This week we are learning about keeping healthy by thinking about the food we eat and the exercise we enjoy. These have a major influence on how we feel and on the amounts of energy we have at our disposal throughout the day. This in turn has a huge effect on how prepared we are for play and learning.
Monday
Keeping track of what we eat.
Have a look at the Eatwell Guide published by the British Nutrition Foundation here:
It gives lots of interesting information about the balance of different kinds of food we need to keep healthy: Proteins, carbohydrates, dairy, fruit & veg.
Design a food diary to keep a record of what you eat each day this week. Record everything you eat – snacks and meals and everything! You WILL be surprised, I promise! Next to each food, find out which food group it belongs to – is it mainly a source of protein, carbohydrate, dairy, fruit & vegetable or mainly sugary? I’m going to do it too – I need to watch out for those sneaky snacks and biscuits though! As well as the food you eat each day, make sure you have a column on your food diary for exercise accomplished each day too. What kind of exercise was it, how long did you do it for? If you have a fancy watch or ‘phone app, you can note down how many calories you burnt off by exercising too! Hey try this:
https://healthyeater.com/calories-burned
You need to tell them your height, weight and age (13 minimum) for it to work – it calculates how many calories you burnt off with the exercise activity you did.
Tuesday
Update your food diary… honestly! Don’t miss anything out!
Food investigation – Where does our food come from?
Investigate ten food items that you regularly eat to see where they come from in the world. Banana, chicken nuggets, pizza… there are big concerns about ‘food miles’ where a type of food could be bought locally but supermarkets transport it from miles away, harming the environment by driving it to a store near you in a lorry. The lorry harms the environment by emitting pollution into the atmosphere. I know it’s usually cheaper in a supermarket but go on and prove it – how much does that food item cost in the local shop and how much does it cost in a big supermarket? Is it more expensive to buy fruit and vegetables in a supermarket or in a greengrocer’s? Find out by comparing prices you find online. Record next to the price, the distance the food has travelled – look it up on the supermarket website – it should tell you where the product comes from.
Wednesday
Update your food diary.
Today’s focus – Drinks.
What do you drink? Do you drink water, hot drinks, fizzy drinks or energy drinks? Investigate the amount of sugar that is in a range of drinks – you could do this in a table. What kind of drink is it and what percentage of it is sugar?
Design a poster for primary school children about the dangers of fizzy drinks and energy drinks. What would your advice to them be? We can still have fizzy drinks but there is a better time of day to have them. We need to make sure we are hydrated too: include advice on drinking enough water and the effect of different drinks on our teeth. How can you look after your teeth?
Thursday
Update your food diary
What happens with the food you don’t eat? Can we reduce food waste? What could you do with it? I have always fancied having a pig as a pet but my partner won’t let me have one. My pig would eat all of the leftovers from our meals so it would be good for the environment! What happens to the food you leave or throw out? Where does it go? Do you have a compost bin? How could that help reduce waste? Remember: reduce, reuse, recycle! Plan a strategy for your household – what are your next steps to make sure you deal with leftovers in a more environmentally-friendly way? If you plan to have a compost bin, find out how it works – what mixture of things need to go in there? Can I just put food leftovers in there or do I need other items too?
Friday
It’s a Bank Holiday today so no activities from me, other than to update your food and exercise diary. Enjoy your day everyone and meet you back here next week…
Mr Hankin