Published June 22, 2026 Written by NDNA

Nursery healthy eating activity: Teddy Bears Picnic

This fun and engaging activity encourages children to explore new foods, make choices and enjoy meaningful shared moments in a relaxed outdoor environment. Children are actively involved throughout the experience – choosing healthy foods, helping to prepare them and then enjoying their picnic together with friends and their teddies. Along the way, they develop communication and social skills, build confidence and independence, explore the outdoor environment and learn about healthy lifestyles – all while having lots of fun!

Learning outcomes

Develop an understanding healthy food choices

Build vocabulary through conversations about food, tastes and experiences

Strengthen fine motor skills through food preparation.

What you’ll need

Children’s teddy bears or favourite soft toys

Picnic blanket

Picnic basket (optional)

Child-safe knives and chopping boards

Healthy picnic foods.

How to deliver this early years healthy eating activity

Introduce healthy eating through play

Start the activity through a familiar story, pictures or an enthusiastic discussion. Invite children to share ideas about what they might take on a picnic and discuss foods that help keep our bodies healthy and strong.

Encourage children’s ideas and choices

Create a shopping list together and, where possible, involve children in selecting or purchasing ingredients

Explore food using the senses

Before preparing the picnic, encourage children to investigate the foods by discussing:

Colours
Textures
Smells
Shapes.

This builds descriptive vocabulary and communication skills.

Plan and prepare together

Support children to wash their hands and talk about the importance of hygiene.

Encourage children to help prepare the picnic snacks. Once everything is ready, put it into your picnic basket

Take learning outdoors

Invite children to collect their teddy bears and head off on your adventure to find your picnic spot. This could be out in your community or in the nursery garden

While you enjoy the picnic together, practitioners can:

Model healthy eating habits

Encourage children to taste and explore new foods

Develop language through discussions about flavours, textures and preferences

Promote sharing, turn-taking and social interaction.

Supporting learning during the activity

During the picnic, you can extend learning by:

Modelling positive healthy eating behaviours
Encouraging children to try new foods in a low-pressure environment
Planting herbs or vegetables in the nursery garden and care for them before harvesting and preparing them to eat – helping children experience a meaningful ‘farm-to-fork’ journey.
Asking open-ended questions about taste, texture and preference
Create colourful fruit kebabs together
Supporting conversation and language development
Promoting sharing, cooperation and social interaction

How this activity supports early years development

This healthy eating activity links to key EYFS areas:

Communication and Language – describing foods, expressing preferences
Personal, Social and Emotional Development – sharing, confidence, independence
Physical Development – fine motor skills and handling tools
Understanding the World – learning about food and healthy lifestyles

NDNA products to support you with this activity

To build confidence in delivering healthy eating and physical activity in early years settings:

PANCo training for early years settings

Activity
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