SUGAR CRASH – RTE
- Can teach children about different types of sugar
- Show an item that is high in sugar such as chocolate then one low in sugar. Get children to measure out amounts of sugar next to them and see what they think about
- Sugar in both savory and sweet foods
- amount of recommended sugar in one day
- sugar in ‘healthy’ foods
- History of sugar – Britain after WW2 to now. Reducing fat = increasing sugar – mathematical lessons can be possible.
- Different sugar related diseases – sugar as dangerous. Also in less obvious ways.
- ‘Sweet tooth’ – show effects on teeth
- Relating sweet items to occasions or socialising – birthdays etc
- Build a healthy meal – get play food
- Sugar vs sweeteners?
- Damien Gameau documentary – Calories are not equal.
- Process of sugar digestion in body – show a picture of insides and get children to label parts such as liver.
- Healthy sugars in fruit
- Metabolically unhealthy in non-obese children
- How can children reduce their sugar? – Small swaps
- What does added sugar mean? – Juice drink vs real fruit
– Up to 2 years of age children shouldn’t have any added sugar or salt in their diet.
Growth, Development and Relationships
Dr Suzanne Zeedyk shows that babies are born connected. Important for children to have secure and healthy relationships from birth. As primary practitioners we have the responsibility to provide support and take action.
I would encourage a lesson which is purely based on relationships. I would start with getting children to come up to the board and provide one person they have a relationship with. If the children think they have no-one to write about then I think this is a Gage of how much they know and understand about what relationships are. I would then go on to explain that relationships are not just with partner but do exist with the people in your life. I would provide a couple of examples I have such as professional relationships with other staff in the school. I would then do the same activity and see what answers the children write (if there was a lack of answers before). We could continue with a class discussion over what it means in a relationship, what values exist in a relationship, what makes a positive relationship and a negative one. I would bring it simply to the example of a pet and how this brings responsibility, trust and companionship to a relationship. Continuing, I would encourage children to pick one relationship they have which means a lot to them and to write a letter to the person it is. Not only does this encourage literacy and language development but supports children in understanding how they feel and how to express this to another being, hence showing the impact we have on each other through our relationships. I would encourage children to explore how they feel towards this person and if they have anything they would like to express to them – such as an apology or simply being thankful. When completed I would get the children to either post the letter (which support) or give it to the person and see what the response is and how it makes each other feel.
This has also made me reflect on the relationships I currently have and has reinforced to me how important it is to treat others with kindness, being nonjudgmental and positive, which I have noticed can be easily lost in day to day life. Therefore, it is part of my professional responsibility to make a conscious effort to work around this. I also hope to make to build this into the foundation of my classroom so each child can feel welcome and happy.
