Infants and Toddlers â¢ Unit 7: Learning About Good Food - LifeWay

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Parents Day Out Unit 7 • Learning About Good Food WEEK 3: Milk Is Good _________________________________________________________________ Guidance Tips • Food is an important element in your relationship with preschoolers because much of your time is spent feeding infants and assisting toddlers with snacks and meals. Do not hurry children through feedings and mealtimes. Pleasant conversation and a gentle touch are important as you help meet the physical, social, and spiritual needs of preschoolers during mealtimes. • Hold infants as you feed them their bottles. Sing to them and gently rock them as you feed them. Do not prop bottles for infants because younger infants can choke when left alone with propped bottles. • When feeding toddlers, seat them at a low, child-sized table. Encourage the children who want to feed themselves finger foods without assistance. Remain positive and loving. Concepts for Emphasis • Milk is good to drink and helps me grow strong. • Milk comes from cows. • God made milk. Bible Thoughts • God made us (Psalm 100:3). • Thank You, God (2 Timothy 1:3). LEARNING ACTIVITIES Books Locate the books Baby Farm Animals and On the Farm. Prior to the session find pictures of a bottle of milk, glass of milk, carton of milk, bowl of ice cream, and other milk products. Glue each picture to a piece of poster board and seal the pictures inside a small zip-lock bag. Stitch the zip-lock bags together on the left edges (with the zip-lock openings on the right edges) to form a book. As you sit on the floor with a toddler or hold an infant and look at books, talk about the good food God provides. Help children name foods such as fruits, vegetables, milk, and so forth. Say: “In the Bible we read, ‘God made us.’ God made good food for you to grow strong. Thank You, God, for milk to drink.” Music The songs “Thank You, God” and “The Animal Song” provide opportunities for boys and girls to express themselves through music. Nature Prior to the session find two clear plastic bottles with lids which can be sealed tightly. Fill one bottle about one-third full of water, and fill the other bottle onethird full of milk. Seal both bottles tightly, taping the lids as an additional precaution. Infants and toddlers will enjoy holding the plastic bottles, shaking and sloshing the liquids. Name the liquids in the bottles, helping preschoolers identify and name milk and water. Say: “A verse in the Bible is ‘Thank You, God.’ Thank You, God, for milk to drink.” Following the session discard the contents of both bottles. Teaching Pictures Locate pictures of various farm animals. As you look at pictures of animals with preschoolers, make the sounds of the animals, particularly the “moo” of the cow. Encourage older infants and toddlers to imitate the animal sounds you make. Say: “God made the cows. Milk comes from cows. Thank You, God, for good milk to drink.” Infants and Toddlers 4
Parents Day Out Unit 7 • Learning About Good Food Toys and Games As you hold babies to feed them their bottles of milk, place colorful socks on the bottles for infants to feel and examine. Toddlers will enjoy a game of dropping clothespins into an empty gallon-sized plastic milk jug. The nonspring, straight clothespins are best to use with toddlers. Also cut off the top of the milk jug to provide a larger opening. Additional Ideas for Toddlers • Blocks—Add several cereal box “blocks” to the block area for this session. To make these, collect several sizes of cereal boxes. Stuff the insides of the cereal boxes with crumpled newspapers, packing the boxes tightly. Tape the boxes shut, then cover all sides of the cereal boxes with clear contact plastic. Place these cereal “blocks” alongside the blocks. Toddlers can stack these blocks, using them much as they would the cardboard blocks. As toddlers manipulate the cereal boxes, ask, “Do you use milk on the cereal you eat?” • Homeliving—Place empty milk cartons in the homeliving area for stackingand-nesting activities. • Puzzles—Provide the wooden puzzles “Farm Animals,” “Pet Pals,” and “Transportation.” Remove the front panel from a cereal box. Cut this in half to make a puzzle. Evaluation • What conversation did preschoolers hear about milk? • Were firsthand experiences with milk planned? ________________________________________________________________ WEEK 4: Thank You, God ________________________________________________________________ Guidance Tips • Younger preschoolers learn about prayer through the examples of teachers and parents. As infants and toddlers hear you sing or say thank-you to God for many things throughout the session, they sense the goodness of God and your love for God. • The thank-you prayers you sing or voice when teaching younger preschoolers need to be simple, short, specific, and spontaneous. Express your thanks to God in simple words, using one or two sentences. Name specific things in your prayer, such as thanks for Janie’s mother, David’s strong legs, milk to drink, and so forth. Always use spontaneous prayers rather than memorized prayers. • Do not expect infants and toddlers to bow their heads, repeat prayers after you, or even stop an activity when you voice a thank-you prayer. LEARNING ACTIVITIES Books Locate the book All About Baby! As you sit on the floor with an infant or toddler, picture-read the book. Express short conversational thank-you prayers about the child’s own family and experiences. For example, you might say: “This is a picture of a mother and daddy. Thank You, God, for Bryan’s mother and daddy.” Infants and Toddlers Concepts for Emphasis • God loves me and gives me good things to enjoy. • I hear my teachers say thank-you to God. Bible Verses and Phrases • Jesus said, “Love one another” (John 15:17). • Thank You, God (2 Timothy 1:3). 5
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Infants and Toddlers â¢ Unit 7: Learning About Good Food - LifeWay