Meal Traditions Meeting Plan and Unit Study

Why Meal Traditions Matter

Meals are more than just food on a plate. They bring people together, tell stories of where we come from, and mark important moments in our lives. Whether it’s Grandma’s famous casserole every Christmas or pizza on Friday nights, these traditions become part of our family identity. In many cultures around the world, mealtime customs are rich with meaning, passed down from generation to generation. Exploring these traditions helps kids understand their own roots while appreciating the customs of others.

This unit study walks you through hands-on, thoughtful, and sometimes delicious activities that meet all starred requirements for the Curiosity Untamed Meal Traditions badge from Preschool through Level 5. You can also pair it with badges like Cooking, Nutrition, Christmas Around the World, or Cuisine by Country for a full cross-cultural learning experience.

Family Favorites

What foods are special in your home? Every family has meals that are meaningful. Maybe it’s Grandma’s soup, Sunday morning pancakes, or a favorite Thanksgiving or birthday meal.

To Do:

• Make a list of your family’s traditional meals. Include the occasion and the food served.
• Help prepare or serve a meal that’s special to your family.
• Talk about who usually makes it and when.
• Why is it meaningful? Is it tied to a tradition or event? Or is it just a special meal you all eat together such a family dinner in the evenings?

Want to dig deeper? Keep a menu journal of your family’s most memorable meals. Include the occasion, the cook, and the story behind each one.

Fulfills Preschool requirement #1 and Level 1 requirement #2

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Try Something New

Exploring food from other cultures expands our understanding of the world. Every region has its own traditions, from chopsticks in China to couscous in Morocco.

To Do:

• Learn about a traditional meal from a culture other than your own.
• Taste it, or better yet, learn to prepare it.
• Research the history behind the meal. When did it begin? How has it changed? Why is it a tradition?

Kimjang in South Korea

Salted and fermented vegetables, most commonly napa cabbage or radish, seasoned with ingredients like gochugaru (chili flakes), garlic, ginger, and jeotgal (fermented seafood).

In November each year, Korean families gather for gimjang (kimjang), the traditional process of making kimchi. Historically, it was done after the harvest and was a way to store enough kimchi to sustain a family through the winter season. Try making your own with the Kimchi recipe from My Koreon Kitchen.

Ukrainian Borscht

A hearty, sweet-and-sour soup traditionally made with beets

Borscht is symbolic of hospitality in Ukraine and is part of multiple traditional celebrations and rituals such as the third day of a wedding called do nevistky – na borshch, meaning ‘visit daughter-in-law to eat borscht’. Try making your own borscht from the recipe at Natasha’s Kitchen

Plov (Palov) in Uzbekistan

A hearty, one-pot rice dish

Palov is served at nearly all social events, from weddings and holidays to funerals, to forge unity and tradition. There is a saying in Uzbekistan that guests can only leave their host’s house after palov has been offered. Try making your own Beef Plov using the recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen.

More Ideas?

If you need more ideas, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has listed dozens of dishes as important intangible cultural heritage items to be honored. Just a few mentions by the Michelin Guide include:

• Baguette bread in France
• Al-Mansaf in Jordan
• Tea culture in China
• Lavash in Armenia
• Couscous in Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco & Tunisia
• Dolma in Azerbaijan
• Neapolitan Pizzaiuolo in Italy

Fulfills Level 3 requirement #2 and Level 4 requirement #2 (when done 3 times)

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Compare and Contrast

From what we eat to how we eat, traditions vary around the world. Some cultures eat late at night, others gather on the floor. Some meals are quiet and formal, others loud and communal.

To Do:

Create a Meal Traditions Venn Diagram to help visualize similarities and differences between your own family and other cultures. Choose two different countries to learn about and compare to the United States. Label each circle with the name of the country it represents.

• Number of Main Meals (3, 4, or 5?)
• Utensils Used (forks, chopsticks, specific spoons, etc.)
• Seating Style (chairs or floor)
• Noise Level (quiet, moderate or loud)
• Serving style (individual or communal; one plate or many small plates)
• Etiquette (Burping, elbows on table, only use right hand to eat, etc.)

Write items that are unique to that country in the large part of the circle. If they share an item with another country write it where the two circle overlap and if all three countries share that item, write it in the center.

If you are doing this activity with a group, you can assign each person a different country and use a 2 circle venn diagram. Then have each person present their diagrams to compare their findings.

Fulfills Level 2 requirement #2

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Create Your Own Tradition

Why wait for someone else to invent a tradition? Start your own! Think about what matters to your family—values, milestones, or even favorite ingredients—and build a new meal ritual.

To Do: Create a meal tradition of your own and explain what it celebrates. Use the following questions and categories to help guide the process:

1. Timing & Frequency

• Will this tradition happen daily, weekly, monthly, or only on special occasions?
• What time of day will it take place? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a midnight snack?
• Will it be tied to a specific season or holiday?

