Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

Nutrition And Health Chapter 11
INVOLVING CHILDREN
Children are much more likely to try something new
if they have been involved in the preparation process.
Cooking activities are invaluable to the learning process
because they encourage children to taste new foods and
promote independence in eating. Preparing food gives
children:
• experience with sharing as they take turns;
• creative outlets – changing flour and other ingredients
into raw dough, then into a cookie
or muffin that can be decorated;
• self-esteem – a sense of accomplishment when
a project is completed and there is something
to show for it;
• fine- and gross-motor skills – rolling bread
dough, mashing fruit, scrubbing, tearing,
breaking and snapping vegetables, etc.;
• knowledge about safety – injury prevention,
food safety and sanitation;
• knowledge about parts of plants – stems, skins,
seeds, etc.;
• knowledge about science – how plants, animals
and people grow;
• knowledge about math – counting, measuring,
etc.; and
• knowledge about language and literacy – describing
characteristics of fruits and vegetables,
reading stories about food, etc.
Adapted from Making Food Healthy & Safe for Children: How to Meet the
National Health and Safety Performance Standards – Guidelines for Out-of-
Home Child Care Programs. National Center for Education
in Maternal and Child Health, 1997.
Food preparation is better suited to small groups
of children rather than an entire class. Teachers should
keep in mind that the process is more important than the
product. While adult supervision is required, children
149
learn more and gain more satisfaction from doing
something themselves than from producing a perfect
end product.
To ensure learning and fun, food preparation
activities must be well planned and match children’s
abilities and interests. Recipes should be pre-tested; all
necessary food and equipment should be assembled;
an appropriate time frame should be determined; and
safety must be considered. Younger children can scrub,
wrap, pour and mix, while older children can measure,
cut, grind or beat. For example, a 2-year-old can scrub
potatoes and tear lettuce while a 4-year-old can shuck
corn, roll dough or cut bananas with a plastic knife.
Everyone can work together, but the more difficult tasks
should be given to children with the strongest finemotor
skills.
SIX BEST PRACTICES
Nutrition activities should promote positive attitudes
about good nutrition and health, provide fun learning
experiences, and offer opportunities for putting
knowledge into action. Meals and snacks provide
opportunities to integrate learning by connecting the
classroom to meals served, and opportunities for handson
practice of food and nutrition principles learned
in the classroom. Teachers should incorporate the
following strategies, which will be described in detail
on subsequent pages:
1. Focus on developmentally appropriate
out-comes;
2. Provide hands-on sensory experiences;
3. Integrate nutrition into existing curriculums;
4. Create a learning environment that
promotes nutrition;
5. Promote physical activity; and
6. Engage families in healthy nutrition and
physical activity practices.