The Hand Holders: A Tribute to Caregivers

I want to thank each of that work with children.  You role is very important whether providing child care as a profession, being a parent, co-parent, step-parent, foster parent, grandparent or having an important role in any child’s life.

The Hand Holders:
A Tribute To Caregivers

There is no job more important than yours;
no job anywhere else in the land.
You are the keepers of the future;
you hold the smallest of hands.

Into your care you are trusted
to nurture and care for the young,
and for all of your everyday heroics,
your talents and skills go unsung.

You wipe tears from the eyes of the injured.
You rock babies brand new in your arms.
You encourage the shy and unsure child.
You make sure they are safe from all harm.

You foster the bonds of friendships,
letting no child go away mad.
You respect and you honor their emotions.
You give hugs to each child when they’re sad.

You have more impact than does a professor,
a child’s mind is molded by four;
so whatever you lay on the table
is whatever the child will explore.

Give each child the tools for adventure,
let them be artists and writers and more;
let them fly on the wind and dance on the stars
and build castles of sand on the shore.

It is true that you don’t make much money
and you don’t get a whole lot of praise,
but when one small child says, “I love you”,
you’re reminded of how this job pays.

Celebrating Farmers and Food Georgia Agricultural Awareness Week

Agriculture is Georgia’s #1 industry.  March 19-23 is the second Georgia Agricultural Awareness Week.  A celebration of agriculture in Georgia, with a special theme each day. Even if you are not in GA here are some ideas you could use in your classroom.  So let’s celebrate Farmers and Food this week.  This will just get you started.

Monday  – Kick‐off Georgia Ag Awareness Week in your community or school by hosting a ‘Pennies for Produce’ Drive. Funds collected should be donated to a food bank of your choice to purchase local produce when in season from the ag heroes who grow it!

 
Tuesday – Flavor of Georgia Day -try some new fruits or veggies that are Ga Grown.  March is an ideal time for strawberries, since they are in season.

Wednesday – Ag Hero Day, invite a farmer to the classroom or visit a local farm.  Explain to children what a hero is and ask them to describe some of the people they consider to be a hero.  You may even relate it to Super Heros, then relate it to local heros.  Have children draw a picture or write a thank you note to “thank a farmer.”

Thursday – Ag Literacy Day – Invite a local leader to read agriculture related books to your children.  For suggest books to read visit http://feedmyschool.org/assets/files/ag-awareness/Reading-list.pdf                                                                                                      You will also find a certificate to provide for your children.

Friday – Make my Plate Georgia Grown – Feature GA grown products through snacks or meals throughout the day.

For more information and ideas visit:  http://feedmyschool.org/FMS/AG_Awareness_Week

 

March is National Nutrition Month

Whether it’s starting the day off right with a healthy breakfast or fueling before an athletic event, the foods you choose can make a real difference. March is National Nutrition month.  The theme for the month is “Go Further with Food”.  Preparing your foods to go further, by planning meals and snacks in advance can also help to reduce food loss and waste. This year’s theme for National Nutrition Month® encourages us to achieve the numerous benefits healthy eating habits offer, but it also urges us to find ways to cut back on food waste. Learning how to manage food resources at home will help you “Go Further with Food”, while saving both nutrients and money.

So how can you “Go Further with Food”?

1. Include a variety of healthful foods from all of the food groups on a regular basis. Consider trying a new healthy food like quinoa or kale.  Grill or bake rather than fry your foods.  Choose colorful vegetables.
2. Consider the foods you have on hand before buying more at the store. Planning ahead is so important.  Always prepare a list before going to the store.  It saves time and money.
3. Buy only the amount that can be eaten or frozen within a few days and plan ways to use leftovers later in the week.  Plan your menus for the week.  Choose a night for leftovers whether it is made into a casserole or an addition to a meal.
4. Be mindful of portion sizes. Eat and drink the amount that’s right for you, as MyPlate encourages us to do.
5. Continue to use good food safety practices. Remember to wash your hands regularly.  While in the kitchen always wash your hands before preparing foods and when starting a new task.
6. Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week. Take a walk around the park with your family after dinner.  Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator.  Remember that all of your physical activity does not have to be done at one time; break your activity up into 10 minutes increments.
7. Realize the benefits of healthy eating by contacting your local University of Georgia (UGA) extension office to find more information on nutrition related programs are offered and available resources.

Special thanks to Rhea Bentley, UGA Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Columbus, GA, rbentley@uga.edu for providing this article.  Please share with your parents and kick off nutrition month with some activities for the children in your care.

 

 

Learning Can Be Fun!

It’s a New Year and a great time to set some new goals with the children you are working with.  I will try to be more diligent with my postings this year.  Setting goals is often easy; however, following through can be challenging.  Start with a small goal and work your way up.

