Melissa & DougSticker Pad - Make-a-Meal, 225+ Food Stickers

I bought this set to use with a group of cub scouts for a unit about healthy eating. They were supposed to make a food pyramid, but after doing a bit of research, I found that they are now using a format called "My Plate" instead of the traditional food pyramid that we used growing up. The project instructions were to have the boys(1st graders), either cut and glue from magazines, or draw the food, but these days it is hard to find actual magazines since everything is digital, and I did not think that having 6-7 year old boys draw the food was going to go over very well. So I went in search of food stickers here on Amazon, and this is what came up! This sticker set perfect for this since each place mat they give is set up just like the blank print outs that get off the government/education websites for "My Plate", only more fun! I just had the boys draw lines to divide the plate into four parts (this is the format they use for "My Plate"), and then they used the stickers to fill each section with food from the appropriate groups; fruit, vegetables, protein, and grains. There were plenty of stickers to do this adequately, and some of the unhealthy choices were okay, since it challenged the boys to think and choose wisely. I had them label each section with the proper food group too. Although the "My Plate" format does not include dessert, most of the place settings included a small plate, which I told them they could choose one treat for....because after all, we all need a little sweet now and then:)There is a cup on each place setting too, and the drink choices were up for interpretation for sure, but to me they look like a lot of juice and soda options, which was not great for a healthy eating project. The My Plate format calls for low fat milk or water, so I had the boys write next to the cup what they chose. Chocolate milk was acceptable:)The food choices overall we pretty good. Pretty much your standard "all American" food, and so if you are looking for more culturally diverse cuisines, this is not going to give you that. The most "diverse" option I found was a stir fry-like entrée which could be Asian, and there were a handful of ambiguous looking sausage-like meats that could be more considered more "European", but otherwise the food is pretty simple; meat & potatoes and kid friendly for sure. It would have been nice to see more varied options, especially for the vegetables, as I think that many families are eating food these days that is indeed more exciting and diverse. But then again, some of this may not have transferred well to this format, and may have been unrecognizable. Hard to say really. Also, I really wish that the bread/grain options were more clearly whole grain. Most of the breads and grains were clearly pure white.With that said, this is meant to be a toy, and not an educational resource, and so my gripes are more personal and so I would not take stars away, since overall the product is really fun! They give you plenty of big placemats, which handles using this for a small group(15) or to use with your kids multiple times, and lots of big colorful food stickers that are totally appealing for kids. I could see this being good for a family who has a child who is a picky eater, so they can safely consider "trying" new foods....as a step toward actually trying them! It is not labeled as reusable, so not sure why so many people downgraded it for not being so. It is a one shot deal, although after my 3 year old piled a dozen or so stickers one on top of the other in the middle of a plate, I was able to gently peel them off of one another to use on another setting. I used this with 5 cub scouts, then two 3 year olds, then again with two 8 year olds and my 3 year old who each made 1-3 placemats, and even after the placemats were gone, there are still stickers left. So I would say this is a great value with plenty to do without them being reusable.Overall, a fun sticker project to use at home, and totally great too for use in the classroom, or with a church, scouting, or recreation group. It was a really fun, clean, and effective way to cover the requirements for a healthy eating project, and the finished product looked really good and the boys had a great time and were proud of their plate they made! The "My Plate" concept is more fun and relatable for kids than the old food pyramid format, and this sticker book really was perfect.

I bought this sticker pad for our plane trip, for my 4 year old daughter. She loves to play restaurant, and this was perfect! As other reviewers have noted, the stickers are not reusable! This was not an issue for me, as I was knew that when I purchased it. There are so many food options and the stickers are realistic and vibrant in color! This was definitely one of the highlights for my daughter on the plane and even when we got home!I would highly recommend this to others, as it is relatively inexpensive and provides hours of entertainment. (Choosing stickers, playing restaurant, and pretending to eat the delicious meals). There are hundreds of stickers and 15 place settings.One note if you are planning on using this for travel: This pad is very large! It wouldn't fit in my daughters backpack without bending the corners, and had to go in my carry-on bag. Also, if your child will be sitting in a car seat on the plane, it will require some help from Mom or Dad, due to the size. If your child is in a regular seat, then it would work ok with the tray table. We used it with a car seat, and even then I would still recommend it!Great quality, worth the money! Melissa & Doug does not disappoint again!

Arrived in perfect condition. This is such a fun activity for kids of all ages!!

I ordered this after my youngest son's speech therapist brought over one of M&D's reusable sticker pads. I was a little bummed, as another reviewer also mentioned, that this is not a reusable sticker pad. I was confused so I did another search on Amazon for "reusable sticker" and it popped up again. In any case, that's the only thing I can complain about. At the moment, our focus in therapy is on patience and turn taking. I really love that there are SO many options in this pad. For our "game," each of my sons (I have 3) were given a place setting of their choice and each took turns picking a food sticker (which they had to name aloud). We did it once, each picking a drink and 4 "breakfast" foods and then again, making "dinner" plates. Not only did I hear my youngest son say "chocolate milk" clear as day (he rarely says even 2 syllable words), he and his brothers were patient and enjoyed the freedom of choice. Best of all, they each got to make a "picture" that they're proud of, which we hung in our dining room. Very much worth the $, in my opinion. Again, my only gripe is that it isn't reusable.

I think I may love this more than my kids do haha! I agree with another reviewer that this would be perfect if the stickers were reusable and could be moved around. I bought it for my two year old who loves stickers, and she does enjoy stacking the stickers haphazardly on any surface, not necessarily the lovely picture pages provided. She isn’t able to remove most of the stickers on her own, however, which is a bummer because I was hoping this would be a busying activity to occupy her while I am preparing dinner or tending to the baby. But I didn’t dock a star for that, as she is probably outside of the recommended age. My 4yo is able to remove the stickers with ease and enjoys making tasty looking meals on the various place setting pages provided. It’s fine as a mommy-hands-on activity with my toddler, but not one I can just leave her with on her own. Otherwise I find stickers all over the table and floor, and they’re actually pretty hard to remove unfortunately. Yet another reason I wish they were reusable. But mainly because I think it would be more fun to play with and less frustrating if the stickers didn’t have such strong adhesive. The pictures are lovely with lots of yummy looking foods.