Early Atlas

Activity

Taste-and-Explore Food Tray

A pressure-free tasting activity where a toddler looks at, touches, smells, and samples a small selection of nutritious foods.

Ages 9–36 months

Inspired by Montessori Play-based learning health-safety nutrition tasting toddler

Supports this milestone

  • demonstrates increasing interest in engaging in healthy eating habits and making nutritious food choices. — Head Start ELOF

Explore milestones →

Materials

  • A small tray or plate per child
  • Two or three soft, safely cut nutritious foods, such as banana, steamed carrot, and ripe pear
  • Damp cloths for hands

Steps

  • Name each food and invite the children to look at and smell it first.
  • Let children touch and explore the textures with no pressure to eat.
  • Offer a small taste of each food, modeling a bite yourself.
  • Use simple words for what they notice, such as "the carrot is crunchy."
  • Watch for and name each child's "more" or "all done" signals.

Variations

  • Theme the tray by color, such as orange foods, or by texture, such as crunchy and soft.
  • Repeat the same food on several days, since trying again builds acceptance.

Differentiation

  • For younger children, offer softer, smaller pieces and let them explore by hand.
  • For older toddlers, ask which food they liked and offer a simple choice next time.

Accessibility

  • Offer textures and sizes matched to each child's chewing and motor skills.
  • Honor sensory sensitivities by letting children touch and smell before tasting.

Safety

  • Cut foods to reduce choking risk, seat children upright, supervise eating, and follow each family's allergy and feeding plan.

Practices these skills

Evidence

Early Atlas