Nutrition and Thanksgiving

Nutrition

The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving we focused on the theme of Nutrition.  The children learned about the importance of My Plate and the different food groups.

We read nonfiction books about each section of the visual and discussed the importance of eating food from every color to keep us healthy.  Students sorted pretend food into the appropriate group and while doing so, we talked about different types of food that fall into each category.  The children also observed one another's snacks and determined which food groups were represented.

During free play the children engaged in activities that reflected our nutrition theme.

Below, students painted with vegetables.

In our dramatic play area, we had a grocery store.  The students took on the roles of cashier, bagger and customer.  Children either created their own shopping list or took a pre-made list and went shopping in our school grocery store.  They practiced identifying food, "reading" and writing lists, communication skills, and understanding the importance of money.

At the sensory table, the children scooped, poured and filled different containers with corn.  The sensory table is a favorite area that promotes creativity, encourages social conversation and practices the concept of volume as the children fill and compare different containers.

The children participated in a taste test where they decided which fruits and vegetables they liked and those that they didn't.  They pasted their preferences on a lunch bag.  We have lots of healthy eaters in our class!

As a STEM activity, the children were encouraged to build pasta sculptures.  Using different types of colored pasta, students had to figure out how to lace or wrap a pipe cleaner around the pasta to make it stand and bend into a sculpture.

 

The children were also challenged to build structures out of empty food boxes.  After choosing a car, students built structures that were next to, around, over or below the car.  This was great fun, especially when the children knocked down the structures!

 

This month for our Hello Song, we are singing Hello, How Are You? by Jean Feldman.  The children are learning how to greet others by looking them in the eye, smiling and shaking hands. 

Another art activity that the children engaged in was painting with kitchen tools.  Using a variety of tools such as brushes, mashers, and sponges, the students explored the different patterns that could be created.

Our games involved sorting food into their appropriate categories.  The children played the Green Market game and the Heathy Habits game.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and friends and to think of the people and things for which we are grateful.  In class we discussed that being thankful is a feeling we get when someone or something makes us happy.  We read several stories about being thankful including Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson and Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes. The children shared what they are most thankful for which included grandparents, snuggles with mom and dad, siblings and even school.

I then connected this idea of thanksgiving to the people and time that we attribute to the very first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag. We spent some time reading about, discussing and role playing the history of these groups and how they came together. The focus was on how the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims and why they were thankful. We also spent some time learning about the daily life of each of these groups and comparing them to our lives today.

The following two videos found on You Tube from Plimoth Plantation helped the students to visualize what life may have been like in the 1620s:
Wampanoag  (Start at minute 2:06)
Pilgrim Video

Throughout the week we did many Thanksgiving themed activities, but we celebrated the holiday with a Friendship Feast.  Each child enjoyed contributing to the feast by pouring fruit into a bowl, mixing, setting the table, etc.  It was a great way to celebrate the friendships that are forming in our class.

In the playdoh center students created turkeys.

Students acted out the challenging voyage of the Pilgrims and how the Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims how to plant food.

In the math center, the children completed pattern block puzzles of Thanksgiving symbols and practiced number recognition and counting with turkey ten frames.

The children created patterns as they made turkey hats for our feast.

 
  At the sensory table, the children scooped and poured water with floating cranberries.

Our Friendship Feast commenced as all of the children contributed to a group fruit salad by pouring their favorite fruit into a common bowl and mixing it together.  They then sat down together at our table to enjoy their food together.