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Last Updated on December 7, 2023
Having trouble getting your kids to eat right? Does teaching them healthy eating habits often feel like a chore? Getting children to enjoy and understand the benefits of nutrition can be fun. Some of the ways in which you can achieve this is by leveraging something that they already love to do. That’s where the dynamic game of bingo comes into play! That’s right, you can create a dedicated Food Group Bingo board for your kids so that they can play and learn at the very same time. Sounds easy, right?
The 5 Food Groups
Before we take a look at the bingo game itself, it’s important that we understand the 5 major food groups first. These must be outlined and understood, so that you’re not placing foods into the wrong category and confusing your young players. On that note, the 5 groups are:
Dairy: These foods come loaded with calcium, which are important for the growth and maintenance of healthy bones. Foods that you might find within this group are: milk, cheese and yogurt.
Vegetables: These contain fibre, minerals and other nutrients to keep us healthy and fit. Leafy greens such as kale and spinach are some of the best vegetables to eat daily.
Grains: If you choose right, healthy grains can be rich in fibre, leading to a healthy heart and stomach. Whole-grains are those that are recommended, and refined grains, such as cakes and biscuits, must be avoided. Whole grain foods can include: buckwheat, quinoa and, rice.
Fruit: These foods offer the body an abundance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that help keep the body strong, fit and full of energy. Some of the best fruits are: blueberries, apples and bananas.
Lean Meats: Poultry, fish, eggs and nuts offer us the nutrients we need to maintain body tissue and build muscle. These foods are essential to our overall well-being and strength.
And now for a fun game!
A standard bingo board contains 5 columns and 5 rows. Considering we’re looking at outlining 5 different food groups, this will make the creation of such a bingo board all that much simpler. In fact, some of the best mobile bingo sites, such as bingo-apps.co.uk, offer simple bingo games with vibrant aesthetics. We want to mimic this exact same look, but for kids!
In this case, list the foods associated to each food group under each individual letter spelling B-I-N-G-O. The end result should look something like this:
These boards can be customized so that you are including foods that your children have yet to discover. With Food Group Bingo, children will easily be able to compartmentalize different foods into their appropriate categories all while understanding how they contribute to an overall healthy diet. Here’s to a healthy game night!