Grandparents and Graphing

During our ” Begin with Me ” unit there are many opportunities for graphing.  Graphing activities can be used to teach sorting , counting and much more.  Today we looked at our skin color and found a circle closest to the color of our skin.  Then we progressed to put two eyes on and draw a mouth.  Then we talked about hair color.  Emily cracked me up. She said ” I have a little bit of brain and like two blonde hairs. ”  So, I let her mix it up. Its all in our perception right ?

We also graphed how many girls and how many boys were in our classroom today . Graphing also gives us the opportunity to talk about words like more and less .  One indicator we look for in development is if a child knows if they are a boy or a girl.   CHECK!

We had two small groups going on today. One group was in the kitchen doing a cooking experience with Ms Dallas. They made bread sticks in the form of their initial .  We do atleast one cooking experience a week  .  Do you allow your child to help you in the kitchen at home ?

Encouraging kids to try healthier foods isn’t the only benefit of cooking as a family. Among the recommendations in a recent American Heart Association report onoverweight in children and teens were:

• Reducing the number of meals eaten outside the home.
• Having structured times for family meals.
• Offering healthier, low-calorie foods.
• Involving children in meal planning, shopping, and food preparation.

Indeed, cooking with kids can be the gift that keeps on giving; it has both short-term and long-term payoffs.

Some of the short-term benefits:

• It encourages kids to try healthy foods.
• Kids feel like they are accomplishing something and contributing to the family.
• Kids are more likely to sit down to a family meal when they helped prepare it.
• Parents get to spend quality time with their kids.
• Kids aren’t spending time in front of the TV or computer while they’re cooking.
• Kids generally aren’t eating junk food when they’re cooking a meal at home.

Some long-term benefits:

• Learning to cook is a skill your children can use for the rest of their lives.
• Kids who learn to eat well may be more likely to eat healthfully as adults.
• Positive cooking experiences can help build self-confidence.
• Kids who cook with their parents may even be less likely to abuse drugs.