Healthy Eating

I would describe myself as a healthy eater. My approach to nutrition is to maintain a balance of healthy foods and junk foods. I would teach children how to stay focused and not let them easily persuade themselves to snack on junk foods. I would teach them about different alternatives to maintain a healthy diet. I would also implement a healthy verses unhealthy foods lesson plan. In the lesson, I would talk about the positive and negative effects of heathy and unhealthy foods. The objective would be to have students be able to differentiate between these 2 different types and explain the pros and cons of healthy and unhealthy eating. I would engage my students by doing activities that relate to this topic, such as making a poster together where each student has a chance to come up to the poster and glue on a picture on the side of the poster that is labeled as healthy and a second picture that identifies as an unhealthy food. The goal is to have students want to choose positive healthy choices and healthy actions that influence the functions of the body.

I would describe mealtime in my classrooms as lively. I also sit with the class during mealtimes and engage in conversations. I also try to incorporate healthy eating talk when conversation with them and talk about the food on their plate during lunch and the benefits of it. For example, if we were having milk that day, I would typically say something like “Yum we have milk today! Milk is so good for my bones so I can become strong!” I also encourage students to try different foods or a food that they might not have liked before, again. at the beginning of mealtimes, I like to have a bite of each of one thing together as a class. I would say something like “Lets try our corn together friends, 1, 2, 3.” They love this because they are not alone trying something that they might not like. Lastly, I remind them that its okay not to like something or finish everything off of their plates but I also tell them to try it first before deciding.

• I don’t have any major reaction when changing kids diapers. I do not get disgusted easily. I also do not mind being on diaper duty. I am the oldest of my siblings so I was changing their diapers when they were babies. I don’t change diapers as often as I used to now that they are older and my focus is mostly on working with Pre-K aged kids. My feelings about diaper changes influence my interactions with children during this routine. I could sing a song to the child, narrate my actions or any other way to make the routine a positive interaction.

• Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when a child in my classroom has a toileting accident because it adds another thing on the list and pushes back the schedule but, I do not respond with anger or any negative emotion. I usually think to myself ‘what could be the cause for the accident?’. The reasons that come to my mind could be a nightmare, trauma, or neurological issues. I respond neutrally and reassure the child that accidents happen. I have the child still go to the bathroom and compete the routine, as I get a change of clothes for them to change into. By responding this way, it won’t make the child feel embarrassed or upset. They will be more encouraged to make it quicker next time.

• I would want to teach children potty words while they are learning to use the toilet. I would tell them that they are potty words so that they can get used to the words that come along with going to the bathroom. I would also remind students to go to the bathroom as a routine such as every time they come in the morning. I would tell them “your body wants to let go of the water and food in your stomach. If you hold it in for so long or do go enough, you might have an accident.”

• I do believe that it is important to say hello and goodbye to each child and family member everyday. Of course, there might be days that saying goodbye to every single child and family member will not occur. This is where goodbye routines might come in handy. For example, doing a ‘look who came to school today’ song, incorporating the entire class, or a ‘see you tomorrow’ song to end the day. I would be sure to mention the names of each student as well. On the other hand, I do believe that saying hello each morning should occur because it is the start of the beginning of a new day. It is reassuring to parents to know you have acknowledged the student and them as well. Hellos and goodbyes send the message of appreciation and open the doors to communication. It also shows that I care about the individual.
• When a child cries a lot when his/her parents say goodbye to them, I know that the child feels many different feelings. Separation anxiety is a normal part of child development. The crying makes me feel sad for the child because the only thing I can do about it, is to help the child cope. I can practice breathing techniques with them and make it part of the routine even after the child has learned to cope. I do not feel differently about a child who never cries at drop-off time. I validate the child’s feelings and I comfort them. I treasure the child that their parents will be back at pick up time and that they will have fun at school. I also think of ways to redirect the student and distract them by saying things such as, “wow that’s really cool! Bill looks like he’s building a tall tower in the block area!”
• Some parents attempts to leave without saying goodbye might mean they are running late for work and they got distracted. The child felt sad at the beginning and would remember it throughout the day sometimes. I do not like it when parents leave that way because it really does play a role and have an effect on a child entire day. Some parents might not say bye for the sole reason to avoid the crying and so they sneak their way out to avoid this. I have seen this before in my classroom where a parent was waiting until their child started playing and nearly forgot their parent was there watching. By the time the parent left, the child hadn’t even known.
• I help parents reunite with their children at the end of the day by greeting them, communicating with them, telling them about main points in their childs day. I then like to talk to the child by saying things like “why don’t you tell mom what animal you drew today” or something along those lines. A parent could feel one of 2 ways when their child cries or keep splaying at pickup; 1-overwhelmed because they might be coming after work and are tired, they could also be feeling like they might not be doing a good job because their child is not excited or greeting them after not seeing them during the day or 2- happy that their child is still playing. They are letting their child enjoy the time they have before they start to grow older. They are happy that they are making fun experiences and memories. I always tell my students that when it gets close to time for pick-up, to clean up their centers and we can play an activity together asa group so they are not scrambling to clean up or just leaving the toys on the ground when their parent comes.

1. Concept development: using descriptive language; kids learn that red means bad green means good, as they grow older they learn that red means stop green means go.
2. Describing events and actions: Narrating what you are doing; naming what objects do; describing using adjectives and nouns
3. Social and emotional development: asking questions then pausing allowing children time to respond whether that being verbally or non verbally, also quickly responding to crying or other attempts of communication help children understand how to better express their needs and wishes. Teacher should acknowledge positive interactions as children play well together.
4. Responding to communication attempt: use facial expressions; gestures
5. Positive language for guidance: positive reinforcement; modeling appropriate behavior
6. Using language during daily activities: narrating daily activities will promote repetition and routine remembering; comment on play activities