CHILDCARE / PRE-SCHOOL FOOD AND ACTIVITY ENVIRONMENT
ENACT STRATEGY: Mealtimes
Adopt policies establishing mealtime as part of the preschool curriculum
Healthy eating habits make a great contribution to young children's healthy growth and development. Part of establishing healthy eating habits is treating mealtime and snack time as part of a childcare setting’s “curriculum.” Mealtime is a rich environment, combining the possibility of learning healthy eating habits with motor, verbal, and auditory development. Mealtimes should feed children's positive relationship to food in addition to their stomachs.
Ways to include mealtimes in the curriculum include:
- Involving children in simple meal/snack preparations
- Having children help to set/clear the table
- Teaching children about specific foods through songs, dance, and stories and then serving that food
- Develop a small indoor or outdoor garden with easy to grow vegetables and teach children to care for the growing plants
North Bay Children’s Center Garden of Eatin’ Program
North Bay Children’s Center has established one of California's first on-site learning gardens for children under the age of five. Children in their childcare programs will learn to grow and harvest fruits and vegetables, and harvests from the gardens will be used in the hot lunch programs and for snacks at the childcare sites.
Feeding Children Well
Feeding children involves more than just their growth and nutritional needs. The way eating is managed can have an enormous impact on the way a child feels about himself and about the world. Developed by Contra Costa Child Care Council, this web page includes useful information on involving children in simple menu planning and other tips about feeding infants and toddlers.
Best Practices for Serving Foods to Groups of Children
Young children are learning to control their muscles, especially their hand muscles. They need plenty of space to balance food, drink and eating utensils. Make sure there is adequate “personal space“ for each of the children as they eat.
University of Idaho Feeding Young Children in a Group Setting
Includes brief information sheets for childcare providers on how to create a responsive mealtime environment, ideas for positive mealtime conversation topics, and how to evaluate the mealtime environment.
The Contra Costa Child Care Council offers a wide variety of child care programs and services designed to support and empower parents and child care providers. The Child Care Council also educates decision makers and the general public about child care trends and issues. The site contains useful tools and information about childhood nutrition and activity.
Food and Nutrition Information Center contains a compilation of resources for people involved in the child care profession. It includes food and nutrition education print materials, audiovisuals, and other resources for child care and classroom use. Topics covered are general nutrition, food preparation, and food safety. Teaching materials for children and adults include: food models, games, kits, videocassettes, CDs and lesson plans.
Feeding Young Children in Group Settings is an educational project developed by the University of Idaho. The project is designed to help you provide a nurturing feeding environment for children. The project integrates concepts from nutrition, child development, and food safety and presents information about best practices in feeding young children.