Mini Minds Hub · Free printable
Lunch Menu Choices Cards: Free Printable Card Set for Reception
- ForReception
- StageEarly Years
- CostFree
- FormatPrintable PDF
Lunch Menu Choices Cards is a free printable card set for Reception (ages 4 to 5). Children cut out cards showing everyday lunch foods and drinks, spread them out and pick what they would like. It needs no screen. Page 2 gives the grown up notes, help ideas and a stretch task.
It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, the free library of printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795. Print both pages, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for yourself. Black and white printing works well.
What is on the sheet
Children meet cards showing lunch foods and drinks, such as sandwich, pasta, jacket potato, soup, fish fingers, pizza, salad, rice, apple, banana, yoghurt and water. They cut the cards out, spread them on the table and pick what they would like. Then they say it aloud, with a grown up listening. There is no right or wrong choice. The aim is to choose and speak.
- Sandwich
- Pasta
- Jacket potato
- Soup
- Fish fingers
- Pizza
- Salad
- Rice
- Apple
- Banana
- Yoghurt
- Water
Ways to set up the cards
Cut and spread
Cut the cards out first. A grown up can do this for younger children, or children can use child safe scissors with support. Spread the cards face up so every picture can be seen.
Make a menu board
Place a few cards in a row on a tray or a sheet of paper. This is today's menu. Ask your child to look along it before they choose.
Sort into groups
Put the cards into piles, such as foods and drinks, or foods you can hold in your hand and foods you eat with a spoon. Ask your child how they decided.
Why practise choosing at lunchtime?
Lunchtime is one of the first places where a four or five year old makes small choices for themselves. Pointing at a dish, naming it and asking for it politely are real life skills. Many Reception children have a school lunch or a packed lunch, so menus and food words are already part of their day. This card set gives them a calm way to practise before the dinner hall gets busy.
Choosing is also a speaking task. A child who can say "I would like pasta, please" is using a full sentence, a polite word and a food word together. Cards help because they are small, visible and easy to handle. Children can look, point, swap and change their minds. That takes pressure off, and it lets quieter children join in before they feel ready to speak.
Several foods on the cards contain common allergens such as milk, egg, fish and wheat. Check your own menu and any allergies before you talk about what a child can eat. Keep this a pretend choosing game, not a promise of what is served. If you act out lunch with real food, adults prepare and serve anything hot and handle any knives.
Fun food facts
- Bananas grow in bunches, and a bunch is called a hand.
- Yoghurt is made from milk.
- Rice is a grain. Each grain is a seed from a plant.
- Pasta comes in many shapes, such as spirals and tubes.
- Plain water has no colour and no sugar.
Skills and curriculum link
- Making a choice
- Speaking in sentences
- Food words
- Listening
- Saying please
- Taking turns
Ideas to help you talk about food
- Name it togetherSay the word for each card as you pick it up. Children copy words they hear often, so repeat each one clearly.
- Keep the choice smallTwo or three cards are easier to choose from than a whole table. Add more cards as your child grows in confidence.
- Model the sentenceSay "I would like soup, please" yourself first. Then let your child have a go in their own words.
- Wait and listenGive your child time to think before you help. A pause is not a problem. Accept pointing as a first step, then build towards words.
Key words
- MenuA list or picture board of the food you can choose from.
- ChooseTo pick one thing from a few things.
- LunchThe meal we eat in the middle of the day.
- PleaseA polite word we use when we ask for something.
- DrinkSomething we sip, like water.
- AllergyWhen a food makes someone poorly, so they must not eat it.
How to use it
- Print both pages. Page 1 is for your child. Keep page 2, which has the notes for you.
- Check any allergies and your own menu first. Then cut out the cards, or ask a grown up to do it.
- Spread the cards out and ask, "What would you like today?" Let your child look before they pick.
- Talk about each choice. Ask why they chose it and say the food word together.
- Come back to it another day. Repeating a familiar activity builds confidence.
Help, stretch and game ideas
If it feels too hard
Offer just two cards at a time and ask your child to point or say the word. Say the food word first so they can copy it. Once two cards feel easy, add a third, then a fourth, and keep the pace relaxed.
To stretch confident children
Ask your child to say a whole sentence, such as "I would like pasta, please." Then ask them to choose a main, a fruit and a drink, and to say all three choices in one go. Praise the polite words as well.
Make it a game
Play shopkeeper. One child asks, "What would you like?" The other child picks a card and says what they would like, with please. The shopkeeper hands over the card and says thank you. Then swap roles.
Talk about it
- Which food on the cards do you like best? What does it taste like?
- Which food would you pick for a cold day? Why?
- Can you find a food that is a fruit?
- What do we say when we ask for something?
- Is there a food you have never tried? What does it look like?
- What would you put on a menu for a party?
Take it off the page
Pretend café
Set up a table with paper plates and toy food or drawings. One person is the customer and one is the server. Practise asking, choosing and saying please and thank you.
Draw my lunch plate
Draw a plate and fill it with foods you would like for lunch. Say the name of each food as you draw it.
Food hunt at home
Look around the kitchen with a grown up and name the foods you can see. Adults handle anything hot, sharp or breakable. Children point and say the words.
Who it is for
Parents
Sit beside your child for the first go and let them lead. Keep it light and playful. Check any allergies first, and keep this a pretend choosing game. Short bursts work better than long sessions.
Teachers
Use it as a speaking and listening starter, a small group table activity or part of a role play café. It needs no preparation beyond printing and cutting. Page 2 gives support and stretch ideas for mixed groups.
Home educators
Use it alongside real mealtimes, picture books about food and everyday talk. Repeat it with brothers and sisters, who can take turns being the shopkeeper. It suits a gentle start to a learning day.
Where this fits in your child's learning
Before this, children name everyday objects, point to what they want and use single words. Cards like these build on that by asking for a choice and a simple request.
After this, children can move on to short sentences with please and thank you, role play shops and cafés, and talking about healthy eating. These link to the Communication and Language and Personal, Social and Emotional Development strands of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Questions parents and teachers ask
- What age is Lunch Menu Choices Cards for?
It is written for Reception, ages 4 to 5, in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Younger children may enjoy pointing and naming, and older children can use full sentences.
- What will children practise?
They practise making and saying a simple choice about food. Along the way they build food words, speaking in sentences, listening and polite requests such as please.
- What if it feels too hard?
Offer just two cards at a time and ask your child to point or say the word. Say each word first so they can copy it. Add more cards when they feel ready.
- Are there any allergy concerns?
Yes, so check first. Several foods on the cards contain common allergens such as milk, egg, fish and wheat. Check your own menu and any allergies before you start, and treat the activity as pretend choosing.
- Is it free?
Yes. It is free to print for home and classroom use. You can print it again for brothers, sisters or another group, and use it as often as you like.
- Is it suitable for teachers to use in class?
Yes. Teachers can use it as a speaking starter, a table activity or part of role play. It needs no preparation beyond printing and cutting, and page 2 has support and stretch ideas.
- Do I need to print in colour?
No. It prints well in black and white on plain A4 paper. Children can colour the cards in if they like, which adds a little extra talk about the foods.
Preview the full PDF
Made by Jaques of London, making games for families since 1795. A printable supports classroom learning and does not replace a teacher.