Blue class participates in six meetups with our nutritionist

At be. Living, food is part of our pedagogical process. We believe that one of our roles as a school is to help our children develop a conscious and healthy relationship with food.

This learning begins when children are still very small—during kindergarten.

Now, after two years of social isolation due to the pandemic, we are resuming a very special healthy eating project with the Blue class, in which they participate in six meetups with our nutritionist Cristiane Lacerda to chat and learn.

For the first meetup, Cris asked each child to bring to school a picture of a meal they usually make at home. The aim of this first activity was to foster a mutual exchange, facilitating the introducing of herself to the class and raising the children’s awareness of the subject of food.

Together with the children, Cris gave brief comments on the pictures each brought in and the eating habits those pictures revealed. She then explained to the children what a nutritionist does.

Throughout the project, the children learned about the food pyramid, the food groups, and their functions. “I told them that we need three food groups: the group that gives us energy, made up of carbohydrates; the group that protect us, made up of fruits and vegetables; and the group that gives us strength, made up of proteins,” recounts the nutritionist. The children then put together a food pyramid, made with collages, which was then kept on display in the classroom.

Everyone also learned that there is a difference between the meals we eat at lunch and dinner and those we eat for breakfast and afternoon snacks. With this new knowledge in mind, the children were invited to get their hands dirty and make breakfast and lunch.

A very special moment for the children was going to the street market with the nutritionist. The purpose was for them to discover new things—piquing their interest in the wholesome produce of the land—and to buy ingredients to make a very tasty and appealing salad. “When we got back from the street market, we made three salad dressings together: one with passion fruit, one with olive oil and lemon, and one with pesto. The children took photos, and the images turned out beautifully. They made some very colorful salad dishes! It was really rewarding to see the result of this activity,” comments Cristiane.

There was also a meetup just to talk about party food, bringing up the issue of candy and how this type of food enters the conscious eating routine. And at the end of the project, each child brings from home a suggestion for a school lunch. The whole class votes for the combo that best represents the class, and the chosen meal goes on the be.Living menu for the month. These are fun activities that awaken a taste for a rich and diverse diet that both nourishes and delights.

“Children have the opportunity to experience a variety of foods and flavors during childhood. In this phase, food preferences are formed, and they start developing connections between senses, memories and feelings of pleasure. This first experience with food is very important for human beings and will shape their eating habits throughout their life,” concludes Cristiane.