Landing Pages

Integrating New Recipes and Practices

Integrating the ideas shared in this newsletter requires a team approach from every level of the organization.  Administrators will need to plan and budget accordingly. Food service managers may need to learn new ways of preparing ingredients. Teaching staff will support implementation by engaging directly with children and families. Below are a few things to consider as you expand this area of your program.

1. Administrators can dedicate a portion of staff meetings to discussions related to cooking with children and building cultural responsiveness. Teachers should be encouraged to reflect on their relationship with food, how open they are to try unfamiliar foods, and ways to encourage children to try new foods.
2. Gather feedback from families. Programs can learn from families during the enrollment process, at family events or conferences, through surveys, and via informal conversations. Ask families to provide feedback on the program menus and how well they reflect the foods served at home. Make a concerted effort to integrate family suggestions into menu planning as often as possible.
3. Plan or seek out professional development opportunities that will help staff understand and adopt new practices related to cooking with children, cultural responsiveness, and reflecting the unique culture of children and families in their daily practices.
4. Administrators and food service managers may need to research viable sources of food items that are not readily available through current food vendors. If you are having trouble, ask families where they purchase their favorite ingredients.
5. Establish mealtime routines that incorporate family-style dining. This practice encourages children and teachers to sit together, pass food around the table, serve themselves, and engage in meaningful conversations. It is during this time, that teachers can talk with children about the foods being served and encourage children to try a variety of foods.
6. If food is prepared by an offsite vendor, ask for a meeting to discuss broadening the menu to reflect a more diverse population. If your program does not provide meals or snacks to children, there may still be ways to integrate cooking into the curriculum. Collaborate to brainstorm different ways to deepen cultural understanding and responsiveness that don’t include food, but do explore other areas of cultural diversity.

For the main article Connecting with Foods from Around the World, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring a Variety of Foods, CLICK HERE

For the article Cooking with Children, CLICK HERE

For the article The Value of Honoring Diversity, CLICK HERE

The Value of Honoring Diversity

Each of us is raised within a cultural environment that includes a range of visible and invisible features and influences.  Visible influences include things like the clothing we wear, the music we listen to, the food we eat, and the language we speak.  Less visible elements of a culture include things like values, beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions.  It can be helpful to understand culture when it is represented as an iceberg, with the visible influences showing above the waterline and the less visible influences falling below the waterline.

Being culturally responsive means that educators:

• Understand that everyone has different cultural variables, both visible and invisible.
• Value these differences and see them as an asset.
• Seek to understand how cultural elements influence their work.
• Learn about different cultures at both the visible and invisible levels.
• Respond to individuals in a manner that honors these cultural variables.

Exploring foods from different cultures is a great example of a practical way to bring cultural awareness and responsiveness into your program environment.  The Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) has created a field guide that schools can use to evaluate their level of cultural responsiveness to meet the needs of students, families, and staff. The resource encourages schools/programs to reflect on everything from team makeup and professional development to discipline policies and teaching expectations.

In the section related to Classroom Procedures, the field guide states:

Classroom teachers ensure that all students in the class can see their lives, histories, cultures, and home languages incorporated into the classroom environment, curricula, and instructional practices on a daily basis.

One way to do this is to incorporate meals and snacks that reflect the different cultures represented in your enrolled population.  This is an example of exploring one of the visible aspects of a culture.  Programs can dig deeper into the less visible aspects of culture by asking families to share stories and traditions that accompany the recipes.  Reading a variety of books from different cultures is another way to learn about the values and lessons that are often tied to preparing and sharing food.

Here is another resource from the USDA that describes ways to represent different cultures in your program’s meals and snacks.

For the main article Connecting with Foods from Around the World, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring a Variety of Foods, CLICK HERE

For the article Cooking with Children, CLICK HERE

For the article Integrating New Recipes and Practices, CLICK HERE

Cooking with Children

One of the most effective ways to get children to explore new foods is to include them in the preparation of the food. There is something about the ownership and pride that come along with preparing recipes that make children excited to try a new dish.  In early learning environments, these opportunities may be limited due to developmental constraints, but opportunities exist, nonetheless.

Younger children can stir and mix ingredients while older children may be ready to chop ingredients and use electronic kitchen equipment.  You probably have an idea of what the children in your care are capable of when it comes to preparing recipes.  We encourage you to consider that the children may be ready and capable of even more than you expect.

