Hello all,
“Letter N is for Nutrition Week” was by far the Nicest week of the 2015-2016 school year yet! The students entered school each day with so many of Letter N shares! Everything from: Narwhals, Nests, Noodles, Necklaces, Nets, Nutcrackers, Neckties and a map of New Jersey! One student even threw the teachers through a loop when an orange was pulled out of share box. Thinking the child was a week early for Letter O Week, the teacher suggested that the orange should come back to school next week. The student quickly corrected the teacher by saying that he brought in a Naranja – which is the word for orange in Spanish! What great shares came in during N week! How clever! To help explore the letter N, the students also learned all about Nutrition! Well, “Letter N is for Nutrition Week” has come and gone. Read on below to discover the learning that took place and fun that was had throughout the week!
At the beginning of the week, the students worked on their letter N tracing and identification activity sheets. Some of the N words included: numbers, noodles, nests, nurses, noses, and more! Much to the surprise of the teachers, the students had quite an extensive vocabulary for noodles! Spaghetti, pasta, macaroni, and ziti were just a few of the words students used to describe the pictures of noodles. After a little reminder as to what the letter of the week was, the students quickly shifted their answer to the umbrella term, noodle! In the afternoons, the students used their noggins to create the following Letter N Word List.
Do you see any letter N shares?
Answer: Necklace, Nickel, Noodles, and Numbers!
Wednesday morning began with a visit from a PPA Daddy Guest Reader! The Daddy and daughter duo photographed below selected a special book to start the day off right! A special Park Prep Thank You to this Daddy for spending the morning with us!
Shortly after, the students were ready to begin their exploration of the theme of the week – Nutrition/Healthy Eating! The students discussed what they thought the word “Nutritious” means. After settling in on the idea that nutritious meant “food that is good for you”, the students raised their hands to answer the next question: “What foods are good?” A little confused by the question, the students began listing foods that “tasted good” but did not necessarily fall under the umbrella of nutritious. After a little redirection, the words ice cream and cake were changed to more nutritious foods like broccoli and strawberries.
After the discussion, the students learned all about the USDA MyPlate guidelines and why it is important (and yummy!) to select food from different food groups. Take a look below to learn a bit more about the MyPlate guidelines!
To help practice the concept of selecting a variety of foods, the students created a super Nutritious snack using items from not one, not two, not three but FOUR different food groups! Take a look at the students Nutritious iNsects which were created with a celery (veggie) and sunflower seed butter (protein) body, two raisin (fruit) eyes, and two whole wheat pretzel (grain) wings! Much to the surprise of many PPA Parents, the student DEVOURED these Nutritious iNsects! What a well-balanced, multi-food group, and most importantly, YUMMY snack!
The nutrition fun continued on Thursday as the students revisited the NEW food model. Contrary to the food pyramid that the teachers (and parents) grew up following, the My Plate was designed to promote a more balanced intake of the foods (with less emphasis on starches and sugars) and also address portion control. The NEW My Plate also is more easily personalized to fit an individual’s dietary needs and tastes. The students familiarized themselves with the NEW Food model by coloring it in and also selecting their favorite food choice from each group. Whether drawing from their memory or selecting from a basket, the students came up with some great answers!
On Thursday afternoon, Miss Torie, a Registered Dietician and PRESCHOOL friend of Miss Taryn, visited the students of PPA! Miss Torie had heard that the PPA students were hard at work learning all about the Letter N and Nutrition throughout the week and she wanted to lend them a hand! Miss Torie greeted the students and then led a very exciting discussion about what Dietitians do. She explained that Dietitians are people who go to school to learn all about food and the way food works inside our bodies! Miss Torie explained she helps teach people about what types of foods are best to eat and also makes suggestions of ways to make good choices. The PPA students surely impressed Miss Torie with their knowledge of good eating and nutrition! Miss Torie began by explaining that the food we put into our bodies helps make our bodies work properly. She explained that food contains vitamins and nutrients that help our body grow and also give us energy to move around! Some foods, like vegetables and fruits, have A LOT of vitamins and nutrients so we should try to eat those often. She explained that even though some foods, like candy and ice cream, may taste very yummy but they do not have a lot of vitamins and nutrients so we should only eat those foods sometimes.
Speaking of eating, Miss Torie informed that students that she knew of a healthy and delicious snack that she loved to make with children – a nutritious fruit and veggie smoothie! Miss Torie asked the students if they would like to make something with her and naturally, the students were more than eager to lend a hand! Working in small groups, the students followed Miss Torie’s instructions and assembled the various fruits and veggies including: pineapples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and spinach into the blender. A quick (and LOUD) whirl around turned the chunky fruits and veggies into a soupy smoothie in no time! The students could hardly wait to taste the “fruits” of their labor! Take a look at the photographs below, judging from the smiles on their faces it is clear that the PPA students LOVED Miss Torie’s delicious and Nutritious snack! A special PPA THANK YOU to Miss Torie for visiting us!
On Friday, the students assembled assorted fruits and veggies onto special Letter N placemats! Once the upper and lowercase N were completely assembled, the students began eating their hard work! What a fun and yummy way to learn the alphabet!
Friday afternoon rounded out Letter N is for Nutrition Week with a fun nutrition-themed technology presentation! First, the students played the interactive game of “Which Group is It?” where they had to identify the food and determine which food group it was a part of. After a week of practicing and studying good nutrition, the students aced pretty much every question – well, excluding tomato but that is a tricky one!
Click below to learn some more about the different food groups with Sid the Science Kid and his pals!
Before the end of the presentation, the teachers discussed a particular food type that was left out of many discussion this week – sweets. Now, who would be better to discuss sweets than Cookie Monster himself? Watch below to see the super silly but very informative Sesame Street clip!
Well, that is all for “Letter N is for Nutrition Week”. As always, thank you for reading. Have a wonderful and safe weekend!
-PPA
Reminders:
ALL RE-ENROLLMENT CONTRACTS AND DEPOSITS FOR THE 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR MUST BE SUBMITTED BY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10th.
Next School Closing:
Monday, February 15th – Presidents’ Day
Theme for Next Week:
