Image: MomJunction Design Team
As a responsible parent, you want your child to eat healthy even if they might be picky eaters and don’t like to eat healthy. However, getting them to eat healthy is no easy task. Most children do not like eating veggies and greens, but you can change the narrative by introducing some fun fruit and vegetable craft ideas for kids. Introducing kids to fun craft activities involving vegetables and fruits can help them understand exactly why they should eat these regularly.
Since kids are often attracted to activities that can be both interesting and fun, adding a colorful dash of creativity and paints will help educate them about the benefits of vegetables while also having a bit of fun along the way. However, while this sounds like fun and games, you must ensure you don’t let your kids dice and chop veggies and fruits without your supervision. Check out this article to learn more about incorporating these fun activities into your kids’ routines.
Key Pointers
- Fruit and vegetable craft activities can be an effective method to teach children about healthy eating habits.
- The appealing presentation of these foods can attract even picky eaters to try them.
- Some examples of such activities include creating an apple bin, making a Mr. potato head, and stamping an apron.
- It is crucial to supervise children when handling knives or other sharp tools.
- The use of colorful paints and unique designs can make the craft activities more engaging and attractive to children.
4 Fun Fruits And Vegetables Crafts For Kids
Kids are always attracted to activities that are fun and interesting. Add to this a colorful dash of paint and creativity, and we are sure you will have a ready volunteer for coloring, drawing, and other fun crafts. These fruits and vegetable arts and crafts for preschoolers and kids will help make interesting things as well as educate them about the health benefits of each food ingredient used.
Before you begin, remember that any chopping or dicing should be done only under adult supervision.
1. Mr. Potato Head:
Your kid probably loves Mr. Potato Head from the very popular kids’ movie Toy Story.
What You Need:
- A potato – raw or boiled with the skin intact
- A big mushroom boiled
- Diced carrot
- Sliced red bell peppers
- Broccoli
- Two black olives
- Sautéed lettuce or spinach leaves
- Diced cucumber
- Toothpicks
How To Make:
- Depending on whether you want to eat it baked or boiled, use the potato in the chosen form.
- Help your kid with cutting the vegetables using a kid safety knife. Alternatively, you can let them break the vegetables, if possible. Using toothpicks help your kid make Mr. Potato Head’s ears with mushrooms.
- Now help make the eyes by using the black olives.
- Help make the nose using a diced carrot.
- Help make the mustache using red bell pepper.
- Use cucumber to make the mouth.
- Ask your child to place some lettuce or spinach on the potato to create a few hair strands.
- Add a flower of broccoli to make a hat.
If you have used a boiled potato, the craft is ready to be eaten. Alternatively, you can bake it for your kid.
2. Stamped Apron Using Brussels Sprouts:
Image: Shutterstock
Let your kid fall in love with broccoli by making this cute apron art. This vegetable painting for kids can be used to make a matching apron for you and your kid.
What You Need:
- An apron
- Brussels sprouts
- Fabric paint
- Toothpicks
How To Make:
- Help your kid slice the Brussels sprouts lengthwise.
- Now help insert a toothpick in the rounded side of the Brussels sprout.
- Let your kid dab on some fabric paint on the exposed side.
- Ask your kid to press the color side on the apron.
- Now dab it again in fabric paint and repeat five times to create the shape of a flower.
The same technique can be used to create other shapes as well.
Quick tip3. Mushroom Print Pin Board:
Image: IStock
A great way of chronicling your kid’s growing-up years is by displaying their art pieces. Letting your kid include interesting vegetable art to it can be super fun.
What You Need:
- A pin board
- A large button mushroom
- Paper towels
- Acrylic paint
- Paper plate
How To Make:
- Help your kid slice the large button mushroom in half.
- Now help dry it by blotting with a paper towel.
- Ask your kid to pour some acrylic paint on a paper plate.
- Now ask your kid to press the flat side of the mushroom.
- Once the color sets in, help your kid press the mushroom on the pin board.
- Repeat this and help create different shapes and designs to have a tie-dye effect.
This can be used to create a border design or a full-on cover design as well.
You can use other vegetables for this stamping activity as well. As Jessica, a mother from Florida, US, says, “We chose to use celery, corn, potatoes, green beans, carrots, and mushrooms for our painting, but any vegetables will do. My original intent was to have my little man use the vegetables as stamps on the paper. I carefully used a knife to cut the potato into different stamp shapes, and I cut a flat surface on the carrots and green beans. Ben, however, wanted to paint the actual vegetables and create a veggie art show, and so we decided to do both.”
This activity is also excellent for tackling sensory aversions that children may have toward certain vegetables and fruits. Jessica adds, “Veggie art is a great sensory experience! Ben had fun smelling each vegetable prior to painting it. He loved the sensation of pushing the vegetable into the paper and exploring the various textures of each type of veggie. He even tried eating a bite of an unpainted mushroom at the end of the experiment, so I count that as progress!”
4. Apple Bin:
Image: IStock
What can be better than to encourage your kid to use some apples for this fun activity? Use the time to share some nutritional facts about this super fruit.
What You Need:
- Apples
- Paper towel
- Paints – choose these depending on the surface where your kid will create the pattern
- Paper plate
- A kid storage box
How To Make:
- Help your kid slice an apple in half.
- Now help blot it using a paper towel.
- Ask your kid to pour the paint on a paper plate.
- Now ask your kid to press the flat side of the apple onto the paint. Help them with the pasting process for ease.
- Once the color sets in, help your kid press the apple on the storage box surface.
Help your kid to create different patterns.
Quick tipFrequently Asked Questions
1. What are the educational benefits of fruit and vegetable crafts for kids?
Crafting with fruits and vegetables helps stimulate creativity and aids in fine motor skills development. It also provides diverse sensory experiences and allows you to introduce children to nutritional concepts.
2. How can I encourage my child to eat more fruits and vegetables through crafting?
The fundamental purpose of these crafts is to make fruits and vegetables for kids more enticing, increasing the likelihood that they will consume them. You may encourage the creation of such attractive shapes, making it more likely for children to eat fruits and vegetables with no fuss.
3. How can I use fruits and vegetables to teach my child about colors and shapes?
Encourage your child to group fruits and vegetables of the same color in one basket. For instance, apples and strawberries go into the basket labeled as red, oranges and peaches in orange, and cucumber and pears go into the green basket. Use cookie cutters to cut the fruits and vegetables in different shapes, and then use these to teach more about them to the child.
Children are often fussy about eating fruits and vegetables and try to steer clear of them. However, it is worthwhile trying to evoke their interest by giving a twist to the presentation by using fruit and vegetable craft ideas for kids and creating a beautiful collage of their masterpieces. They are not required to eat them but use their creativity to make fun crafts such as a brussel sprout stamp printed apron or a replica of Mr. Potato Head. Additionally, you may add new ideas such as painting different vegetables on paper or doing clay modeling, to the list above. Tweak the designs and help your children develop a liking for fruits and vegetables through art.
Infographic: Creative Craft Ideas Using Vegetables And Fruits
Children always need something interesting for them to be engaged and entertained. So, rather than having them invest their time in electronic gadgets, use the vegetables and fruits at home and engage them in making some beautiful crafts out of them. The below infographic provides exciting craft ideas for your children. Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Discover the joy of crafting 3D paper fruit and vegetables with these easy craft ideas! Learn how to make realistic looking fruits and veggies with a few simple materials and techniques by watching this video.
Personal Experience: Source
MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.
i. V is for Vegetables- Vegetable Painting Fun.https://changedforgoodautism.blogspot.com/2015/09/v-is-for-vegetables-vegetable-painting.html
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