Food Frenzy in Room 3!Documentation of the project done by the kids of Room 3 on food and

healthy eating

Documentation & Planning by

Jennifer Meertins

Anecdotal Observation

At the carpet area, Arisha, Cydney and four other children are playing with cups and plastic food. Cydney approaches me with a cup and hands it to me.

Cydney: “This is for you.”

Me: “Oh thank you! What’s in here?”

Cydney: “It’s ice cream. Our shop makes the best ice cream ever! And cake and cookies!”

I eat the pretend ice cream Cydney has given me, hand her back the cup and she returns to the carpet. Five seconds later Arisha approaches me and hands me a cup.

Me: “Is this more ice cream? I’m going to get a sore tummy eating so much.”

Arisha: “No this is apples and blueberries and watermelon. My shop doesn’t sell ice cream.”

I eat the pretend fruits.

Me: “Oh, that’s yummy. What else does your shop sell?”

Arisha: “We sell fruits and vegetables and chicken and milk!”

Me: “ Mmmmm! That sounds delicious. But why aren’t you selling ice cream?”

Arisha: “Ice cream’s bad for you! My store only sells healthy food.”

Cydney approaches.

Cydney: “Yeah, but Miss Jennifer, my ice cream is healthy ice cream. And it tastes better.”

Arisha: “ Ice cream can’t be healthy!”

Me: “Well, ice cream is yummy, but fruits and vegetables can be very yummy too. How did you make your ice cream healthy Cydney?”

Cydney: “I put in strawberries and bananas and there’s not any chocolate or sugar. And it’s frozen yogurt. I ate frozen yogurt at the mall with my mom.”

Me: “Well that sounds pretty healthy. I guess I’ll have to keep eating at both shops! Thanks girls.”

The girls return to the carpet to continue playing.

KWH Chart

What do I Know? What do I want to know? How do I find out?

Fruits and veggies are healthy

Some foods come from plants

Milk is healthy

Too much sugar is not good

We need food to stay alive

Why is too much sugar not

good?

What are the food groups?

Where does food come from?

What are seeds?

Do all foods have seeds?

What makes food healthy?

Look at the food and

investigate

Read books about food

Ask a baker

Ask a chef

Go to the grocery store

Go to a farm

Make/grow your own food

The classroom as a whole, children teachers and I, came up with this chart to discover

things we already know about the topic of food and healthy eating, things we want to

know, and how we might find out. Items in bold were stated by the children.

Web of Potential Experiences

Common Experience: Marvelous Meal Molds

The project began with a common experience. This was a chance to discover children’s level of interest in the topic. To introduce this activity, we had a circle time where children

talk about what foods they know that are healthy and what foods they like the most. For the common experience, the children made marvelous meal molds – shaping play dough (that

they made themselves!) into healthy foods.

A banana made by AidenAiden: They’re a fruit and

fruits are healthy!Aidric: Green bananas are

old. I mean, green bananas are the ones that are… What’s it called? They’re not ready to eat. And when they’re old they’re black.

Apples made by KellanECE Student: Why do you think apples are healthy?Kellan: Because they’re fruits.

A strawberry made by ChloeECE Student: That’s a big strawberry! Why are there green dots on your strawberry?Chloe: They’re are on the strawberries when I eat them. Aidric: Those are seeds - I think.

A jackfruit made by AidricECE Student: Why are jackfruits healthy?Aidric: Because they’re fruits

and they have stuff in it that makes you strong.

Learning Experiences

Our Bean GardenFor our first experience, children had the opportunity to grow a bean plant in a clear sandwich bag using lima beans, cotton balls and water. To introduce the activity, the children were read the book I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato by Lauren Child. The

children were also fortunate enough to have the grade 6 children come in to help plant the beans. The bags were then taped to the window in order to get sunlight. Through this activity, children could learn the science behind where some of their food comes from.

Xavier Planting His BeanXavier: Is this the same beans from Jack and the

Giant Slayer?ECE Student: Well, the bean stock in Jack and the Giant Slayer grew to a land in the sky. Do you think this bean will grow like that?Xavier: Probably not. But I think mine’s gonna

grow big. To the top of the classroom! Those beans were magic beans. They’re not real.

Adelaide Planting Her BeanGrade 6 Student: Don’t use so much water! That’s way too much!Adelaide: I need it! It needs water to eat!ECE Student: That’s right, they do need water. And so do we. But what would happen if you drank too much water?Adelaide: I would drowned?ECE Student: Do you think the beans could drown too?

Adelaide: Maybe.

John Planting His BeanJohn: Can I eat these? (the beans)ECE Student: For now we won’t. They’re safe to eat, but people usually eat them cooked. If you want to try it, maybe you can ask your parents to cook them for you.John: I’m gonna eat lima beans tonight!

Aiden Planting His BeanAiden: I ate these before. They’re nasty!ECE Student: Well nobody likes everything. It’s okay to not like some foods, but other people like it.Aiden: Nobody likes these. They’re so gross. BLEH! But my mom makes me eat them.

Boston Planting His BeanBoston: Miss Jennifer, you know, one time I

planted a bean at home with my brother. But it didn’t grow. Maybe it needed more water.