As a child care professional you give to children, families and the community.  You make a difference everyday.  Thanks for all you do.

Global Handwashing Day – Oct. 15

Global Handwahing Day is celebrated on Oct. 15 and is an advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of handwashing with soap an an effectitve and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives.  According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) proper handwashing is the best way to prevent the spread of infectious disease.  

This is a good time to promote handwahing projects in your center.  There are many resources available to help you promote good hand hygiene.

 

Healthy School, Health People:  this site offers resources and ideas for promoting handwashing in your center visit http://itsasnap.org/Resources/Global-Handwashing-Day

Around the Sand Box

There are many things we can do to create a fun environment using sand, weather inside or outside.  Try some of these ideas and share other things you have found to be effective with children in your care.  Here are a few suggestions to get you started.  Be creative and see how you can make sand time a great learning experience!  Remember to always plan activities around the ages of your children.  Keep safety first!

Sand Play Area

Prehistoric Playtime

In a sandbox, sand table, or wading pool filled with sand:  place plastic dinosaurs, plastic bones, and rocks in various places in the sand.  Make palm trees out of paper towel cardboard and green tissue paper.  Place buckets and shovels in the box and invite children to dig for dinosaurs and bones.

Outer Space and Moon Rock Hunt

Spray paint various sized rocks with silver paint and allow to dry for several days (I would actually wait a week).  You can also use aluminum foil balls.  Hide the silver rocks and plastic stars in the sand.  Let the children go on an adventure to find the items.

Pirate’s Treasure

Hide various pirate-them plastic items in the sand such as gold coins, plastic necklaces, mini treasure chests, large plastic jewels (large enough to prevent choking especially for children 3 and younger).  See what treasures they can find!

Fishing

Hide bobbers and plastic worms to find…..no hooks please.

To extend these activities read a book about dinosaurs, space, the moon, astronauts, pirates or fishing.  Let the children discuss what they found and about their sand box adventures.

 

 

 

Keeping Children Safe – Choking Hazards

Choking is a major safety risk for children.  A young child can choke more easily than an adult because his/her throat and windpipe are smaller. Infants and toddlers explore the world by putting objects in their mouths. The most common cause for choking is the one thing children are supposed to put in their mouths – food. Choking risks are increased in foods that are small, round, slippery, hard, or thick and sticky. Infants and young children often swallow their food whole as they are still learning to chew or grind their food.

Keeping Children Safe – Plan Ahead

•  Choose appropriate food for a child’s age and stage of development.
•  Set a calm atmosphere when eating.
•  Feed children when they are sitting down, not running or playing.
•  Remind children to chew slowly and take small bites.
•  Actively supervise children while they eat.
•  Offer plenty of liquids to children while eating.

Keeping Children Safe – Prepare with Care

•  For infants, cut food no larger than 1/4 inch cubes
•  For ages 1 – 4, cut no larger than 1/2 inch cubes
•  Spread peanut butter thinly
•  Cut grapes into quarters
•  Remove seeds from fruit and cut into small pieces
•  Cook or steam vegetables to soften their texture
•  Cut round foods into strips
•  Grind up tough foods
•  Finely chop meats before serving
•  Avoid foods that are sticky or hard and cannot be cut up

Prevention is the best approach to childhood choking.  So be aware and keep children safe!

Grow Little Turnip, Grow Big – Activity

This activity is an extension of my last blog.  I have done this activity with child care providers many times to provide ideas for their classroom.  Children enjoy this hands-on activity where they can be involved.  This is just one example of how you can make a book come alive. Choose your own book and let your imagination run to come up with your own activities.  Remember to link your classroom together with themes for learning.

Read the book several times before you conduct the activity.  This will allow time for your children to become familiar with the story,

Has anyone eaten a turnip root?  What about turnip greens?  Our story is about a big turnip.  Grow Little Turnip, Grow Big is written by Harriet Ziefert and illustrated by Laura Rader.  What do you think this book is about?  Has anyone seen a big turnip root?

This book, is about an old man, an old woman, a little girl, a big dog, a cat and a tiny mouse.  (prepare pictures for each for the children to hold, I suggest laminating each so you can use them multiple times).  Ask for six volunteers to help with the story.  As the children come up give them a picture to hold (or punch two holes at the top of the card and use yarn to thread through so the child can wear the picture around their neck, this is my preference to leave their hands free).  Move all the children to the side, except for the old man.  You can have a pot with a plastic turnip planted in a pot covered by moss that you hold. (see example at the bottom of the page, you can make your own)

As you read the book, ask your volunteers to help act out the story.  As you talk about the characters from the book pulling up the turnip, each one tries to pull up the turnip individually, then they try to help the person in front of them pull.  At the end they all work as a team and are successful.