Example: “Pajama Pancake Saturdays” every first Saturday of the month.

2. Who Participates

• Is it for your immediate family? Friends? A group or community?
• Are there specific roles? (Who cooks? Who sets the table? Who leads a toast?)

Example: “Kids Cook Night” where the children choose and help make the meal.

3. The Food Itself

• Is there a specific dish or set of foods always served?
• Will it use local ingredients, family recipes, or new creations?
• Are there any symbolic or meaningful food choices?

Example: A harvest meal using only foods grown in your garden or bought at a farmer’s market.

4. Story or Purpose

• Does it honor a person, celebrate an achievement, or reflect a belief?
• Will you tell a story, share a memory, or make a toast before eating?

Example: A “Founder’s Feast” every year to celebrate the day your family moved into your home.

5. Setting & Atmosphere

• Will you decorate the table in a certain way?
• Is there music, candlelight, or a particular theme?
• Do you eat indoors, outdoors, picnic-style, or on a blanket in the living room?

Example: “Taco Tuesdays in the Tent” where the family eats under a homemade fort.

6. Customs & Rituals

• Will you say something before eating (a blessing, joke, cheer, or moment of gratitude)?
• Do you play a game, share “highs and lows,” or rotate who serves first?
• Will there be a tradition of inviting someone new?

Example: At every birthday meal, each person at the table shares a favorite memory about the birthday person.

7. Reflection & Connection

• Does your tradition encourage conversation, creativity, or quiet reflection?
• How will you remember or record each event (photos, a journal, recipe cards)?

Example: Keep a “Meal Tradition Journal” where you write down what was eaten and what made it special each time.

Fulfills Optional Requirement #3

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Religion, Fasting & Feasting

Many religions include special rules about food. These may involve fasting during Ramadan, eating symbolic foods during Passover, or feasting during Diwali or Easter.

To Do: Hold a Feast Fair

Have each person research a different religious holiday that involves food in some way. Make sure to choose a religion that is not their own. They should create a poster telling about their holiday and the role food plays in it Posters should include the following:

• What is the holiday?
• What religion is it from?
• What foods are eaten, and why?
• When and how is the meal shared?
• Drawings or printed photos of the food
• Descriptions of its meaning or symbolism
• A “menu” of the meal
• A quote, story, or blessing from the tradition

Set a date and gather as a group to create a “Feast Fair. Have each person bring enough samples of one of the foods from their religious holiday for everyone to sample. Then have kids set up displays and walk around and explore differenet religions and foods. Have each student share their poster with the group. Discuss how the meals are similar or different from each other.

Fulfills Optional Requirment #10

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Food & Migration

Cultural food traditions are deeply influenced by history—immigration, trade, and colonization have shaped what people eat everywhere. Have you ever wondered how a dish like curry or tacos ended up on dinner tables around the world? Recipes, like people, travel. As they move across borders, they pick up new ingredients, flavors, and stories. In this hands-on activity, kids will create a suitcase that tells the journey of a favorite food—where it started, where it went, and how it changed along the way. It’s part history, part geography, part art project—and a delicious way to understand how food connects us all.

To Do: Dish on the Move – Food Migration Suitcase

Have each child or group choose a specific dish that is eaten in multiple countries to study. Examples might be dumplings, tacos, or curry.

Supplies:

• Shoe boxes or small cardboard boxes (1 per student or group)
• Colored paper, markers, glue
• Printouts of maps, stamps, flags, spice images, ingredient cutouts
• “Passport” or recipe book pages (optional)

Instructions:

1. Build the Suitcase:
   Decorate the outside of your box like a suitcase—add stamps or stickers from countries your dish has “visited.”
2. Inside the Suitcase:
   Include:
   • A map showing the dish’s path. Where and did it originate? Where did it travel.
   • A postcard style recipe card from each location showing the ingredients used from that region on one side and the country flag on the other.
   • A note from each country explaining why and when the dish is eaten and if there is any special meaning or tradition in that country.
3. Presentation Time:
   Let each student or group present their “suitcase” and explain how their dish evolved across borders.

Bonus: Make one or more versions of each dish to try.

Fulfills Optional Requirement #19

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Table Talk: Global Manners

Table manners aren’t just about being polite—they reflect the values, traditions, and history of each culture. What’s considered respectful in one country might be unusual in another! Did you know that in Japan, slurping your noodles shows appreciation, while in Ethiopia, sharing food from a communal platter builds connection and in India, people traditionally eat with their right hand only? Learning about these differences helps kids appreciate other cultures and rethink their own habits.

(Disclaimer, #10 in the video below is Vodka etiquette for Russia which you may wish to skip.)