Where Does It Come From? Activity

For this activity, a board game was made where children had to match certain foods to

their source. This activity gave children the chance to continue learning about where

their foods come from. In the previous activity they learned about plant foods, this

activity now incorporated foods that come from other sources.

ECE Student: Where does bread come from?Hope: Chicken?ECE Student: Put your hand up if you think bread comes from chickens.*Children raise hands*ECE Student: Well some bread have eggs, and where do eggs come from?Boston: Chickens!ECE Student: So a part of bread can come from chickens. But the main ingredient is grains. Where do you think grains come from?Hope: Cows?ECE Student: Well grains grow from the ground…Hope: Plants!

ECE Student: What is this? *holds up card*Tori: Jell-O!

ECE Student: Right! Now this is a hard one. Where do you think Jell-O comes from Tori?Tori: Umm…bees?ECE Student: Well we know honey comes from bees and honey and Jell-O are both sweet so that was a good guess, but Jell-O comes from somewhere else.Tori: Plants?ECE Student: Yes, some ingredients do come from plants. Now there is a special ingredient in Jell-O called gelatin. Can we all say gelatin on the count of 3? 1…2…3!All children: Gelatin!ECE Student: Can you guess where gelatin come from?Aidric: Cows?ECE Student: Yes! And pigs. So how many groups does Jell-O fit into?Aidric: 3!

In the Kitchen

For the children’s third learning experience they had the chance to pretend to be chefs

and bakers. Miniature pots, pans cooking utensils, aprons and plastic food were brought

in for the children to use in the dramatic play area.

Chloe: Where’s the

hamburger?Konstantin: Coming! Let me

just add some salt.Chloe: Where’s the

chicken?Konstantin: We don’t sell

chicken here!

ECE Student: What are you making?Konstantin: Sushi!ECE Student: How do you make sushi?

Konstantin: Umm…you cook the fish.

ECE Student: You look

upset. What’s wrong?Aidric: My hamburger

burned.ECE Student: Uh oh…what are you going to do now?Aidric: Throw it out!ECE Student: Why?Aidric: Burnt food is bad for you.

Arisha: Chloe! Try my

coffee!*Chloe pretends to drink coffee*Chloe: I love coffee. I drink it all the time.Joanna: No you don’t!

Coffee is only for adults.

Investigating the Bean Garden

For their fourth experience, the children returned to their bean garden to check on their

beans’ progress. Some beans grew grab quite a bit while others did not grow at all. It

was okay though because it was a great opportunity to discuss with the children what

plants need to grow and why they think some grew and not others. The children then

documented their plants growth through pictures and sentences.

Aizah: My bean plant is bigger than flowers. Husna: My bean plant is pretty and colourful.

Alex: My bean plant is growing. It more

needs water and soil.Chloe: My bean plant is growing. It needs

water, air and sun.

Children drawing their bean plants.

Celebration!

Cooking with Chef Jennifer!

To celebrate the closing of their project and to recap everything they learned, the children had the chance to cook alongside Chef Jennifer. On the menu for the day:

Mini Pizzas! The children used bagels and topped them with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and pineapple. Once they were all topped, they were taken to the oven to bake. Shortly after, they were ready to eat and the children gobbled them up! the mini pizza ingredients incorporated all 4 food groups which the children reflected

on, as well as where each food came from and what people who cook at their jobs do.

Mini Pizza RecipeBagels

Tomato sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Pepperoni

Pineapples

*And any other toppings you can think

of!

Instructions:

Cut one bagel in half. Cover one half of

the bagel with tomato sauce. Sprinkle

shredded cheese over the tomato

sauce. Add other toppings as you like.

Preheat oven to 400◦F. Bake in oven for

8 – 10 minutes. Remove from oven and

let sit until cooled down. Enjoy!

*Ensure the toppings you choose do not possibly

contain any allergens or restricted food.Alex and Tori enjoying their mini pizzas.

The children reviewed the Canada Food Guide and which food groups their ingredients were from.

Reed making a mini pizzaReed: I want lots of cheese. It’s

my favouriteECE Student: What food group is cheese from?Reed: Cow, oh…no. Dairy.ECE Student: That’s a good point too. Cheese does come from cows!

Reed: Pepperoni’s meat. What

animal is that?ECE Student: Here’s a clue –Oink! Oink! Oink!Reed: Pigs!

Aidric: My pizza

doesn’t have enough pig!Landon: Don’t say

that! That’s gross!

ECE Student: How’s your pizza?Joanna: It’s yummy!

Can I have more?ECE Student: We don’t have enough ingredients to make more. But maybe you can ask your parents to make them with you at home.Joanna: OK!

KWHL Chart

What do I Know? What do I want to know? How do I find out? What I Learned

Fruits and veggies are

healthy

Some foods come from

plants

Milk is healthy

Too much sugar is not

good

We need food to stay

alive

Why is too much sugar not

good?

What are the food groups?

Where does food come from?

What are seeds?

Do all foods have seeds?

What makes food healthy?

Look at the food and

investigate

Read books about food

Ask a baker

Ask a chef

Go to the grocery store

Go to a farm

Make/grow your own food

How to grow a bean

The food groups

Some foods come from

animals and plants

Lots of people work with

food, like chefs

Which foods are healthy and

which are okay just

sometimes