As we gear up for Thanksgiving, a holiday that focuses on being grateful for what we have and celebrating family and friendship with a meal, our class began a discussion of nutrition. The children have been learning about the importance of My Plate and the different food groups.
We read several books about foods from the different food groups and the My Plate visual. We discussed the importance of eating food from every color shown on the plate to keep us healthy. Students sorted pretend food into the appropriate food 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. We sorted healthy and unhealthy foods and solved food riddles.
We also talked about the importance of exercise. The children shared various ways in which they exercise each day (soccer, swimming, running, going to the playground, etc.) Everyday we followed an exercise routine as part of our circle and most recently I've introduced the children to yoga as a way to stretch and calm.
Mindfulness is a way for us to attend to the present, face challenges and calm ourselves. During the past few weeks I also introduced the children to mindful breathing. We are using the book Alphabreaths by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen to learn different ways to breathe to calm our thoughts and our bodies. Ask your child about Tree breathing, Alligator Breathing, Butterfly breathing and Hot Chocolate Breathing.
Lastly, we are continuing to talk about the important values of Respect and Responsibility that the Nice Mice from the Choose to Be Nice program represent and this month our value is Kindness. The students and I read Kindness Starts with You - At School by Jaclyn Stagg and talked about examples of kindness. Each day we listen to the song below and talk about kind acts that we've spotted at home or in school.
Throughout the past few weeks the children have engaged in a variety of activities to learn about nutrition, healthy foods and exercise. I connected concepts to stories and at times we test-tasted foods. After reading and acting out the story The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton, the class made bread from scratch. No one said, "Not I" when asked to help!
Thank you for your vegetable contributions. Prior to sharing their favorite veggies, we read I Really Like Slop by Mo Willems, a story about trying new foods. The children enjoyed tasting new vegetables and sharing those that they love.
Art
During free play the children engaged in activities that reflected our nutrition theme.
Below, students painted with kitchen tools and vegetables.
Dramatic Play
At the dramatic play center we had a grocery store where the students role played a cashier, bagger and customer. Shopping lists were available for the children to search for specific foods. Students restocked shelves sorting foods into their food groups and paid for their food with play money.
Sensory Table
At the sensory table, the children enjoyed first colored pasta and then split green peas. They engaged in lots of pouring filling, sifting and scooping.
Playdoh
At the playdoh center, the children made different fruits and vegetables to put inside a shopping basket. They then used their imagination to create cakes, pies and other creations using small kitchen tools, bundt pans and fruit counters.
Games
Several other activities were made available in the classroom including a vegetable garden color sort, Mr. Potato Head an a pancake number matching game. All practiced important math and fine motor skills.
Gym
At gym, the children learned some new games to exercise and keep fit. First we played freeze dance. After each time the music stopped the children were asked to perform a different gross motor move such as rolling, hopping, jogging, bear walk, etc. Next, we played junkyard. The children practiced running to gather yarn balls one at a time and place them inside their hula hoop. The game ended with the children counting their yarn balls.
Food Cupboard
As we move on from Nutrition to Being Thankful, I felt it was important to discuss how truly blessed most of us are with relation to food. We read a story called Maddi's Fridge which is about a girl who doesn't have much food in her refrigerator because her family does not have enough money to buy what they need. Maddi's friend Sofia tries to help by bringing her food from her own home, but is not successful when she realizes fish and eggs don't work well in a backpack. Eventually, Sofia tells her mom and they bring Maddi's family some groceries. As a class we talked about the fact that there are some people, just like Maddi, who may be hungry because they do not have all the food that they need. I then showed the children pictures of the Food Cupboard and explained that we can help by donating food. Today we made three quick breads, pumpkin, banana and cornbread which will be given to the Medfield Food Cupboard.
