one way to form healthy habits.
In fact, many parents agree that children usually eat the foods they help prepare.
In addition, cooking is fun for children, and it gives them a chance to experience their
family’s food customs. For example, children who grow up making "Tostadas de
Nopal" (cactus tostadas) may see this as common food, even though it is far from the
typical fast food or microwave meal. Drawing or painting their favorite family food can
get children to think about food differently and with some encouragement they may
even want to help cook a meal.
For more information about cooking with kids go to www.cde.ca.gov/nsd/nets/gpteachtip.pdf
Artist: Grace Angel Zhu, age 8
Artist: Ayanna Andrews, age 7
4
Materials Needed:
• Any size or type of paper
• Finger paint, acrylic paint, and/or water-based paint
• Paint brushes
• Color pencils, crayons, and/or water-based color markers
Instructions:
1. Provide a brief background on the importance of cooking with natural ingredients.
You can even ask the group, "there’s lots of reasons why cooking at home is good,
who can give me a reason?"
2. Directive: Explain to the children that today’s activity will be "drawing or painting
your favorite family recipe or meal." Ask, "what is your favorite family recipe?"
Younger children may need extra help envisioning their favorite food, so it may
be helpful to have them mentally picture their kitchen, the person cooking, or
remember a meal they ate at home.
3. Give guidance: the artwork should be unique, not tracing, no fast food or
restaurant food.
4. Write on the back of each artwork
• Title, medium used (example: water color, color pencils)
• Name of child, age, after-school program (clubhouse unit)
• Date completed
Extra Ideas:
The drawings or paintings can be used to create a 12-month calendar or to create
posters. Recipes or nutrition tips can be included in the calendar or poster to
encourage parents and children to prepare meals together. We recommend parents
or guardians sign a permission slip for your program to use the child’s artwork.
Artist: Victoria Hu, age 7
Artist: Natalie Mael, age 8
5
Activity Lesson Plan
2
"My Favorite Fruit or Vegetable:
A 3-D Art Activity”
Gabriella Garcia, age 7
Eat Well – Live Better Project
Activity Lesson Plan 2
"My Favorite Fruit or Vegetable: A 3-D Art Activity"
Time Frame: One hour is needed to conduct a one-day activity using Play-Doh or
modeling clay. To produce higher quality art, a few weeks may be needed. For
example, the activity can be done for one hour per day a couple of times a week
until the artwork has been completed.
Goal: Improve children’s awareness of eating 5 fruits and vegetables per day.
Learning Objective: Children will create a 3-dimensional fruit or vegetable using art
supplies.
Background Information:
"Kids need at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day for good health...for
them to grow, develop and do well in school and sports," according to the California
5-A-Day Power Play Program of the California Department of Health Services.
Also, "...several studies show that children's fruit and vegetable intake decreases with
age, reaching its lowest levels in adolescence and early adulthood. The 1999 California
Children's Healthy Eating and Exercise Practices Survey (CalCHEEPS) found that 9- to
11-year-old children are eating only 2.7 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (excluding fried potatoes). These levels are even lower than those for adults…(5-A-Day Power
Play website www.dhs.ca.gov/cpns)." Creating their favorite fruit or vegetable with art
can motivate children to eat more fruits and vegetables at home.
Catherine Vasquez, age 7
Ayanna Andrews, age 8
Idy Li, age 6
7
Materials Needed
For a one-day (one-hour) activity
• Play-Doh or modeling clay
• Plastic knives to cut Play-Doh or modeling clay
For using Paper Mache (multiple-day) activity
• Newspaper or computer paper to paste
• Balloons to wrap with paper (optional)
• Glue
• Water based or acrylic paint in primary colors.
• Water
• Paint brush and pencils
• Paper mache, cardboard or foam
Instructions:
1) Provide a brief background on fruits and vegetables, and the importance of eating
5 servings per day.
2) Instruct youth that artwork must be of a fruit and/or a vegetable only.
3) The 3-D object may be mounted on a board as a wall hanging or can stand alone as
a sculpture.
4) Write on the back of each artwork:
• Title (fruit or vegetable) and medium used (example: balloons, paper mache,
clay, etc.)
• Name of child, after school program (clubhouse unit)
• Date completed
Fanny Godoy, age 8
Rocio Cruz, age 9
Emily Wang, 11 and Jackie Wong, age 11
8
Activity Lesson Plan
3
"3 Steps to My Favorite Healthy Snack:
A Comic Strip Activity”
Artist: Karen Tran, age 8
Eat Well – Live Better Project
Activity Lesson Plan 3
"3 Steps to My Favorite Healthy Snack: a Comic Strip Activity"
Time Frame: One hour is needed to conduct a one-day activity. To produce higher
quality art, more days may be needed. For example, the activity can be done for one
hour per day a couple of times a week until the artwork has been completed.
Goal: Improve children’s awareness of how easy it can be to make a healthy snack.
Learning Objective: Children will draw or paint the three steps needed to make a
healthy snack using a comic strip or cartoon format.
Artist: Reyna Laracuente, age 8
Artist: Idy Li, age 6
Artist: Cecilia Salazar, age 9
Artist: Cindy Santisteban, age 9
10
Materials Needed:
• Any size or type of paper
• Color pencils, crayons, and/or water-based color markers
• Finger paint, acrylic paint, and/or water-based paint
• Paint brushes
Instructions:
1. Provide a brief background on the importance of making healthy snacks, like
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or dipping carrots into dressing. You can even
ask the group, "How do you make your favorite healthy snack?"
2. Directive: Explain to the children that today’s activity will be drawing or painting
the three steps to make a healthy snack. Younger children may need extra help
knowing what a healthy snack is, so it may be helpful for them to hear some
examples. Ask children to please draw in comic-strip cartoon style. Make sure it
has more than one ingredient. Make it colorful and fun. Do your best! You can add
words to say what is going on.
3. Pass out a comic strip template on paper that resembles this:
Step #1
Step #3 (Final Product)
Step #2
4. Give guidance: the artwork should be unique, not tracing, no junk food, like chips
and candy.
5. Write on the back of each artwork
• Title, medium used (example: water color, colored pencil)
• Name of child, age, after-school program (clubhouse unit)
• Date completed
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Artist: Karmen Zhu, age 10
Artist: Cassandra DeLeon Mitra, age 8
Artist: Ayanna Andrews, age 8
Artist: Amy Wu, age 7
Artist: Esmerelda Viello, age 7
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ARTWORK
Artwork created by children at the following Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco clubhouses: Columbia Park,
Excelsior, and Mission. We would also like to thank the following art coordinators of these clubhouses for
their support and help in making this curriculum possible: Asima Arif, Bill Mayfield, and Jessica Sowards.
Thank you also to Lilia Chagolla, Manager of Health Services at the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco for
her support and encouragement.
For more information you can write to:
WIC Program
30 Van Ness Ave. Suite # 220
San Francisco, CA 94102
Developed by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Nutrition Services, Eat Well- Live Better (EWLB)
Project in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Child Health
and Disability Prevention (CHDP) Program. Funding provided by USDA’s Food Stamp Program, an equal
opportunity provider and employer, helping Californians buy more nutritious food for a healthier diet. For
more information about Food Stamps, please call 1(800) 952-5253 or (415) 558-4186. For information about
the WIC Program please call 1-888-WIC-WORKS (1-888-942-9675) or in San Francisco call (415) 575-5788.
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September 2003
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