Resources for schools and early learning services

Discover our range of free, downloadable resources for schools, early learning services and whānau. From lesson plans and hands-on cooking skills, to guides on nutrition and physical activity, everything is designed to support you in helping children to make healthy choices.

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  • Processing changes the properties of food

    This lesson builds on the Food groups activity. Through inquiry-based learning, ākonga explore what food processing is and how it changes food. They begin to think critically about what has been added to or removed from foods during processing and consider the reasons why these changes are made.

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  • Teacher resource for the Add one more vegetable lesson plan
    PDF (95 KB) Add One More Vegetable - Lesson plan (teacher resource)

    PDF (95 KB)

    In this lesson we focus on the importance of eating more vegetables and encourage students to simply add one more to their day. 

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  • Teacher sitting at the front of a classroom holding a paper cut-out of an apple, with one hand raised, engaging with a group of young children. Several children, seated on the floor and facing the teacher, are raising their hands enthusiastically. Behind
    Lesson 8 - Food processing

    A large amount of the kai we eat is processed. Show ākonga how kai from everyday ingredients are changed by processing with the morphing kai activity.

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  • Children engaged in art project at school.
    Lesson 7 - How kai makes me feel

    What and how much we eat affects the way our bodies function and feel. Encourage your ākonga to identify levels of fullness and then create emojis in relation to how different kai make them feel.

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  • Child's hands holding a flashcard labeled 'strawberry', surrounded by other flashcards with names of fruits including apple, pear, orange, watermelon, cherry, melon, and banana, on a white background with fresh strawberries placed to the side.
    Lesson 6 - Te reo Māori food vocabulary

    Gather your dictionary detectives to learn the te reo Māori words for different kai. Extend the learning by asking ākonga to find the translations to the kai in a language spoken at home or of interest.

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  • Teacher working with a group of four young children gathered around a table, helping them with a writing activity in an open, bright classroom.
    Lesson 5 - Kai and your body

    We can link different types of kai to how they help our bodies work properly. In this lesson, ākonga learn about different kai groups using a card-sorting activity, then help Sam by matching kai cards to the body parts they support.

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  • Group of children and a young woman planting saplings in a sunny outdoor park, participating in a tree-planting activity
    Lesson 4 - Seasonal kai

    Kai needs the right weather conditions to grow. Ākonga can familiarise themselves with foods available from chilly takurua to sunny raumati in this word search. Then test the class learning with the kai sorting by seasonal availability.

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  • A group of young schoolchildren sitting around a circular table having lunch with a teacher. The children are wearing navy blue school uniforms with white collars. They are engaged in conversation and eating from colorful lunchboxes. The teacher is smilin
    Lesson 3 - Let’s talk about kai

    One of the ways we can talk about kai is to describe how it looks, tastes, smells and feels using our senses. The intent of this lesson is to build ākonga vocabulary for words they can use to describe their food experience through being sensory scientists.

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  • A group of young children sitting on the floor in a classroom during a group activity or lesson. Several children have their hands raised, eager to participate. They are dressed in casual clothing and are seated in front of a bookshelf filled with colorfu
    Lesson 2 - Adventures of kai

    We often purchase kai from the supermarket but don’t always know where it really comes from. Let your ākonga explore the adventures of kai by travelling with it from its original source to the table.

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  • Group of young schoolchildren running down a covered outdoor walkway, seen from behind. The children are wearing casual clothes and carrying colorful backpacks. The scene suggests the end of the school day or excitement for recess or a break. The walkway
    Lesson 1 - Where’s the kai?

    Help Hearty find and name the kai in the picture, then place the kai into groups you could eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and paramanawa.

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  • A teaching kit feaurting popular Maori superheroes Hina and Maui
    Healthy eating and activity storybooks (Māori and English)

    This teaching kit contains four glossy storybooks featuring Māori superheroes Hina and Maui.

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  • Food groups activity

    A lesson plan with activity cards for teachers to introduce the four food groups to students. These activities are designed to be enjoyable and to spark curiosity and excitement in tamariki about exploring food.

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