Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Healthy food and nutrition

The teachers noticed that the Seashell children were very interested in cooking and eating. They decided to combine these two interests and thus create an awareness of healthy eating as well as encourage them to try new foods. The group embarked on a project this term: learning all about nutrition and healthy eating.

Our goals for this project included:

Encouraging children to develop an awareness of colours.
Developing an awareness of measurement.
Learning the application of the written word in achieving everyday tasks such as cooking.
Creating a link between home and school, contributing to the children’s sense of belonging.
Develop an understanding of the relationship between what they eat and the functioning of their bodies.

The Seashells have been cooking up healthy and delicious dishes each Wednesday, inspired by recipes sent in by the Seashell families. To date, we have made chocolate zucchini muffins, banana smoothies, apple and banana muffins, pesto pasta, quesadilla and vegetable pasta and tomato soup.

Through these cooking activities, children have the opportunity to explore and learn about different foods in an engaging way. It also encourages the children to try new foods they may not have tasted previously and to learn about the food pyramid and which food groups different foods belong to. These cooking activities are wonderful opportunities for the children to have practical, first-hand experiences of exploring the wonderful world of food and nutrition. Not only are they learning about how food is prepared, but they are also developing fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills through chopping and mixing, maths through counting, measuring and following a sequence, as well as science as they observe how the ingredients change colour and texture during the process.

They have been engaged in role playing chefs, using the vegetables and fruit to make healthy cakes and pancakes and have been able to share their creativity in their inventive recipes they pretend to make through their play. Paper and textas were provided for the children to write and draw their own recipes.

The group has discussed the concept of healthy and sometimes food, and what this means (treats). We explained that healthy food helps them grow, sleep and think well with their brains. It also helps them feel good inside and make the right choices.

Raphael: You get a healthy tummy. Our hands will get strong and healthy if we eat healthy food.

The children have been involved in creative art experiences, including drawing different healthy foods from close observation, such as green apples, melon, capsicum and mint. Each time that they approach the activity, they see something new. This act of slowing down and really paying attention is something novel in our action-packed world where the children are constantly bombarded by stimuli.

The Seashells drew with such concentration, being present and focussing their attention on the different fruits and vegetables, noticing the shapes, patterns, and details:

Ethan: I made a sandwich. It has chicken in it. It is a protein. And fish.
Raphael: I made a dinner. I put pitta and ice cream and also some egg and cheese.
Teya: The cheese is protein. And now I need some salad. I have a feast for dinner.
Drew: I am making a carbohydrate. I put in bread and spinach. Now I am going to serve everyone.

We spent time exploring different herbs – a sensory experience focusing on smell and taste. The children were blindfolded and asked to guess which herbs they are smelling. Dried herbs were presented, and the children needed to match the names on the bottled herbs to the names of the fresh herbs on the table.

After the guessing game, they drew the different herbs. The children concentrated on observing the shapes of the leaves.

The theme of healthy eating and cooking has even extended to the outdoors in the mud kitchen:

Drew: I am making tortillas and rice. They are healthy because rice is healthy. They have no spices in them.
Teya: I was making lemon-lemon. It is something to drink. It is good for you because it has pips in it.

We are looking forward to further explorations around healthy eating and good nutrition as the term progresses.