Our classrooms this week weren’t only illuminated by morning sun; visitors to our doors would also have been welcomed by an eye-catching display of greens, reds, yellows and oranges in vibrant hues; with crisp air smelled of fresh crispiness indicating one of our most anticipated events of the month: Salad Day.
At Creative Home Nursery, we believe establishing healthy food relationships begins early. Not just telling kids they must eat their greens; rather it involves them in making mealtime an exciting adventure! So this week we transformed classrooms into mini culinary workshops where our little chefs took charge.
Here’s a snapshot of what happened at our annual Salad Day celebration and how the children actively engaged with healthy eating through hands-on play and learning activities.
Setting the Scene: From Classroom to Kitchen
As soon as children arrived, excitement ensued Parents were invited to bring raw vegetables for each of their children such as cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, lettuce corn or even more exotic options such as purple cabbage and baby spinach Baskets overflowed with an amazing assortment. Teachers led discussions by asking simple questions: “What color is this pepper?”
“Is the cucumber smooth or rough?”.
“What sounds does a carrot make when I snap it?” Exploration is key when it comes to combatting picky eating behavior in children; oftentimes this stems from unfamiliar textures or smells which cause anxiety for some eaters.By handling raw vegetables before cutting or dressing them up, children became familiar and comfortable with them quickly and can begin enjoying eating the new foods more readily.
Hygiene Heroes: the Initial Step in Cooking
As one the Nursery in Sharjah, we place great emphasis on hygiene and life skills education for our pupils. Even before one leaf of lettuce was touched by one of our young learners, they participated in our “Hygiene Heroes” session to hone these vital lifelong abilities.
At first blush, our adorable miniature aprons and chef hats made for quite the delightful sight as we marched toward washing stations. Teachers demonstrated proper handwashing technique by singing our hand-washing song to ensure we scrubbed for enough time.
Chopping: Exercise of Fine Motor Skills in Action
Once everything was cleaned up, our volunteers set up stations with child-safe plastic knives and cutting boards aimed at developing fine motor skills as well as hand-eye coordination. This stage of the event provided participants with opportunities for hands-on practice that ultimately enhanced fine motor development and hand-eye coordination.
Under close supervision, children were taught how to grip their vegetables using the “claw” grip in one hand and press down with their knife with another in order to secure fingers as they chopped peppers into squares and tore lettuce leaves into bite-size pieces truly impressive watching their concentration. Cucumber slices became round shapes while pepper squares became tiny squares while torn lettuce leaves into bite-size pieces were created as these incredible young minds worked away at these tasks with extreme concentration.
Learn Colors with The Rainbow Connection:
Children were delighted by the visual aspect of mixing color combinations; it transformed salad from just another meal into an artistic creation! We encouraged children to experiment with their individual bowls; some preferred monochrome “All-Green” bowls while others attempted to include every possible hue available into their mix. When children have more control over what goes onto their plates, they are much more likely to consume what’s been put there! This autonomy proved especially effective; when kids make choices regarding what goes onto their plates they tend to consume everything on it more enthusiastically.
Teamwork and Textures in The Grand Mix.
Dressing was our final stage of preparation and kept as simple and healthy as possible: olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice and pinch of salt were used in small jars passed around for everyone to shake up before handing back over for use by children themselves.
At this year’s event, one of the highlights was “Shake It Up,” an energetic dance that saw children leaping and shaking jars to mix dressings – adding both movement and music into their cooking experience – keeping energy high throughout.
Once our dressing was prepared, it was added to a giant communal salad bowl and distributed among its residents using large wooden spoons. Each child took turn using teamwork and coordination skills to mix their salad while simultaneously covering it in dressing.
A Community Feast
At last it was time for lunch Our colorful placemats lined tables as the children sat down to taste what had become part of their harvests or vegetables in this case.
Comments such as, “My carrot is so crunchy!” and, “I made this!” could be heard across the lunchroom. We encouraged them to describe flavors like lemon sourness or corn sweetness for example; mindful eating practices like these help children recognize hunger cues as well as appreciate different taste profiles.
What We Learnt
Salad Day was more than just another lunch event; it provided children with an educational experience integrated into our curriculum. By the end of the day, they had practiced:
Sensory Integration: Investigating textures, smells and tastes to discover patterns within various sensations;
Mathematics: Sorting, counting and measuring ingredients.
Physical Development: Fine motor control through chopping and pouring.
Social Skills: Sharing, taking turns and eating communally.
Health Education: Gaining understanding about vitamins and the advantages of fresh produce.
Cultivating Wellness Over Time
Events such as Salad Day are central to our philosophy at our Nursery in Sharjah. We believe a nursery should do more than simply supervise; rather it should foster lifestyle habits through activities that pair healthy food with fun, creativity and independence creating habits which continue through larger school environments and beyond. We look forward to our next culinary adventure, but for now, we are happy to report that the salad bowl was licked clean.
Contact us now to give your child a joyful and healthy start to learning.
