Should schools teach additional healthy lifestyle lessons?

Following up on the discussion that Andrew started, I was wondering how teachers could start to incorporate a healthier lifestyle curriculum into their classes.

Schools are under constant pressure for their school districts to have their kids graduate and to pass standardized tests.

So if you’re a 5 th grade teacher, what could you do to motivate your students to live healthier and to make this part of your curriculum?

Here are some ideas:

1. Recipe conversion:

Fractions are part of most 5 th grade math curriculums, so why not have your students bring in a healthy recipe and increase it or decrease it?

Or the teacher can do the same in the class and then the students can practice their math and healthy eating skills there.

2. Studying geography and different countries is usually part of a 4 th or 5 th grade class.

Why not have the students research a country and discover its local healthy foods and then make the recipe?

3. American History is part of most 5 th grade classrooms.

Focus on the Pioneers--their lifestyle, travels, and of course the types and ways they prepared their meals.

Because refrigeration wasn’t invented yet, the food eaten by typically locally based. Have the students’ research which local foods were popular during that time period in our American history.

4. Start a classroom garden, by growing fresh vegetables.

5. Or plant an herb garden. What better and healthier way to add a little variety to food than with a splash of fresh herbs?

Kids love watching things grow, measuring their progress, and eating the results.

These are only a few suggestions but they can greatly enhance a child’s education, and can be easily incorporated into a regular curriculum.

In order to pursue this idea I created a group for teachers that will provide them with the various recourses that are available for them to use for these types of classes.

And just as important, it will be a place for teachers to talk with one another to exchange can go to discuss these ideas, and their experiences.

Do you know any teachers who might be interested? How about your own children’s teachers?

I’m sure you would want your kid’s classroom to have Iowa Avenue’s resources at their disposal, because

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

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