Monday, April 05, 2010

Kindergarten Nutrition

By Sara Dingler
In March, the Kindergarten students at Ashford School will be learning about health and nutrition. Even though we discuss these topics throughout the school year, this month the students will engage in many hands-on activities focused on these areas. The students will learn how to keep their bodies clean and healthy by reading stories that pertain to hand washing, sneezing, coughing and having the chicken pox. These stories will help the children gain a better understanding about germs. The children will use hand washing and sneezing picture cards to reinforce many skills, such as retelling, listening comprehension and sequencing. As a whole group activity, the students will put baby powder on their hands to represent germs and pass around a black balloon to visually see how germs are spread.
During our nutrition study, the students will build a food pyramid that will symbolize how healthy eating habits help build strong minds and bodies. At home the students will collect labels from cans, jars, and box fronts to bring to school to use while building a classroom food pyramid, planning menus, sorting foods into different groups, and for writing their own A, B, C book about food. The Kindergarteners will also be participating in some cooking/taste testing activities. The cooking activities integrate many different academic areas which include literacy, measurement, listening skills, comprehension and community building.
To encourage the students to practice what they are learning about and give them an opportunity to see how these topics relate to their world, the dramatic play center will be turned into a grocery store. At Ashford School the Kindergarteners learn through active participation and play!