I harvested a carrot!
Trying carrot fries!
Laurel and Hardy Heart
Ms. Barry's kindergarten class plays a game!
A handful of carrots!
Making carrot fries!
This school year, all PreK and kindergarten students at Bains Lower Elementary learned about nutrition and gardening through Play 60. Each month, the students met with Layne Langley, Area Nutrition & Community Health Agent with the LSU AgCenter and Play 60 Coach, Lanya Mayer.
The PreK students learned how to be smart from the inside out from The OrganWise Guys. Adorable plush organ characters such as Sid and Kid the Kidney Brothers, Hardy Heart, Sir Rebrum the Brain, and Calci M. Bone entertained the students monthly with stories and activities about the lovable organs. The kindergarteners became members of The Green Thumb Club. They learned about the MyPlate and the five food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy that Langley highlighted each month. Youth learned about the foods in each group and the benefits of consuming them. Activities like the Great Grain Obstacle and the Colors of the Rainbow reinforced the grains lesson and fruits and vegetables lessons .At the end of each lesson, Langley provided each child with a nutrition reinforcement of the lesson taught that day such as an apple bookmark, a pencil with fruits and vegetables, and a food tray sticker with breakfast item stickers for the children to place on each part of the tray. Langley also sent home nutrition resources to the parents/guardians each month.
The children enjoyed being in the garden this year. At the start of the school year, they helped prepare the 10 raised beds for planting. The PreK and kindergarteners planted kale, carrot, and radish seeds and cucumber, broccoli, and cabbage transplants. They helped water and care for the plants. In April, the Pre-K students participated in a garden “scavenger” hunt. They worked in teams to find items in the garden that were certain colors. Most of the teams found the shovel when asked to locate something red in the garden. The kindergarteners also participated in a “scavenger” hunt. They worked in teams to find items in the garden that began with each letter of the alphabet.
A highlight this year was harvesting the carrots. Each child was allowed to pull a carrot from the garden. They were amazed with their harvest and could not believe their eyes when they saw what came out of the ground. The children were surprised with the different size carrots that were pulled. In May, Lanya Mayer prepared the harvested carrots and air fried them making carrot fries. The seasoning blend she concocted was tasty. The children were eager to taste what they grew! Many children returned for seconds and thirds!
It was a successful year teaching children about the MyPlate and how to be smart from the inside out.
For more information about the nutrition and school garden programs offered at Bains Lower Elementary by the LSU AgCenter, please contact Layne Langley at 225-635-3614 or at lalangley@agcenter.lsu.edu
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture