Who's Your Mama

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Age
3-5 years
Child Development
This game helps preschoolers learn where their food comes from. Try to focus on traditional foods that are consumed in your community.
Equipment
Food from lunches or photographs of food items: vegetables and fruit; meats, fish, or proteins; plain milk; cheeses
How to Play
  • One at a time, the teacher will hold up a food or photograph or picture of a food and ask “Who’s your Mama?”
  • Children will call out where the food comes from. If it’s a vegetable or fruit, maybe its mama is the ground or a tree. If it’s cheese, it comes from a cow. Try to use whole foods and no processed foods. Do a few practice rounds to get the language down. 
Change it up / Alternatives / Additional Options
  • Discuss where each food comes from and focus on what makes it healthy.    
    • Look for patterns. Are foods that come from trees or animals healthier than foods that come from factories?
    • If a child brings up a food choice that is processed, discuss how it can fit into a healthy diet in moderation.
  • If the children do not know where a food comes from, try searching for a picture of it in its original state. 
  • Use food from Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide. Children can match the food into the food groups using Canada’s Food Guide.

Adapted from Healthy Beginnings 2-5