Healthy bodies, brains and bellies part 1

Healthy Bodies, Brains and Bellies Part 1

Hello everybody, today I am going to speak from my heart and talk about a touchy subject.  There is a crisis in our country, the food we eat and the lack of exercise we allow can lead to childhood obesity, ADHD and many more things.  It is scary how many children are overweight and the long term damaging effects obesity can cause.  There are many factors that have contributed to this crisis:  fast food, modern conveniences, television, and technology.  Even if a child has a high metabolism they still need to eat healthy.  It is sad how many chemicals and dyes are in our foods these days.  The more color it has the more a child is drawn to it and wants to eat it.  I strongly believe that a lot of the behavioral and medical problems that we deal with in children can be attributed to their food. 

In part one I am going to discuss healthy bellies and how we can make healthy eating fun! 

Healthy eating at home prepares kids mentally and physically for their day.  Create a healthy home environment by offering your kids nutritious options for family meals, lunches and snacks.  Healthy eating isn’t always enough.  You also need to educate your family on why and how to eat healthy.  I will be the first to tell you it is not easy to stay the course with healthy family eating.  It is a battle that requires constant planning and dedication.  Over the last year since my daughter was diagnosed with ADHD I have been on a quest to figure out what diet works for her and our family’s busy schedule.  When I started researching food dyes I was shocked at how many foods had them in it and what the negative side effects were.  Here are some articles on food dyes Click Here and Here, when you have time check out this research on food dyes.  We try to only allow “school lunch” for our kids once a week.  This gives me better control over what they are eating.  As a busy family there are definitely days when we do eat unhealthy foods.  But there is also a balance.  Recently our family has been trying to eat more "clean".  We try to eat no processed foods, dyes, low sugar and only brown pastas and breads.  Since we began "clean eating" and taking Advocare products I have personally lost 40lbs, my husband hasn't had any migraines and my daughter with ADHD has improved her focus.  The question is how do we make healthy eating fun?

One way to make healthy eating fun is to have a “mascot”.  The very hungry caterpillar is a great mascot.  He ate healthy and it helped him grow.  Reading together will also aid in family bonding. 

Allowing children to help with food prep will get them exited to eat more healthy.

Here comes the fun part!  What can we put in our kids lunches and what can we give them for snacks that is fun and healthy?? 

I like to start every “fun” project I do with a theme.  It organizes my brain and helps me come up with better ideas.  We have weekly themes at preschool so you could use the same themes or come up with your own family themes.  After you come up with themes you should plan a menu.  Start with a week’s worth and include your kids in the planning and shopping.  This will be a great way to educate them on cooking, family time and healthy eating. 

Here is my fun snacks and foods pinterest page for ideas.  The ideas on this page are not all healthy but there is a wealth of healthy kid lunch ideas.

http://pinterest.com/kidzoneteacher/kid-snacks-and-food/

I hope you enjoyed these fun ideas!!  Let me know if you would like more information on My weight loss journey!

Rachel Supalla

Director Discovery Kidzone Montessori School

Owner www.discoverykidzone.blogspot.com

Making Themes Come to Life!

In early childhood we are blessed with the opportunity to spend a lot of time teaching theme units.  With careful planning we incorporate the themes in every aspect of the classroom!  During the summer I go over the common core standards and then plan my themes for the year.  I also use an emergent curriculum and if the children are particularly interested in a unit then we will spend more time on it.  When planning my themes I include activities for math, science, language, reading, practical life, art, music, gross motor and if possible field trips.  By the end of a unit the kids have an incredible understanding of all that was taught. 

Children learn best through hands on exploration and discovery.  You can tell them about something and even show them pictures but until they see it in real life they won’t ever have a full understanding and interest in the subject being taught.  One way I like to make themes come to life is by inviting special guests come in to speak and bring examples of what we are learning about.  Click here to see a post about a special DNA presentation we had.

My favorite way to make themes come to life is through field trips.  When we finish a unit I try to plan a field trip based on the theme.  This week we just finished our pond unit.  Here is a link to my pond unit. 

To celebrate this we had a field trip to the pond, the feed store and the pet store.  We started at the pond to see these animals in their real life habitat.  We explored ducks, geese, swans and even a beaver!  The kids got to use their senses of smell, sight, sound and touch to experience what a pond was really like.  They were fascinated and they pointed out skills they learned in the classroom such as the beaver dam, the webbed feet on the ducks, the ducks bobbing for food, the reeds next to the pond, the honking geese and the murky pond water! 

