Let’s Colour a Rainbow of Foods!

Pair with image of snowman colouring sheet: https://bit.ly/4bOTWnh 

Food literacy for young children is all about understanding where our food comes from and how it is grown, to the rainbow of colours we see in our foods.  This colouring activity lets children explore a rainbow of colours in foods – some that may be familiar, and explore unique colourful varieties that exist in nature. This activity includes fruits and vegetables that are less commonly seen in grocery stores.

Caregivers can encourage creativity while children colour by talking about and looking at pictures of novel varieties like purple carrots or white strawberries. At the grocery store, caregivers and children can look for a rainbow of colours of different fruits and vegetables - from purple cabbage to orange cauliflower.

Find and count the fruit & vegetables in the image

The chef has a strawberry nose, a watermelon smile, ears made of citrus slices (these could be slices of limes, lemons, oranges, or tangerines), peppers for eyebrows; the left arm made of a bent carrot or parsnip; leafy greens along the shorts; and shoes made of a strawberry and a pineapple.

The dog has a tail made of broccoli or cauliflower; leafy greens for ears (these could be spinach, Bok choy, sorrel, dandelion, or leaves that grow on the stalk of flowering plants); front legs made of carrot; back legs of stripy onions; a body of a melon; and a nose-tip of a cherry tomato.

The snowman has a carrot nose; a pea pod mouth; and arms which could be sticks or long pieces of ginger. 

Colour the fruits in vegetables in a variety of colours!

Encourage children to colour the foods in the image as their creativity inspires. Each picture might include colours of foods they have seen before, or inspire a rainbow of colours.

While we often think of carrots that are orange, carrots can also be purple, light green, shades of yellow, or light red.