Lessons on Nutrition Throughout the Year
This current USDA Food Guide has been a great reference for us in the process of transforming the foods we consume. It displays the guidelines for which the Parents of iMontessori pack their child's lunch. And I must say:
The creativity and hard work displayed by the school Parents,
through the bagged lunches, is nothing short of inspiring!
We all should be proud that when the children open their lunch boxes, they are celebrating they have "vegetables", and "protein" to eat and to help fuel their growing bodies and minds. Because of the efforts made by iMontessori Parents to provide healthy and delicious lunches, the children are bonding at lunch time in a way I never expected. They are sharing ideas with one another, and encouraging others to try new nutritious foods, and it's a beautiful thing to see. Credit absolutely needs to go to the parents of these children, who are willing to make changes for the better!
Throughout this month, we dug a little deeper into each food group, utilizing these informative library books. Even though we had been naming foods and food groups throughout the year, reading these picture books really helped in understanding what classifies each food to be in what group. We also learned more about the nutritional qualities of each group and what vitamins and minerals are in certain foods in particular.
I have since returned these books to the library, for new reading material, but a child just inquired yesterday about a certain book, asking how he himself could get it from the library to read. This is how I know, nutrition and food information, was an engaging topic! At least for some!
As an extended class project, we first cut out food pictures from magazine's, sorted the pictures, and then glued them to the appropriate poster board. We filled the posters with a large variety of foods, while in small groups and at circle time.
We even talked about some foods that we may really really like, but really shouldn't eat all-the-time. We named these foods (ex. desserts and chips), "sometimes foods". We acknowledged that even though they taste great, they are not necessarily the best for our bodies and/or minds. We really stressed that our meals should include mostly plant-based foods like vegetables and fruits, and should also include a protein, whole grains, and even some dairy. If we can not put a food into one of those food groups listed above (and on the "MyPlate" diagram), then that food probably has little nutritional value and should be eaten only sometimes, not at every meal.
We used the posters we made in a variety of ways during circle and small group time to enhance the children's knowledge of diverse foods, even within a single food group. We played a game where the children got to take a turn pointing out their favorite food on the poster and one they may like to try.
We Have Tasted a Variety of Whole Foods Throughout the Year!
The lessons on nutrition were not limited to just this past month. We have been building our knowledge of healthy food options, through the snack (morning and afternoon) offered. I believe the recent unit on health and the integration of literature, tied things some things together for the children, however. They now know more about the benefits of the food and food groups, and seem even more willing to try the vegetable choices, for instance. And the added bonus is the children's palettes are becoming more and more sophisticated!
I feel a special thanks needs to go out to the Parents of iMontessori School, for providing these foods for snacks and celebrations. "Thank You" to the staff of iMontessori for all the time put into preparing and cleaning up all these creations. And "Thank You" to the Director, Mrs. Mandy, for offering many of her own appliances for these food experiments. The amazingly beautiful and nutritious foods offered at iMontessori have truly been a collaborative effort of the whole school community, and I am grateful to have been part of it all!
Below are just some of the ways we built healthy eating into our daily curriculum. I hope others are inspired to eat well too, after seeing all that we tasted!
We Had Many Vegetables and Fruit Platters
Learned From a Green Food Tasting
Peeled and Sliced Our Own Hard-Boiled Eggs
Peeled, Cut, Squeezed, and Scooped Our Own Snacks
Make Homemade Apple Sauce
Constructed Our Own Apple Burrito
Observed the Characteristics of Different Apples
Followed a Recipe for "Carrot Soup"
Sampled Pureed Carrot Pinwheels and
Ham, Cheese, and Spinach Rollups
Designed and Baked Our Own English Muffin Pizza
Experimented Blending a Variety of Fruit Smoothie Concoctions
Whipped Up Waffles Which We Topped With Banana and Berries
Cooked Grits and Oatmeal in the Crockpot
Made Cranberry Sauce for the Thanksgiving Feast
Made Fruit Snowmen
It was perfect timing too! For after that day, we had three snow days in a row!
Created Our Own Tacos
Cleaned, Counted, and Ate Pumpkin Seeds
Mixed Up "Pumpkin Yogurt" and "Pumpkin Dip"
We Celebrated Holidays With Nutritious Choices
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Recognized December Holidays From Around the World
Ate potato latkes with apple sauce and sour cream for Hanukkah!
Tried red and green vegetables in remembrance of the Kwanzaa harvest celebration.
And unwrapped tamales to eat after reading a tale about a family
and their preparation for a Las Posadas celebration.
Had a Heart-Healthy Valentine's Day, Too!
Thanks again to the iMontessori Family for their contributions!
And for continued efforts in teaching the children about healthy eating!
Cheers!