After we went to the pond we traveled to the feed store to touch and hold ducklings!  We were able to discuss why the ducklings had lamps in their cages, the differences between chicks and ducklings, what they felt like, what they were eating and what a baby turkey was called. 

 Finally we made a trip to the pet store.  At the pet store we observed the turtles and frogs.  The kids were fascinated with the swimming turtles and the frogs huddled in the corner near the heat lamp. 

We learned a lot from our pond unit but no amount of classroom time could compare to the amount of learning we received from making our theme come to life! 

 

Rachel Supalla is the mother of 4 kids ages 3-9.  She has taught preschool and Kindergarten for 15 years.  Rachel is a Montessori certified teacher and director.  She owns Discovery Kidzone Montessori Adventures where she blogs about teaching in a Montessori school and homeschooling.  Rachel homeschools her daughter who has ADHD. Rachel is also the owner of Discovery Kidzone Montessori School.You can contact Rachel on facebook at Kidzone Teacher Mama and you can find her pinning on pinterest here! 

Cultivating a Creative Mind

If you were given a box, a wooden spoon, tape and muffin liners what could you create? 

This is one of many activities you could do in the classroom and at home to inspire creativity with your children.  In a recent IBM poll, 1500 CEO’s identified creativity as the single most important trait for leaders in the future. 

I don’t know about you, but as a teacher and mother this fact is exciting to me.  Although it is exhilarating, it also means we as educators have a great responsibility to cultivate creativity in young minds.  How do we go about completing this titanic sized task?  Well, let’s start with inspiration. 

To encourage creativity you must first be inspired and passionate.  Your passion will be contagious and grow!  Take cues from kids!  In a Montessori Class we follow children carefully and observe their interests and activities.  Plan a unit based on their enthusiasm.  Kids who develop an interest in a particular subject tend to be more innovative. 

I like to plan my lessons based on theme units.  Don’t forget the importance of open ended play based learning.  When you are teaching on a particular theme be sure to have ample props, creative sensory tables, low tech toys, and dramatic play items out to develop and extend the artistic process. 

Rotate the art center materials often.  Plan creative thinking projects.  One project idea would be to say here is a paper plate, a paper towel tube and a piece of tissue paper.  What can you create?  Be sure to display their masterpieces. 

Open ended art center, I change the materials in my art center every 2 weeks

Gingerbread Play dough center, We have different themed play dough activities and new scented  play dough out every month

Another way to cultivate creativity is through music and movement.  Provide quality musical instruments and cds such as Debbie Clement http://www.rainbowswithinreach.com/, Dr. Jean http://drjean.org/, Jack Hartmann http://www.jackhartmann.com/, greg and steve http://www.gregandsteve.com/.  Set up a music center where kids are free to explore instruments and dancing items.  When planning activities make room for plenty of movement!  A body that is movin means the brain is movin! 

Music and movement activity to make ice cream

Cultivating creative kids requires you to be creative however, don’t over plan so much that is squelches your ingenuity!  Mix it up, wear a goofy hat, talk in a fake accent all day, do a progressive story hunt throughout the school and yard.  Tell a story and let the kids create their own ending to act out. 

Most of all don’t forget to show kids how to have fun!  Creating + Learning = Fun!  Inspire, cultivate, create!! 

A little bit about me!  My name is Rachel Supalla and I am first and foremost a wife and a mom!  I married my high school sweetheart who is still my best friend!  I have 4 sweet kids ages 3-9 2 boys and 2 girls.  They are my inspiration every day.  I was a teacher before I was a mom but I believe they have made me a better one.  I have taught preschool and Kindergarten for 15 years.  I am Montessori certified but I wouldn’t consider myself a Montessori purist.  I have done a great deal of research along with trial and error and have combined the best of a few different methods in my school. 

I own, direct and teach at Discovery Kidzone Montessori School  I started my school 3 years ago and it is my passion.  Teaching kids to read at an early age brings me joy beyond belief!  I just recently started homeschooling my daughter who is in 2^nd grade because she has ADHD and does much better in a progressive, creative environment. 

I started Discovery Kidzone Montessori Adventures Blog to blog about our educational, Montessori and homeschooling journey.  I used to be a children’s event planner and I will begin blogging about that soon.  I am constantly researching and experimenting with new creative learning ideas.  I strongly believe that you can make everything you learn FUN and in the process you will retain the information better.  My school slogan is CREATING+LEARNING=FUN!  I try to live by that motto every day.  You can find me pinning new creative ideas on http://pinterest.com/kidzoneteacher/ or come chat with me on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KidzoneTeachermama