Safe Games for Kids
My daughter is a teacher for kindergarten kids. When she started teaching these kids I and my wife wanted to help her out with stuff she could do with the kids in class. Just about everything we wanted to give her that was store bought wasn't acceptable. Everything was very strict and things had to be age appropriate in order for it to be used in class. We didn't realize that things were so strict now compared to the days when we were that young.
The Price of Games
There are some really great games out there for kids. Most of the great ones are sort of expensive. Not only this but there are licensing issues and you would probably need to purchase multiple copies in order to use them in a classroom. This led me to start looking online for something that could be used in a classroom that was appropriate for the age.
Culinary Games Introduction
I was introduced to www.culinaryschools.org by a friend of ours. I come from a family that likes to cook. My brother Tom is a professionally trained cook with a degree. Playing games that have to do with food or healthy foods was an interesting experience. I was told by my mother when I was young that everyone should know how to cook and I couldn't agree more. It helps you become independent and enables you to cook more healthy options from scratch. The games on this website look free and this is great. Maybe I could learn some new things and have some fun. If I can help my daughter with her classroom that would be great as well.
Fast Food Combat Anyone?
Fast food has improved over the years but it's still not always a good option. I was drawn to this game because it seemed liked a fun idea and at the same time taught kids and adults about healthy options. In this game you have to click the healthy food option faster than the computer opponent. At first I was beat by the computer quite a few times. Then I was able to learn what foods were healthy like apples and watermelon. Then it was just a matter of beating the computer which sometimes also makes the wrong food choice. After I got this down I started to beat the computer! I could imagine young boys liking the “Combat” theme of this.
I think I helped my Daughter
Yes! I found a fun game for preschoolers and kindergarten. In this game you make quick decisions on if you should eat the items being displayed. I can imagine little kids liking this game and laughing because, no you cannot eat a rock and yes you can eat ice cream. The game is called “Can I Eat it?”. This was exactly the type of game that should work for my daughters classroom and fits the age group perfectly. Its also free so no worry about buying licenses for the whole classroom. We call this a Win-Win. Pun intended.
Conclusion
Learning about healthy food is a good thing for any age group. I've met many adults who think processed foods are OK and healthy. I think they could learn something from www.culinaryschools.org games. How much more interesting school would have been for me when I was very young if we had cool games to play like I found on this website. This is also a great place for kids to spend some time having fun instead of always playing games that might be engaging but not very educational. It this case they get both educational and engaging/fun. I hope this article helps anyone wanting to learn or teach others about food and health.
