How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? (4 years and older) by Chris Butterworth is a colorful, educational and engaging book that is ideal for reading during mealtime. This book begins with children opening up their lunchboxes filled with all different foods. The second page reads “Just how DID all of this food get in your lunchbox?” with a picture of all of the child’s lunch items. The book takes you through each item in the lunchbox and describes where each food and drink originates from and how it is made.
I love this book because it discusses all of the food groups, a variety of foods, a variety of settings (e.g., farm, dairy, etc), equipment on which food is made and different jobs in the community (farmer, baker, factory worker, etc). When reading this book, you can focus on answering “wh” questions and sequencing (e.g., ask your child to recall how to make bread. Your child can begin with the farmer and end up in your lunchbox!). With this book, there will be lots to discuss! After reading this book, review the information with your child and ask them to retell you how the food items are made.
Follow Up Activities:
1. Ask your child about each item on her plate. Ask her what she likes best and where it came from (e.g., a cow, a farm, etc). If you are unsure, look it up online and explore the information together.
2. Ask your child to categorize his meals and figure out what item goes in each individual food group.
3. Plan your own lunch for the next day and pack the lunchbox together.
4. Play a simple guessing game. Pull up some pictures on your electronic device and have your child “guess” what foods come from this particular animal or place. For example, show your child a picture of a cow. Your child can answer “cheese”, “milk”, etc.
5. If your child is not familiar with a farm, dairy, etc., show videos of these places so they are familiar with them (there are some good videos of dairy farms on YouTube).
6. Play a follow-up game, such as Lunch Box Game.
According to Allison Topilow MS, RD, CDN, nutrition consultant, all foods can fit into your diet in moderation. It is important to avoid labeling food as good or bad. Instead, discuss what makes a food more or less healthful and why certain foods are “everyday foods” while others are “sometimes foods”.
Getting your child involved in the kitchen and helping to plan well balanced meals and snacks has been shown to improve nutrition. Have your child choose fruits and veggies from the rainbow of colors to help increase variety and nutrition. Then offer two whole grains and two protein sources for them to choose from to make a well-balanced lunch!
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Becca Eisenberg is a certified speech language pathologist and mom of two.Through her own personal challenges at mealtime with her two young children she ventured on creating a website to help parents facilitate language and make mealtime fun. Her website gravitybread.com focuses on facilitating and encouraging language with fun and easy recipes, educational books and recommended toys and apps.
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