Feed Your Mind
By Caroline Wyman

Let's face it...we've all seen the bleak statistics on television and read about the problems of overweight children in newspapers and magazines.

• There are twice as many overweight children now as there were in the last decade.
• Type II diabetes—once solely an adult disease—is being diagnosed more frequently in the younger population.
• Fewer than 1 in 4 children get the daily recommended physical activity levels necessary for healthy living.

In short, unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle are at the core of a generation's weight problem. Health problems can and do result and can last a lifetime.

But we can help turn that around. Good nutrition and educating about healthy eating choices go hand in hand in forming a successful school experience. Children need to learn about the benefits of good nutrition and how to choose the right foods. The classroom is an excellent starting point for this journey into healthy living, which can extend into adulthood.

What are some of the benefits of good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle? Well-nourished children:

• Have fewer behavioral issues


• Test higher


• Have better attendance records


• Are better able to focus on the task at hand


• Can live healthier and longer lives, well into adulthood

Making Nutrition a Part of the Curriculum
Learning about good nutrition should begin early in a child's classroom experience. It's easier to start with good habits than to correct the bad ones later on. So where do we begin, and how can we make the subject interesting enough so students actually understand its importance?

Here are some ideas. Start here...you'll not doubt come up with some of your own ideas as well. Your students might even think of some of their own activities.

Start a school garden program.
A garden can be a fun, interactive way to teach good eating habits. This activity can be as simple or complex as you'd like it to be.

A simple activity: Bring a few plants into your classroom. Choose ones that will develop rather quickly into a fruit or vegetable that children can see, touch and taste.
A
slightly more complex activity: If possible, plant an outside garden at the school. This can become a great learning tool. You could base all of your centers around this garden—students could write their observations in their journals, draw pictures, make progress graphs, and even learn about harvesting and how our farmers produce our food supply. And of course, it's always fun and exciting to eat something that you grew yourself! Don't be surprised if a child who would never eat a string bean, carrot or tomato decides that they are delicious!

Apples, Apples, Apples
Here is a good centers lesson to help teach about healthy snack food choices.

Objective: Students use apples to create art and use the seeds as a manipulative for math.
Target grades: K through 3.

Initiation:

• The teacher will ask the class, "Who likes apples?" "What is your favorite kind of apple?"
• Ask students if they ever used an apple for anything other than food.
• Have a conversation about other uses for apples.
• You can discuss the nutritional value of apples (see sidebar) with your class, depending on the grade level.

Development:

• Pass out apple halves with the seeds in them to each student. Make sure they know these apples will not be eaten, but will be used for creating art.
• Have students carefully pick out the seeds and then quietly count them.
• On a previously made "apple seeds" chart, record the number of seeds in each student's apple half.
• Determine which number is the most/least common.
• Then have students pose a hypothesis about their apples: Do larger halves carry the most seeds? Do the brightest red apples have more seeds? Do smaller apples always have the least number of seeds?

After discussing the seed chart:

• Pass out different plates of paint to each student. Use fall colors—brown, orange, red, yellow and green. Children can share the paints.
• To use the apple half as a stamp, put a little paint on each apple and stamp a piece of construction paper (also in fall colors) with the apple. Beautiful artwork will begin to appear!
• After everyone has created their work of art, let the papers dry. Hang up the artwork on a special bulletin board. And don't forget to post the seed chart, too.

Closure:
Let your students know that art and math can be found everywhere. And it can be fun. Finalize the activity by passing out apples for everyone to snack on.

Materials:
Apples, chart, construction paper, paint.

Time:
45 minutes

Learning good eating habits, how the body receives and uses good nutrition, and the effects of eating in a healthy way contribute to a healthy mind and body, and can make for a happier, more successful life. Start your students on a journey that will last a lifetime. Feed their minds, and you'll help feed their lives.

Sources:
www.nutritionexplorations.org
www.lifelab.org
www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson054.shtml
www.nutritionexplorations.org/educators/lessons/littled/littled-main.asp?tab=1
www.nutritionexplorations.org/educators/lessons/chef-combo/chef-act-caterpillars.asp
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/nutrition/schoolgardens/schgard.html

Caroline Wyman has a degree in Sociology and a Masters in Elementary Education and is the administrator for TeacherNet.com.