Free Eat-a-Rainbow Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities

I love helping kids develop healthy eating habits even though it can be a challenging task at times. One of the nutritional ideas that’s easily understandable to even young children is the concept of “eating a rainbow,” or eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables each day. The concept can be applied to any age – even adults! So, today, I’m sharing lots of free eat-a-rainbow printables. I’m also sharing our latest subscriber freebie and two special instant downloads from The Montessori Company!

The links are for free eat-a-rainbow printables for preschoolers through 1st graders. To keep my list manageable, I don’t share coloring pages unless a page has a specific educational purpose related to nutrition.

Montessori-Inspired Eat-a-Rainbow Activities Using Free Printables

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Shelves with Eat-a-Rainbow-Themed Activities

 

My shelves include materials from my Montessori-inspired eat-a-rainbow numbers and letters (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

You could also include a free hand-painted printable lettuce culture card  and free hand-painted printable orange culture card designed by The Montessori Company. Because my shelf space is limited, I like to display the cards vertically where I can rotate one of the books on display.

The books on my shelves are Rainbow Foods: Exploring Fruits and Vegetables by Color by Kathy Mansfield and Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert.

You could mix your eat-a-rainbow-themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special eat-a-rainbow area something like the one pictured. This has a mixture of skill levels. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, just rotate them.

Lettuce and Orange Culture Cards

I have two lovely hand-painted culture cards from The Montessori Company. One is a painting of lettuce, and the other is a painting of an orange. I’m hosting the free printables as an instant download at Living Montessori Now. You can always access the free lettuce culture card here and the free orange culture card here. The lettuce description says: “Lettuce comes in many different varieties and is used most often for its leaves. It grows quickly and is used in salads and other meals.” The orange description says: “An orange is a citrus fruit that can be sweet or sour. Oranges grow on trees in warmer climates and might be used to make your morning juice!”

Fruit Memory Game

Free Printable: Fruit Memory and Match Up Cards from 1+1+1=1

For this activity, I simply used a Montessori Services basket, the fruit cards with words, and the fruit cards without words. I chose the 8 most colorful fruits to use as a simple memory game.

Fruit Number Puzzle  (or Vegetable Skip Counting Puzzles)

Free Printable: Fruit Number Sequence Puzzle from Montessori By Mom; See ideas for using the puzzle for babies through kindergarteners at Living Montessori Now!

Free Printables for Older Kids: Vegetable Skip Counting Puzzles from Liz’s Early Learning Spot

For this activity, I used a basket I had and the printable. This is super easy to prepare. Just choose a puzzle that’s appropriate for your child’s skill level.

/f/ for Food Puzzle

Free Printable: Food Puzzle (Movable Alphabet Letter)  (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

This activity just took a few minutes to prepare. I used a Montessori Services clear acrylic tray along with a small tabletop easel and separate container for the puzzle pieces. To make the work a bit easier, copy the page twice and have one copy (not cut apart) on the tray or on a stand.

If you’d like ideas for teaching phonics, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics post.

What Am I? Fruits and Veggies Game

Free Printable: What Am I? Fruits and Veggies Activity from Early Learning with Marta, Eaton, and Nathaniel (Note: I used the editable riddles so that I could change “peal” to “peel.”)

For this activity, I just used a Montessori Services basket and the pieces from the printable cut apart.

This is a fun introduction to riddles! You can have the pictures laid out across the top of the rug and add the riddle below the picture once your child discovers the answer.

Letter F Object Basket

Free Printables: Fruit Letters for Letter F Object Basket y (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

I used Beanie Babies and small objects I had that started with the/f/ sound. Again, If you’d like ideas for teaching phonics, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics post.

Rainbow Salt Writing Tray

Free Printables: Fruit Letter F Rainbow Writing Tray (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

Free Printable: Rainbow Stripes from Open Clip Art (This is actually a printable of the rainbow flag. I simply downloaded the PDF, printed it out at 96%, and cut the edges to the size of my box. You can always use strips of colored  paper if you don’t want to use the printable. I had first seen a rainbow salt tray on Learning 4 Kids, and you can find directions for a paper strip tray there.)

For the tray, I used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though.

Fruit and Vegetable Beginning Sound Clip Cards

Free Printable: Beginning Letter Printables from Fruit and Vegetable Montessori Printables at Welcome to Mommyhood

For this activity, I used a Montessori Services basket, the printable, and some small colored clothespins.

I like to place a colored dot on the back of the correct letter as a control of error (self-correcting feature).

Eat the Rainbow Practical Life and Sorting Activity

Free Printable: Eat the Rainbow Printable from Growing Up Gabel

Free Printable: Sorting Fruits and Vegetables from Powerful Mothering

For this activity, I used a multicraft tray, the printables, 5 different colors of fruits from Learning Resources Super Sorting Pie, containers for the pieces ((I used 2 Bambu condiment cups), and toast tong (or whatever tool you prefer) for the fruit transfer. You could use any small fruits or vegetables. I just wanted to be sure I had red, orange, yellow, green, and blue/purple for the rainbow effect.

This was a fairly long process, but my 3-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, loved it.

This was a fairly long process, but my 3-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, loved it. First she transferred the fruits to each of the colored words. Then she sorted out all the fruits and vegetables by color.

Finally, she chose 5 colors of fruits and/or vegetables she’d like to eat.

I Can Eat a Rainbow Activity

Free Printable: I Can Eat a Rainbow by Curriculum Castle at Teachers Pay Teachers

Free Printable: A Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables from Preschool Is Fun

Free Printable: My Healthy Plate from Fruit and Vegetable Sorting Cards (Subscriber Freebie) at Wise Owl Factory

For this activity, I used a multicraft tray, the printables, crayons (mine are in a central location), and a glue stick.

There are a number of ways you can use this printable. To use over and over again, you could color the crayons and rainbow, laminate the page, and have the fruits and vegetables available for your child to choose each day. You could even have Velcro pieces on the rectangles or plate and backs of each fruit or vegetable. Or your child could color in the page and glue on the fruits and vegetables according to color. Older children could cut out their own fruits and vegetables.

You could use the “I Can Eat a Rainbow” printable or this “My Healthy Day – 5 Fruits and Vegetables” printable. (I keep both printables on the tray.) This could even be laminated as a placemat for your child to use when choosing fruits and vegetables for the day.

Free Eat-a-Rainbow Printables for Preschoolers-First Graders

Montessori-Inspired Eat-a-Rainbow Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, and DIY Movable Alphabet (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox for the current password if you’re already a subscriber)

Montessori-Inspired Fruit and Vegetable Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox for the current password if you’re already a subscriber).

• Eat the Rainbow Printable from Growing Up Gabel
• Eat a Rainbow Eating Chart from Belle of the Kitchen
• I Ate a Rainbow Printable from Yummy Mummy Kitchen
• Eat a Rainbow Chart from Such a Mama
• Eat a Rainbow Every Day Coloring Page from Coloring Panda
• Color Your Plate Like a Rainbow Printables from Nourish Interactive
• Eat a Rainbow of Colorful Foods (Subscriber Freebie) from Happy Healthy Mama
• Kids Nutrition and Farmer’s Market Printable Pack from Natural Beach Living
• Vegetables and Fruits Chant from Preschool Fun
• Fruit 3-Part Cards from Mama’s Learning Corner
• Fruit Theme Printables from KidSparkz
• Fruit Themed Clip and Count Cards from Buggy and Buddy
• Fruit Cards from Apple Green Cottage
• Veggie Cards from Apple Green Cottage
• Vegetable Flashcards and Word Puzzles from Miniature Masterminds
• Vegetables Theme Printables from KidSparkz
• Vegetable Words Letter Tiles from Making Learning Fun
• Fruit and Vegetable Sorting Cards (Subscriber Freebie) from Wise Owl Factory
• Fruit and Vegetable Cutting Strips from Welcome to Mommyhood
• Fruits and Vegetables Matching Mat (Subscriber Freebie) from Life Over C’s
• Fruits and Vegetables Bingo from Mama’s Learning Corner
• Printable Garden Markers from Create Craft Love
• Food Pre-K Pack (Subscriber Freebie) from Life Over C’s
• Eat a Rainbow Printables from Teachers Pay Teachers
• Fruits and Vegetables Printables from Teachers Pay Teachers

More Fruit and Vegetable Resources

Nutrition Books for Kids

Nutrition Toys

• Free Fruit & Vegetable Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fruit & Vegetable Activities
• Free Eat-a-Rainbow Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
• Free Fruit Rainbow Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download
• Free Eat-a-Rainbow Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Montessori-Inspired Fruit Unit
• Montessori-Inspired Vegetable Unit
• Montessori-Inspired Food Art
• Montessori-Inspired Fruit Matching and Tasting for Toddlers
• Healthy, Yummy, Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
• Kids’ Kitchen: Berry Yummy and Healthy Protein-Rich Popsicles
• Cutting a Banana Practical Life Activity for Toddlers
• Healthy, Frozen Raspberry and Yogurt Desert (Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free)
• Ants on a Log Food Fun Preparation for Preschoolers
• Fun with Montessori Apple Coring, Slicing, Spreading, and Sharing
• Yummy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Delicious and Nutritious Vegan, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin-Pie Squares
• Super-Healthy and Super-Yummy Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie
• Favorite Gluten-Free Sweet Spinach Muffins {AKA Green Monster Muffins}
• Kids’ Food Fun Pinterest Board

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!

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