Grapes are Great!

Grapes05

We had our first tasting experience recently as part of our “Harvest of the Month” lessons. This opportunity is partially funded by Raley’s and Bel-Air Markets and provides many classrooms with fresh fruits and vegetables for students to try.  We use all five senses to observe and learn about the food choice.  We practice using descriptive words to build our vocabulary and verbal skills. We also record our observations in a workbook that will go home at the end of the year. I have found this to be a valuable learning experience for my students, even if the food choice is a familiar one, like the grapes we just had.

Classroom Happenings

myplate
I’m sure you have noticed that we are digging deep into nutrition and food choices. MyPlate.gov has many resources to use in class and at home. The students are better able to categorize food in the five main groups. They all need more practice because some of the food is tricky. Is corn a grain or vegetable? If all fruit has seeds, why are tomatoes and peppers called vegetables? Are donuts in the grain group? Every day we come up with new questions that need researching for answers.
We are also learning how important it is to eat breakfast. Some students are missing out on breakfast. If you are running late in the morning, send an extra snack and I will give your child a few minutes to eat at the beginning of the day. It’s that important!
Look for the healthy activity pages in your child’s backpack. The first one is to keep track of breakfast for the next week. There will be a Star Comet Coupon for the students who come back on Tuesday wearing their Breakfast Badge from the first activity page.