Week 1 of Nutrition Expedition: Pineapple Investigations!

Week of September 8, 2014

Pineapple Investigations

This week in Nutrition Expedition, we learned all about the pineapple! We started out our new routine reading My Daddy is a Pretzel, by Baron Baptiste. This is a great book for children in regards to learning about Yoga, as well as a variety of simple poses (check out the link on my blog). I will be reading this book each week to allow the children practice and repetition of using each pose.

Next, I introduced the "Mystery Bag"! This week's secret item was a pineapple! The children were encouraged to reach into the bag, feel the pineapple, and speculate what they thought was in the bag. Guesses from the older age groups ranged from a tree, to a pine cone, to something "spiny". I wasn't able to trick everyone, though, as a few children were able to figure it out!

After I revealed the contents of the "Mystery Bag", the children sat at the tables and enjoyed some healthy snacks from the "Nibble Trays" (fresh broccoli, carrots, peppers, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, grapes, strawberries, watermelon, bananas, etc.) while I sliced up the pineapple. I gave them a chance to smell it, and encouraged them to savor each bite in order to allow their body time to relax and encourage healthy digestion. We discussed the health benefits of pineapple, and how our bodies use the vitamins inside to keep us from getting sick and to help us digest our food. 

The infants had a very relaxing time with "baby yoga and massage", and enjoyed exploring a pineapple!  They loved how prickly it felt!

Check out the fun pictures below: