I also make “food bottles” ... I have found at Kmart for $2
for a set of 3 small screw top jars. They are made from BPA-free plastic and
they are affordable and small enough for little hands. AND you can glue them
closed! I used to make them out of different sorts of bottles from the $2/Discount
stores, but they are not the safest plastics to use. I much prefer the Kmart
ones now!
Basically, fill your containers with different sorts of
dried food products: pasta, lentils, rice, beans, oats, flour, etc and then
glue the lid on tightly. The end! You could add labels to the front if you
wanted to add a literacy component to it, but I haven’t done this as yet. It’s
on the list for later!
barley
polenta
rice
spaghetti
red lentils in action!
red lentils
One might argue that it’s irresponsible and disrespectful to
use food as a “toy” ... I say that you can justify in any number of ways:
a) Firstly, you can use products that are out of
date and would otherwise be discarded.
b) You can explain that we are using the food, in
small amounts, to educate children to the importance of healthy eating.
c) We
are showing the children respect by providing something “real” that they can
relate to and to hopefully dispel any apprehension they might have about eating
different sorts of foods.
d) It
is something that will last years rather than moments, so the food is not being
wasted, it is simply just not being eaten - and you are only using a small amount.
PLEASE NOTE:
1. It’s
important that you are aware of any allergies in your learning space. For
example, you wouldn’t use peanuts or a product that contains peanuts inside the
jars.
2. Make sure that you use low-allergy foods and
make sure they are closed tightly and I suggest using a hot glue gun, or
possibly a very strong construction adhesive. Just be wary of fumes, the hot
glue etc and do not do this part with the children. You can fill the containers
with them, and talk about the contents and what types of foods are healthy.
3. Also
please label the containers on the bottom with permanent marker with the date.
4. You
might also want to freeze the contents for a couple of weeks to make sure you
kill any possible insect eggs so that you don’t have to throw away the jars
post filling due to infestation! It happens to the cleanest of kitchens!
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