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 are water, coffee, or tea, and healthy fats include olive, canola, and other plant oils. Fruits and vegetables should be consumed in abundance and in a wide variety of colors. There's a page of recipes available on the website– roasted squash with pomegranate, anyone?
 |
| Copyright © 2011, Harvard University. For more information about The Healthy Eating Plate, please see The Nutrition Source, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, www.thenutritionsource.org, and Harvard Health Publications, www.health.harvard.edu. |
Another big difference in the Healthy Eating Plate is the advice to limit milk and dairy to one to two servings per day. At MVS we offer water with snacks and meals, and though we are happy to serve milk if a parent sends it in, we don't keep it on hand ourselves. It turns out that the nutritional value of cow's milk is a topic of hot debate; no other mammals drink milk past infancy, and lactose intolerance is much more prevalent than we might assume. There's a short radio interview clip here with Mark Kulansky, who wrote a whole book about the history of milk and humans. The Harvard School of Public Health also has a page about why calcium is important and alternative sources to dairy. Personally, I like milk in my coffee! To each their own, but if you're interested in learning more there's plenty of information out there.
Thanks for reading!
Megan
News and Reminders
Don't forget to order your MVS sweatshirts before June 1! Here are the links:
Children's Hoody
Adult Quarter Zip
Kitchen Update
This week the children ate lots of beans– bean salad, quesadillas, beans and rice. They are a wonderful vegetarian healthy protein option, and easy to prepare in a variety of ways. They also enjoyed a few school-baked items including carrot muffins and oat bars. For fruits and veggies we served peppers of all colors, sweet ripe pears, and juicy oranges.
This week the children ate lots of beans– bean salad, quesadillas, beans and rice. They are a wonderful vegetarian healthy protein option, and easy to prepare in a variety of ways. They also enjoyed a few school-baked items including carrot muffins and oat bars. For fruits and veggies we served peppers of all colors, sweet ripe pears, and juicy oranges.
Classroom Updates
Infant I by Megan
Our week was filled with more picnics, climber adventures, dirt and shovels. Eating morning snack and lunch outside takes a little extra logistical work, but once we're all ready it's so worth it. The children seem calmer and better able to focus on their food and each other in our shady, peaceful spot on the ramp. We chime in here and now to talk with the children about what they're eating, but conversationally they really take the lead with gestures and facial expressions directed to each other. Lots of fun to watch. Another child made it all the way up those climber steps and is now "negotiating" with the slide, with a second one not too far behind. And during our outside play the older crew has been very busy with dirt, rocks, buckets, and shovels. Though most of their interactions are still pretty collaborative in nature, this week we started to see more frustration growing out of a sense of possession. This is developmentally healthy and as teachers we try to help the children stay calm and look for solutions– not jumping in too early but providing assistance when their emotions get out of control. Often all that's needed is a little reassurance and "sportscasting" (with gestures) to get the child going in the right direction. It was also A's last week with us as he'll be moving over to Infant II on Tuesday– we'll miss you and your snuggles but look forward to seeing you outside!
Our week was filled with more picnics, climber adventures, dirt and shovels. Eating morning snack and lunch outside takes a little extra logistical work, but once we're all ready it's so worth it. The children seem calmer and better able to focus on their food and each other in our shady, peaceful spot on the ramp. We chime in here and now to talk with the children about what they're eating, but conversationally they really take the lead with gestures and facial expressions directed to each other. Lots of fun to watch. Another child made it all the way up those climber steps and is now "negotiating" with the slide, with a second one not too far behind. And during our outside play the older crew has been very busy with dirt, rocks, buckets, and shovels. Though most of their interactions are still pretty collaborative in nature, this week we started to see more frustration growing out of a sense of possession. This is developmentally healthy and as teachers we try to help the children stay calm and look for solutions– not jumping in too early but providing assistance when their emotions get out of control. Often all that's needed is a little reassurance and "sportscasting" (with gestures) to get the child going in the right direction. It was also A's last week with us as he'll be moving over to Infant II on Tuesday– we'll miss you and your snuggles but look forward to seeing you outside!
Infant II by Amanda and Hannah
Bringing chalk outside was a fantastic activity that kept the children interested and engaged for a long time. They enjoyed trading colors, collecting pieces of chalk, and having the freedom to color without limits. Our walk this week was challenging for our younger children and really pushed their gross motor abilities. Colors have been a big topic of discussion this week during play– for example, pointing out the blue bucket, purple chalk, or yellow shovel. We have also been talking a lot about kind interactions and using words when we are upset with each other to express our feelings and ask for space. MV will be moving up to the Toddler room next week! She has often set a good example for our younger children and we will very much miss having her in our class.
