Waldorf Early Childhood Education class - nutrition and space

bensmommy | Feb 06, 2009 | 0 | Posted in Everything Else

I missed a post last week so there is a lot to cover now!
We've been celebrating festivals of other cultures - made dumpling soup for Chinese New Year last week and sushi and miso this week. I love the sushi as a portable snack for my son. It's easy to pack all sorts of nutritious bits in there!

Last week we discussed a bit about nutrition. I have nutrition training so not much was new to me but it's great to be reminded of the basics, especially in terms of feeding our children. Here are a couple of my favorite tips (though we were given many more)

1. Create a schedule for eating. Once the child's body is used to the time they are eating, they tend to eat better. And make a ritual of it. Light a candle, say a prayer, fold a napkin a certain way or whatever. Just make some recognition that this is quiet eating time.

General guidelines - Breakfast: Whole grains, fat and protein. Lunch: Fats and Protein. Dinner: More grains and vegetables, little to no fat and protein, for healthy liver function.
Try to get greens in there. Cover them with butter or cheese or grind them into pancakes or some other form. Whatever works. Get them in there!

Those are just a few. If anyone has more questions, I'm happy to offer what I know.

Secondly, the notion of "space" has come up both in this class and at another lecture I attended "Movement in Childhood". A couple of key points here...

Have a space for your child in the home. Make this a warm and welcoming space. If you ask them to "go play alone" for awhile, bring some things out for them to get them started. This will help them get engaged.
The space around the child is just as much theirs as their body. Coming in with a pointed finger is an invasion of the space. Instead of coming close and saying "don't go past those trees", stand next to the child, point out to the trees and say "you can play all the way up to those trees". That leaves the space open for them to explore.

Something to chew on. I certainly am.

Have a great weekend,
Jessie

waldorf, early childhood education, nutrition, space, ritual (all tags)