There are a number of resources that you can turn to as you expand cooking opportunities in your program.  Cooking with Kids, Inc. (cookingwithkids.org) is a nonprofit organization based in Santa Fe, New Mexico that strives to provide fun and positive experiences with healthy foods. They highlight the academic benefits of cooking with children, including the many math and science concepts that are reinforced through culinary experiences.  Their website includes a list of recipes representing cultures from around the world.  They also provide videos in English and Spanish that provide tips for cooking with children.

Another resource that you might find helpful comes from Teach Nutrition by the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s Registered Dietitians. On their website, you can download a kid-friendly resource that illustrates:

• Measuring techniques
• Cutting techniques
• Mixing techniques
• General preparation techniques such as how to crack an egg and washing fruits and vegetables

The Food Network also provides simple recipes and food preparation ideas that can be engaging for younger children. One example is the activity of decorating mini pancakes using sliced bananas, strawberries, apples, etc.  This is a good example of a way to introduce a new fruit to children, by including the new fruit along with the fruits children are used to eating.

For the main article Connecting with Foods from Around the World, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring a Variety of Foods, CLICK HERE

For the article The Value of Honoring Diversity, CLICK HERE

For the article Integrating New Recipes and Practices, CLICK HERE

Exploring a Variety of Foods

For decades, nutritionists from around the globe have recommended eating a wide variety of foods to ensure a diet that provides the necessary nutrients for healthy living.  In early learning programs, expanding the menu to include foods from different cultures is one way to enhance the variety of foods presented to children.

It may be challenging to identify foods that children will enjoy, especially if you have a group of picky eaters.  To address this, the Bureau of Child Care Food Programs, Florida Department of Health recommends:

• Introducing one new food at a time.
• Incorporating new foods into familiar favorites.
• Allowing children to take part in food preparation – including growing fruits and vegetables.
• Modeling a positive attitude about trying new foods.
• Encouraging children and allowing them to try new foods at their own pace.

When enrolling new children into the program, ask about the child’s favorite foods. Keep a list of these favorites and periodically evaluate the program menu to ensure children are seeing familiar foods that they enjoy.  Explore the possibility of integrating some of these new foods into your menu with your food service manager.

Ultimately, the program menu should reflect the cultures of the children in your care. Even programs serving children from a seemingly homogeneous culture can uncover variety in the foods and traditional recipes when they partner with families in a meaningful manner.

For recipe ideas, you can also check out this resource from PBS that allows you to search for recipes by course, occasion, and cuisine.  They even have a large selection of ideas for cooking with children.

For programs that do not provide food to children, a bit of creativity and family involvement may be necessary to vary the foods to which children have access. Programs can encourage families to provide foods from their culture with a short description of the recipe and its cultural/familial relevance.

As always, communicate with families about any changes to your menu and to avoid exposure to food allergens.

For the main article Connecting with Foods from Around the World, CLICK HERE

For the article Cooking with Children, CLICK HERE

For the article The Value of Honoring Diversity, CLICK HERE

For the article Integrating New Recipes and Practices, CLICK HERE

Connecting with Foods from Around the World

Heading into the final weeks of 2023(!), many of us will be gathering with friends and families to celebrate a variety of holiday traditions.  One common theme in most of these celebrations is food!  Traditional meals and sweets are baked into celebrations from around the world, pun intended!  Because child care programs reflect the broader community, it is safe to say that the children enrolled in your program will also be celebrating and enjoying these culinary traditions.

In this month’s newsletter, we will share ideas for cooking with children and exploring foods from different cultures, not just during the winter holiday season, but year-round.  This is a great way to build staff and family engagement as you collect, share, and maybe even try a few favorite family recipes.

For the article Exploring a Variety of Foods, CLICK HERE

For the article Cooking with Children, CLICK HERE

For the article The Value of Honoring Diversity, CLICK HERE

For the article Integrating New Recipes and Practices, CLICK HERE

Prewriting Activities for Preschoolers

As children mature, they continue to enjoy many of the same materials and activities that are included on the list of suggested activities for infants and toddlers.  In many cases, the materials can be adapted to meet the developmental needs of the children.  For example, in a preschool classroom, various sizes of interlocking blocks should be available to ensure that children can practice building with materials that match their abilities.

Teachers may choose to add firmer clay to the play dough options made available to children.  Teachers can introduce more advanced dance moves, finger plays, and games that promote the refinement of motor skills.

Here are some activity ideas that can be incorporated into a preschool environment.

• Class chores – Chores require specific fine motor skills while they build a sense of community and responsibility. Children can squeeze sponges before wiping tables with soapy water. They can strengthen coordination skills when they sweep around the sensory table. They can build hand strength by opening clothes pins to hang up smocks.
• Threading and lacing – Older children may show interest in lacing cards or threading beads. Both activities promote fine motor development and hand-eye coordination.
• Stress balls – Early learning environments can become stressful, especially if children are not given strategies to relieve their stress. Squeezing stress balls is an outlet for stress and a great way to strengthen hand muscles.
• Infinity sign games– The infinity sign resembles the number 8 laid on its side. Teachers can create a poster or file folder game that encourages children to trace the shape of the infinity sign with a marker or toy vehicle.  The goal is to make the sign large enough that the children must cross the midline of their body while tracing the shape.  Teachers can also create large, simple mazes that children can solve.
• Novel materials – To promote interest in writing, introduce a variety of materials that can be used for writing. Chalk, glitter markers, neon crayons, and safely-scented finger paint can draw children’s interest better than a standard pencil.
• Sandpaper and other textures – When children begin to recognize shapes, letters, and numbers, teachers can create homemade sets using textured materials. For example, teachers could post the alphabet made out of sandpaper on the back of a shelf.  Children can be encouraged to trace the letters with their fingers.  They could also match letters made out of felt to the letters made out of sandpaper, sticking them to the back of the shelf once they find a match.  Store the felt letters in a zip-sealed bag to give children another opportunity to practice fine motor skills when they open and close the bag.

Again, there is no shortage of ideas that build prewriting skills available on the internet or in published curriculum products.  Know that it is not necessary to purchase a special handwriting curriculum, especially if you have created a print-rich environment and support spontaneous writing opportunities.

Most children are interested in writing the letters of their name first, so be sure to customize your instruction to reflect this fact.  Capitalize on the interests of the children and expose them to lots of opportunities to make their mark.

Recognize effort, not perfection.  Provide models for children to follow, but know that they do not have the skills to copy words exactly as you can.  That will come with practice. You will need to adjust your expectations based on the developmental levels of the children in your care.  And in many cases – you will need to help children adjust their expectations – writing is a skill that takes time to develop so help children recognize how far they have come in their writing efforts.

To learn more, consider this resource.

For the main article Prewriting Skills in Early Childhood, CLICK HERE

For the article The Development of Writing Skills, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Skills, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Activities for Infants and Toddlers, CLICK HERE

Prewriting Activities for Infants and Toddlers

In the early years, caregivers should be filling the learning environment with opportunities for children to explore materials with their hands.  This will ensure that they are developing the fine motor skills required to grasp and manipulate writing tools when the appropriate time arises.  Writing instruction is not developmentally appropriate for children of this age, however, there are many engaging activities children can try.  Here are just a few:

• Encourage scribbling – It may seem wasteful, but having access to crayons and paper is extremely important for the development of writing skills.
• Provide finger foods – Picking up finger food is a motivating way to strengthen hand grip!
• Playdough activities – Encourage children to squeeze, pound, roll, and pinch dough to strengthen muscle coordination.
• Dancing – Dancing increases core strength and promotes crossing the midline of the body. Add ribbons and model new moves for children to try.
• Finger-plays – Games and songs that encourage children to move their fingers in specific ways can build strength and coordination.
• Cutting practice – Younger children are probably not ready to cut full sheets of paper but they can snip small pieces of paper, straws, dough, and other materials that are suitable for their small fingers. Adaptive scissors that spring open may make this task easier for young learners.
• Building blocks and manipulatives – There’s a wide variety of blocks and manipulatives on the market, including puzzles, sorting/stacking items, and interlocking blocks.
• Dress up – Providing clothes for dolls and for the children to wear promotes self-help skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Novel materials – Introduce interesting materials that promote fine motor development such as tongs, clothes pins, and tweezers. Many of these products have been redesigned for little hands, and in some cases, the actual items will be appropriate for young children to use.
• Sensory table activities – Be sure to include tools for stirring, scooping, pouring, and sifting.

There are endless ideas for promoting fine motor development available online and likely in the curriculum used by your program.  Regardless of the activity or materials used, be sure to incorporate and honor children’s interests. Children should not be forced to participate in these activities.  Instead, follow the child’s lead.  Uncover the items or topics that the child is interested in and design engaging activities that incorporate fine motor skills practice.