To involve the entire class in the story, make the following change:

Page 20 They pulled and pulled and pulled.  Line up the children and stress that they are only going to pretend to pull on the person in front on them.  On the count of three we are going to pull up the turnip. 1-2-3.  Pull it up!  Pull it up!  Pull it up!  Yeah!  The turnip did come up.  Now the old woman can cook the turnip for supper.

Suggested questions for end of book discussion:

• What color is the turnip root?
• What color are the leaves of the turnip?
• Where do turnips grow?
• Has someone eaten the white turnip root or the green leaves of the turnip?
• What other foods did you eat with the turnips?
• Can someone name other types of “greens”? (mustard, kale, spinach, collards)
• Why were we finally successful in pulling up the large turnip? (everyone worked together to pull up the turnip)

Celebrating Farmers and Food – Georgia Agriculture Awareness Week

Agriculture is Georgia’s oldest and largest industry.  It has played a dominant role in Georgia’s economy for almost three centuries, beginning with the settlement by English colonists in 1733.  The week March 20 – 24 is being recognized by the GA Department of Agriculture as the first Agriculture Awareness Week in Georgia.  We are asking teachers and parents to get involved and help promote Georgia’s #1 industry.  This is a key opportunity to concentrate on Agriculture related projects in your center.   Some reasons to teach children about agriculture include:  They are interested; to help make connections to food, developing healthy relationships with food should begin with learning about where and how food is grown on farms; to make connections to the land.  Experiential learning by visiting a working farm, touching and experiment with seeds, looking closely at crops, identifying weeks and week for bugs.

March 22 – Ag Hero Day, Statewide

One in seven Georgians work in agriculture, forestry or related fields.  Find a farmer, grocery store manager, or other person to come and talk with your class about the importance of farming.  Have your students make awards, posters or other items to celebrate your Ag Hero.  Remember you can have more than one and the children will enjoy learning more about their hero and his job.  Let’s celebrate those that are preparing and serving our meals.  Heros are all around us!  Encourage conversations which might include:  Where is your farm located?  What kind of tomato/lettuce, etc. is this?  When was this fruit or vegetable actually picked?  What produce will you have next week?

March 23 -Ag Literacy Day, Statewide

Children may now know that a carrot is not simply grown in small bags in the grocery store, but how the seed is planted and what a carrot looks like with its stalk on it.  An excellent way to show seeds, planting and then the whole plant, while reading The Carrot Seed book by Ruth Krauss.

There are many classroom resources that can be downloaded at http://feedmyschool.org/FMS/classrooms  Georgia Grown Cookbook, Adventures in Agriculture, George’s Food Safety Activity Book  and a few of the useful items.  It may be too late for this year, but Literacy Through Agriculture has an area to schedule a school visit with books being read.  I would try to get a volunteer parent come and make
agriculture alive through books and activities. Throughout the week but especially today.

Friday, March 24 – Make My Plate Georgia Grown Day, Statewide

Farm to School programs bring locally grown foods to schools, and offer the opportunity to educate children about nutrition and agriculture.  The GA Farm to School Toolkit is available at http://gafarmtoschool.org.  It includes using locally food, recipes, school gardens, farm field trips and so much more.  If there are area schools participating with this program, I encourage you to contact the school and see if they can share contacts for more locally sourced food products.You may consider eating one “seasonal meal” each week or try different seasonal items throughout the week.

For information on selection, preparation, and preserving foods visit our publications at :  http://www.fcs.uga.edu/extension/food-select-and-prepare-healthier-food  Please distribute to parents also to help celebrate and create awareness of GA First Agriculture Awareness Week.  Please share any pictures or interesting items that you came up with.

What is being Learned Through Food Experiences? Growing your Curriculum

To explore some of the ways that learning through food experiences can benefit your child or children in your care visit the document below.  Just click on it and you will go to a detailed page with information.  I encourage you to share this with your parents too.  It may encourage them to get their children involved in cooking activities and increasing family time.

Learning Through Food Experiences

The following areas are explored:

• Early Math Skills
• Science Skills
• Language Skills
• Pre-Reading & Beginning Reading Skills
• Social Studies Skills
• Nutrition
• Food Literacy
• Art Skills
• Socio-Emotional Skills
• Sensory-Motor Skills

Food experiences also help build connections for Brain Development.

• Experience shapes the brains wiring
• Nutrition offers windows of learning in everyday activities
• Stimulates all of the senses:  seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, & hearing
• Forms new connections & strengthens old connections through language
• Repetition forms connections
• Healthy eating & exercise are important for brain development.