Today I spent the morning teaching first graders about nutrition, going over the digestive system poster, talking about the small intestines being the size of the tennis court, the importance of chewing and pulverizing the food in the mouth. We talked about water being crucial component of life and health, we drank green monster smoothie made especially sweet with extra bananas, pineapple and honey and topped with cinnamon after the initial terror of kale, chard and spinach. We talked about how food affects the mood and how thoughts affect our health. We promised never to believe when someone says – “You are not good enough!” or “You can’t do it!”. We then tuned in to Dr. David Katz, the Founding Director at Yale University Prevention Research Center and watched how to read labels and distinguish between truth and marketing deception in a child appropriate way.
I was hugged by the kids, who are naturally connected, naturally honest and can still feel intuitively what’s good and what’s not.
Supportive papers, including the winning smoothie recipe, are going home in the kids folders so that the parents can get involved too.
I am just a health coach that got really, and I mean really sad couple of weeks ago while watching the kids lunches. So many of you reached out that day and responded to my outcry with support, with your own presentations that you take to schools, links to websites filled with entire healthy menu plans for schools. I could have just sat at home and go on with my day, being grateful that my kids know more than 99% of the kids out there. But that didn’t seem right. Out of that experience an entire idea was born and a call to action. So thank you to all who reached out to me, a huge thanks to IIN for broadening my knowledge and giving me the tools to teach and big thanks to all the open minded teachers who allow people like me in their classrooms. If each one of us was able to get into their area school, imagine how many people you could affect. You never know the power of information. And if you get to save one life, it’s as if you saved the entire human kind…
My business partner wrote a book, that’s being currently edited, that will be an eye opening, educational tool allowing entire families to make a change easily. One sad experience has led to and unexpected outcome and an unbelievable satisfaction!