For the main article Prewriting Skills in Early Childhood, CLICK HERE

For the article The Development of Writing Skills, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Skills, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Activities for Preschoolers, CLICK HERE

Prewriting Skills

There are several skills children need to acquire to be ready to write.  To be able to copy the common lines and shapes that form letters and numbers, children must have the following skills:

• Trunk strength – The ability to hold one’s head and chest in an upright position so that the arms, wrists, and fingers can move unencumbered.
• Visual skills – The ability of the eyes to see and the brain to process visual stimuli.
• Grasping – the ability to hold and manipulate objects with their hands. Here is a great resource to learn more about grasp development.
• Hand dominance – Identifying hand preference as demonstrated with consistent use for tasks such as drawing and using utensils.
• Muscle strength – The ability to push on a writing tool with enough force to make a mark.
• Crossing the midline of the body – The ability to move one’s hand across the imaginary line that runs down the body, creating the left and right sides.
• Hand-eye coordination – The ability to move the hands where desired based on the visual stimuli entering the brain.
• Alphabet knowledge – Familiarity with the shapes and sounds of letters.
• Self-regulation – Writing requires children to focus attention and manage frustration, which requires a level of self-regulation or executive function.
• Self-confidence and persistence – If a child feels insecure about their work, they may be less likely to engage in writing activities.

For the main article Prewriting Skills in Early Childhood, CLICK HERE

For the article The Development of Writing Skills, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Activities for Infants and Toddlers, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Activities for Preschoolers, CLICK HERE

The Development of Writing Skills

As with other areas of child development, the ability to write builds over time.  Writing is a skill that each child learns at their own pace. Some children show interest in writing earlier than others, which could be influenced by older siblings or being around other children who are writing. Some children are developmentally more mature than other children.  In some cases, children are just more interested and motivated to write than other children.

There are also a number of factors that contribute to writing readiness, which we cover in the section entitled Prewriting Skills.  The information that follows describes the general path of the development of writing skills, specifically.

A child’s scribbling is the very first step in the development of writing skills.  These seemingly unimportant marks on paper are the beginning of an important journey.  To scribble, a child needs to be able to grasp a crayon and move their arm in different directions.  As the child’s grasp strengthens and matures, they will gain better control of the crayon and be able to make more intentional marks.  The same is true when you consider the slow transition from whole-arm scribbles to scribbles made with controlled hand and wrist movements.

By the age of three, adults should notice that children’s scribbles and drawings include horizontal and vertical lines, as well as circles.  As children’s strength and coordination develop, they begin to add new strokes and shapes to their repertoire, including diagonal lines, plus signs, and squares.

By the time a child is 4-6 years old, they should be able to copy straight lines, diagonal lines, circular lines, intersecting lines (X and +), and connect lines to form shapes (squares and triangles).  The ability to create and copy these lines and shapes is an indication that they are ready to create the shapes of letters and numbers.

Indications that a child is not ready to write include:

• The inability to form the shapes and lines described above.
• Avoiding or refusing to write or draw.
• Immature hand grasp.
• Difficulty with other fine motor skills, such as manipulating small toys and utensils.

When this is the case, adults can take a step back and provide the child with learning opportunities that strengthen hand coordination and strength, which are covered in the activity sections of this newsletter.

For the main article Prewriting Skills in Early Childhood, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Skills, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Activities for Infants and Toddlers, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Activities for Preschoolers, CLICK HERE

Prewriting Skills in Early Childhood

It is safe to say that most young children are fascinated with the power that comes from wielding a crayon and making their mark on the world (and tables, walls, etc.).  The ability to communicate ideas, feelings, and knowledge through the written word is both challenging and extremely rewarding for young children.

When most people think about how children learn to write, they might imagine children sitting at tables with freshly sharpened pencils and paper, maybe even tracing worksheets or handwriting workbooks.  The truth is, from the first scribble a child makes on paper, they are building a foundation upon which future writing skills will be built.

In early learning environments, we recognize that being ready to learn to write requires strength and coordination that begin to develop years before children write discernable letters and words. It is a given that children need to know the letters of the alphabet in order to write, but before children even have an understanding of what a letter is, they are practicing the other skills required to be successful writers.  These skills are called prewriting skills and in this month’s newsletter, we will focus our attention on what early learning programs can do to strengthen prewriting skills to ensure children are ready to write when the appropriate time comes.

For the article The Development of Writing Skills, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Skills, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Activities for Infants and Toddlers, CLICK HERE

For the article Prewriting Activities for Preschoolers, CLICK HERE