How To Improve Student Nutrition For Homeschool Alliances
Posted on: 6 March 2017
Homeschool alliances are the way that most homeschool families meet social and academic needs of their children. These alliances meet anywhere from once a week to several days a week. One of the aspects that comes with these alliances is improving childhood awareness of certain lifestyle choices they may not be given in the current public school system. One such focus is student nutrition. Here are some ways you can increase student nutrition and awareness in your homeschool alliance and ensure the children are engaged and taking on at least some of the concepts.
Cooking Class
Holding mandatory cooking classes is one way to build student nutrition in homeschool alliances. This class does not have to center around basic foods either. Let the children use their imagination and research skills to pick out their own cooking challenges. You can also group the children for group co-op activities as well. The point of the cooking class is to get the children interested in healthy food options and making those options for themselves instead of relying on someone else to provide for them. If the children not only know what foods are available, but they also know how to prepare them, they are more likely to make the right food and nutrition choices.
Incorporate Into Other Subjects
If you do not want to hold a separate cooking class, consider making the food part of the overall lesson. For example, if you are in a certain portion of history class, you can discuss the types of foods that were available. A diet like the Paleo diet could be introduced during these lessons to explain why certain foods are excluded from the diet while others are included. You can then use a recipe to teach reading comprehension and following directions while also incorporating math and fractions for the different measurements. This turns what may be a boring cooking class to some into a a tactical hands-on activity that flows with all the major educational aspects and subjects.
Social Nutrition
Turn student nutrition into a social experiment. For this, you will need the parents' permission. The idea is to introduce children to different diets they may not know about but find appealing. They also learn why the diet is practiced as part of a social trend or lifestyle. For example, this is a point you could discuss the Kosher diet, Vegan diet, or Paleo diet as not only a lifestyle but also a nutrition choice the students could take on and why. You can use guest speakers and also have the students try different dishes that may appeal to them.
These are only three ways your homeschool alliance can bring in the idea of student nutrition and help increase the chances of the children making better lifestyle and food choices. For more ways, consider brainstorming with other parents in the alliance and coming to some ideas based on household choices and lifestyle options.
To learn more about making sure students get the necessary nutrients, contact a company like Servesmart.
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