Bringing chalk outside was a fantastic activity that kept the children interested and engaged for a long time. They enjoyed trading colors, collecting pieces of chalk, and having the freedom to color without limits. Our walk this week was challenging for our younger children and really pushed their gross motor abilities. Colors have been a big topic of discussion this week during play– for example, pointing out the blue bucket, purple chalk, or yellow shovel. We have also been talking a lot about kind interactions and using words when we are upset with each other to express our feelings and ask for space. MV will be moving up to the Toddler room next week! She has often set a good example for our younger children and we will very much miss having her in our class.
 |
| They get a little excited to see Hannah in the mornings! |
Toddlers by Carly
We had an active and lively week (of course we did, we're energetic Toddlers!). We are thoroughly enjoying this beautiful weather and soaking up every drop of sunshine we can. This week first thing in the morning we gathered small, medium and large rocks to compare sizes and work with natural objects of varying weights. HY and EW especially liked the small cloth pouches we used to collect our treasures and requested to elongate the science and math activity over the course of several mornings. We continue to work diligently on our toilet training endeavors with over half of the class in underwear. This is a huge accomplishment. We will let you know when we are going to begin working with the remaining second half of the classroom. Another area of focus in our outdoor adventures has been working on holding pencils correctly and beginning to focus on writing the first letter of our names. Have a great long weekend! (P.S. Please send in bug spray if you haven't already– it is buggy first thing in the morning. Thanks!)
Preschool I by Shannon E.-F.
This week we stayed closer to school and focused on nurturing new relationships with Alex, an assistant teacher who will spend most of her time this summer in our classroom. The children have almost immediately adopted her into our tribe, which has been heartwarming to observe. Witnessing how easily the children have absorbed Alex into their lives here at school speaks to the power of emotionally secure relationships. It is also a testament to the years of work nurturing and loving these children throughout their time in this program, some beginning here in infancy. Without the solid foundations of healthy attachments, beginning at home and continued through the tireless efforts of our infant and toddler teachers, the children may have taken much longer to accept a new teacher. Our dedication to relationships carries life-long benefits, including future academic success! Check out this opinion article for more food for thought.
This week we stayed closer to school and focused on nurturing new relationships with Alex, an assistant teacher who will spend most of her time this summer in our classroom. The children have almost immediately adopted her into our tribe, which has been heartwarming to observe. Witnessing how easily the children have absorbed Alex into their lives here at school speaks to the power of emotionally secure relationships. It is also a testament to the years of work nurturing and loving these children throughout their time in this program, some beginning here in infancy. Without the solid foundations of healthy attachments, beginning at home and continued through the tireless efforts of our infant and toddler teachers, the children may have taken much longer to accept a new teacher. Our dedication to relationships carries life-long benefits, including future academic success! Check out this opinion article for more food for thought.
Preschool II by CG
For weeks, we have been alternating play between indoors and outdoors in shorter blocks of time in order to keep play productive and appropriate. This week we enjoyed some longer mornings outdoors, including a successful walk to campfire forest! Our transition outside always includes a “self care time” to get water, go potty, change clothes. Our transition indoors includes a short activity, such as breathing or listening games, or taking turns letting out a loud noise, to help shift energy into the green zone, where we listen best.Both indoors and out, our children are very interested in drawing, coloring and writing. Most have already filled up their homemade journals in our classroom, which I am beginning to send home. At first many children rushed to finish all the pages in their journals. Now, more complex work is happening, such as pattering, attempting to write letters and numbers, and drawing thought out pictures.
To support their interest, please send a notebook (composition-style, preferably unspiraled) for your child to keep at school - if you haven’t already. Feel free to ask your child to show you their journal sometime at pick-up or drop-off! If you have time, you could add dictation to their picture as they describe it to you.
Additionally, if any parents who work in an office can rescue any paper from the recycling bin, it would be a great way to provide more opportunities for their creativity, while modeling conservation. Thanks! Finally, a brief reminder that we feed two classrooms on Fruit Salad Friday. Please keep that in mind when sending your contribution.
PreK by Jen
 |
| This week we went for a long walk all the way up through Stowe and down to the waterfall near the fire station. It was a great place to eat snack and invent some new games like this one which utilized the spray painted marks along the pavement. |
 |
| We enjoyed watching the water and talking about all the things we'd seen along our walk. |
 | ||
It's a busy area and we did a great job of sticking together and listening to our teachers and each other.
|
 |
| Stopping to learn more about this lawn mower was also a highlight. |
Comments
Post a Comment