Nutritious and Delicious October

Our last post encouraged you to create a safety unit for your students. We hope this has left you hungry for more ideas – because we just so happen to have another one!

October is the perfect month for a nutrition unit. It’s Vegetarian Awareness Month; Eat Better, Eat Together Month; and even Spinach Lover’s Month. While it might be too difficult a task to turn all of your students into spinach lovers, October is a wonderful opportunity to encourage healthy eating habits to last a lifetime. Here are some ideas on how to introduce a little good nutrition into your classroom.

Plan a unit on healthy foods and eating habits. Start by asking students about their favorite foods. There are likely to be plenty of answers like these: pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, etc. Explain that while these foods are delicious (and, in parts, healthy), they are also unhealthy if eaten too often. Ask students to list healthy foods. Help them understand why these foods are important for growing bodies. Ask students to keep track of what they eat for one week. At the end of the week, have everyone write a short paper assessing how healthy their meals were; they should also include how they could eat healthier from then on. Fill the rest of the week with grade-appropriate nutrition topics. Bring in a delicious, healthy snack for each day to help your students eat better!

Here are some FREE activities you might want to use to reinforce your nutrition unit:

Grades 1-2 Healthy Snacks
Grades 3-4 Jellybean Sugar Count
Grades 5-6 Calories
Grades 6-8 Healthy Hidden Foods
Grades 9-12 Nutrition Sense

Plant your own classroom vegetable garden. This doesn’t have to be anything too fancy. If you live in a suitable climate and have a safe space, try planting outside. Many healthy foods (tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and other greens) can be grown indoors, as well. Students will love getting their hands dirty planting the seeds and watching the plants grow. This activity can easily complement a science unit. If all goes well, you could be eating classroom-grown salads and other snacks in no time!

Encourage other students in your school to eat better by putting together a healthy foods sale. Much like a bake sale (minus the brownies, cookies, and other sugary treats), the sale should offer a variety of healthy snacks. After securing permission for the sale, let students share their ideas for what to sell. You might want to provide some simple recipes or ideas to avoid a table full of carrots and bananas. Sell your healthy snacks during lunch, if possible; or before and after school. Use the proceeds to benefit a local charity – or to fund your classroom vegetable garden.

Have you had success transforming your children into spinach lovers? How do you teach students about nutrition? If you try any of the above ideas, please share your stories with us. It’s easy to make October all about nutrition – and to get your students eating healthy.

For more information on healthy foods and eating right, visit the United States Department of Agriculture web site. Interested in more activities that teach nutrition and healthy living? Check out these great books!