Activity: Caring for Our Bodies

We can take care of the bodies our Heavenly Father has given us by eating healthy food and getting enough sleep.

Help children understand how our food and sleep choices affect our bodies. Bring in examples or show pictures of a lush, green plant and a wilted plant. Talk about how plants need food from the soil, water, and sunlight to grow. If they don’t get those things, they wilt. We need good food, water, and rest to be healthy too.

Explain that eating healthy food, drinking enough water, and getting enough sleep all help us to have the energy we need to work and play during the day.

• Play a game where the children line up on one side of the room. When you say something that helps us take care of our bodies, have the children start running to the other side of the room. When the children hear something that’s not helpful for taking care of our bodies, have them stop. Try to get all the children to the other side of the room. For example:
  • Staying up late (stop)
  • Going to bed on time (run)
  • Drinking soda when you are thirsty (stop)
  • Eating vegetables (run)

Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute.

• Try a new healthy food. Bring in a fruit, vegetable, or healthy snack that you think may not be familiar to the children. Invite them to sample the new food. If possible, consider making a healthy snack together. Please be sensitive and plan ahead for any children with food allergies or other dietary restrictions.
• Think of healthy foods mentioned in the Word of Wisdom. Write each food on a separate piece of paper. Cut around each letter of each word to form a shape, such as a square, triangle, or circle. Use a different shape for each word so it’s clear what letters belong to the same word. Hide all the letters around the room. Have the children find the letters, organize them according to the matching shapes, and form the matching letters into words. (If your language can’t separate individual letters, repeat the word on three different pieces of paper, cut out each word into the same shapes, then have the children find and match the words that are the same.) Talk about why these foods are good for us. You can also talk about how sweets and other less-healthy foods can still be enjoyed as a treat, in moderation.
• Decorate a paper, fabric, or felt sleeve to put around each child’s reusable cup or water bottle that they can fill up daily to make sure they drink enough water. If possible, invite the children to make an extra one to give to a friend or family member.
• Service idea: Find a community garden where the children can help weed, take care of the plants, or harvest fruits or vegetables that will bless other people in the community.

Encourage children to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:

• How does taking care of our bodies show gratitude to Heavenly Father?
• What does it mean to you that our bodies are created in the image of our Heavenly Parents? What can we learn from knowing that we are like Them?

• Learning to Cook
• Taking Care of My Body through Physical Activity
• My Body Is a Temple
• Staying Safe from Germs
• Learning First Aid Basics