The Nutrition Game - Free Printable Game

I created a game board to teach children about the food groups and what food fits into those categories. The game is a free download. Children can play the game right away or choose to color the game pieces first. Once the game was created, I had to test it out and see how well it worked in action.

So here are my girls and friends playing in our garage on top of the air hockey machine. It was a uniquely warm winter day, the sun was bright and the door was open. Each player got a game board which is fashioned after a dinner plate and a glass. The game cards are either placed in a stack or a mixed-up pile (this is what they chose) in the middle of all the players' face down. The game begins with one person taking a card and placing it on their game board, then continue around the group in a circular fashion.

If you get a card for a category you already have filled, the card is discarded and mixed back into the pile. If you pick a dessert card (as shown above) you have to return one of the game pieces on your plate back into the mix. The dessert cards have a circular don't symbol over the images.

Here is a picture of our winners game board. During the playtime, I was surprised by how competitive they were. I should mention the ages ranged from 14 down to 6. They really were into playing the game. One girl asked if they could color the cards once they were done playing the game. The educational value was present in naming the food and having to figure out the food group. They helped each other out with this part of the game.

To make your own game that is enough for four players, you will need to print out 4 pieces of cardstock, 2 of them print front and back. They are provided in a PDF below.

Game Board (plates) - print 2 and cut on dotted lines down the middle to make a total of 4 game boards. [Game Board PDF file]

Playing cards (double-sided) - print one of each, these have a front and back design. The back design isn't necessary. It includes a bit of color and can be printed in color or just black and white. This will not affect the gameplay. [Playing cards PDF files]