Mountain Village School News

Our food program offers vegetarian meals made from nearly all organic, locally-sourced ingredients. We work hard to meet the children's nutritional needs in the healthiest way possible, both because they need high-quality fuel now for brain and body development and because we know that they are forming lifelong eating habits during their time with us. One great source for information about nutrition is the Harvard School of Public Health's Healthy Eating Plate . The Healthy Eating Plate was developed by nutritional and medical experts to address some deficiencies in the USDA MyPlate nutritional guidelines. Though the two plate layouts are pretty similar, the Healthy Eating Plate encourages us to eat more whole grains while limiting refined grains. It also advises us to choose proteins that are rich in healthy nutrients, like fish, poultry, beans, and nuts. Red meat consumption should be limited because it raises the risk of several medical conditions. Healthy drink options a

Thank you, Vermont, for another beautiful week of weather. The sun just seems to be beckoning us outside these days, and we wanted to share an article about one particular privilege of summer: going barefoot! It turns out that our feet are hugely rich in nerves, which means they are sensitive to all sorts of touch sensations that send information to our brains. Those sensations play a huge role in building neural connections; brain-wise exploring such sensations is infants' and toddlers' main preoccupation, and it continues to be important for older children and adults. The author also noted that being barefoot gives children better control over the different parts of their feet which can be used to build strength and balance. It's easy to forget that the bottoms of our feet are, in fact, perfectly built for gripping the ground; I often remove infants' socks and shoes for this reason. If MVS were located on a beach (hmm!) then we could go barefoot all the time, but

Our little slice of Vermont seems to be getting greener every day. At this time of year I'm always amazed at how all the land that was dormant and snow-covered for so long suddenly has so much to offer, and it brings a special appreciation for the farms that surround us. Our access to locally-produced food is one of many reasons why we are lucky to live here. At MVS, our food program will be one year old in a month or so! Sarah deserves a huge shout-out here for getting it off the ground and doggedly planning, prepping, grocery shopping, and cooking all by herself for months on end, on top of all her other responsibilities. Thank you, Sarah, for everything you have invested in the food program. From a teacher perspective I can already see how it has changed the eating trajectories of many children, and it has sparked a culture around food that is curious, appreciative, collaborative, and healthy. It's become a truly special part of our school. There is another awesome food