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Healthy Lifestyles Curriculum

April 2013
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News Bulletin
April 2013 Bridgeport Child Development Center A program of One Hope United 3053 S. Normal Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616 312.842.5566

Monthly

Overall Health Exercise

Nutrition Environmental Sustainability

Making quick home-cooked meals is easy with advance planning

Hurried parents often turn to pre-prepared meals Many slow cooker recipes can be assembled to feed their families. Processed foods can contain raw and stored in your freezer. Chop vegunhealthy levels of salt, fat, and other chemical etables and cut up meat, beans or other protein ingredients. As an alternative, it can be just as easy and add seasoning to a freezer bag. Push the and less expensive to make healthy meals at home air out so it stacks neatly in your freezer. In from whole foods. It also is a fun way to get chilthe morning, empty the contents of one of the dren involved in helping to plan and prepare meals. freezer bags into your slow cooker. When you come home that evening, a delicious, homeHere are some ideas for cooking quick, cooked meal will await you. healthy meals: When you cook, make extra portions that you can refrigerate or freeze for another meal. Plan meals in advance and shop for a weeks Make recipes healthier with ingredient substituworth of meals at the same time. tions. For example, instead of ground beef use Stock up on common recipe ingredients such ground turkey or lentils (about cup of lentils as milk; juice; shredded and sliced cheese; per pound of ground beef). Also try low-fat whole-grain pasta; bread; canned tomatoes cheese such as mozzarella; brown rice instead and tomato paste; brown rice; eggs (look for of white rice; oil and vinegar instead of bottled eggs enriched with omega-3); beef, chicken or salad dressings. Sugar can be reduced by vegetable broth; olive oil; fresh and frozen fruit about half in most baked goods. and vegetables; canned or dried beans; boneless chicken; and condiments such as mustard, With just a small amount of advance planning, ketchup, mayonnaise and soy sauce. cooking a healthy home-cooked meal can be a Speed up the weeknight cooking process by snap! pre-cutting vegetables and putting them in the refrigerator. Then you can quickly add them to any dish. Try using a slow cooker so you can assemble the recipe in the morning and have it ready by dinner.

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Training Day: 3- to 5-year-old classrooms are closed, but there will be regular programing for Twos and School Age classrooms

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Four Components of the

April 1519: Federal Review Week >

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Resources: American Heart Association: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyCooking/Healthier-Preparation-Methods-forCooking_UCM_301484_Article.jsp KidsHealth: www.kidshealth.org Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/NU00585

onehopechilddevelopment.org

YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER IN EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION

APRIL FOCUS: CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

When children are nurtured, they can grow up to be happy and healthy adults. However, when they lack an attachment to a caring adult, receive inconsistent nurturing, or experience harsh discipline, that is characterized as child abuse and neglect. Child abuse is categorized into four areas: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Child abuse and neglect affect children of every age, race and income level. However, research has identified many factors relating to the child, family, community and society that are associated with an increased risk of child abuse and neglect. One Hope United and Bridgeport Child Development Center I is committed to keeping our children safe and healthy.
PREVE NT CH ILD ABUSE

Room 2 also participated in a food experience this month. The students made delicious soup using a variety of Chinese and American vegetables. The children helped by cleaning, cutting and mixing the vegetables in the soup. The students and teachers also had an Eating the Rainbow discussion. Different fruits and vegetables were identified that matched some of the colors in the rainbow. The children then chose the fruits and veggies they enjoyed the most.

Strengthening Families
Bridgeport Child Development Center I is committed to building strong families. Teaching Staff regularly scheduling family activities and Family Support Staffing continues to communicate with families to address any concerns they might have. BPCD I is a center that supports the Strengthening Families model. A Strengthening Families program like ours, embraces a framework of five protective factors: 1. Parent Resilience 2. Social Connections 3. Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development 4. Concrete Support in Time of Need 5. Social and Emotional Competence of Children These five factors can make a huge difference in reducing child abuse and neglect. All BPCD I staff are trained in supporting and helping parents to build these skills. It is important to us to recognize when a family is in a time of crisis and to offer any necessary support. We have often seen the resilience of our parents and would like to help build upon this skill. Teachers, Family Support and Administrative staff are all here to add to parents already existing child development and parenting knowledge, concrete supports and understanding their childrens social and emotional competence levels while assisting in making social connections with families. Our hope is that none of our families will experience child abuse, but all staff here and willing to support if needed. We understand that every situation is different and are able to evaluate and take the appropriate steps to keep children and families safe.

Introduction to Classroom Activities

During the month of March, the students studies, books and discussions led to great food experiences. Our students had rich discussions about both Chinese and American foods, as well as the difference between what they can eat and what animals in the wild eat. Teachers were diligent about recording the students ideas and opinions on charts and graphs.

Classroom Activities

In the last several weeks, Classroom 6 has been reading several different versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. During a nutrition discussion, students inquired about what else bears eat. This lead into an investigation about real bears that live in the forest. Through our research, we discovered that real bears do not eat porridge. Rather they eat what they can find in the forest like plants, flowers, berries, nuts and honey. The students and teachers decided to make porridge as one of their bi-monthly food experiences. The teachers asked the students which porridge toppings they would like to try and charted it for the children to see. The students then made their own porridge and added toppings that real bears would eat: honey, nuts and berries.