There will be two information sessions next week if you would like more information.
Dr. Kathleen Liberty's research suggests children need to eat every 90 minutes. The idea is that we help our students maintain a correct blood sugar level balance. They are to eat only the recommended wholemeal bread and have the option of spreads: butter, peanut butter, vegemite or marmite.
At first some students seemed excited about this change while other students didn't seem overly keen on this. As time has gone on more students have decided there is personal benefit in this snack ( admittedly at times, I too have wanted a sandwich in the morning...especially when you get a scent of fresh bread, butter and marmite)
The challenge associated with this snack is the making of the sandwiches...ensuring that those rostered on are present early enough to complete their job and that they have followed the routine correctly: clean hands, wearing gloves and tidying up after they have finished making sandwiches.
Eating together inside with peers.
The idea is that we are seated as a whanau and talk. Sometimes we do read and feed, or the children chat. They are organised into 2 main groups down either end of our hub.
All rubbish is to be taken home and even if the students finish eating quickly they need to remain seated for the required time. We have talked to our students and told them why we are making these changes.
One of the significant highlights of this has been the conversations that have been had with peers. This has appeared to have aided in some students getting to know others they wouldn't normally sit and chat with and has resulted in positive relationships which have evolved. A challenge of the eating inside continues to be the way student transition after they have packed away their lunch boxes and return to their home base teacher for the roll.
Play prior to eating
For morning play and lunch play students have been going out for breaks that are focused on play and not eating. At first students said that they were hungry, however as time has gone on this has been less of a complaint and there seems to be more happy play and less issues reported from duty teachers.
Calming the Environment
Removing any hanging decorations and ensuring that what we display is able to be viewed at a restricted height ( not too far up)
The removal of hanging items was suggested to eliminate a possible episode from a student who might be anxious when a sudden item is moving due to a breeze. We are attempting to follow this change as best we can and only as we change displays around withing the hub.
Water
Liz came to speak to us recently about the water initiative associated with Katheen Libert's research: Think to drink and drink to think. Liz discussed the research that underpins this strategy. Kathleen found that highly anxious students were often dehydrated and often stressed. This can cause various behavioural problems: irritability, tiredness...however they could just be dehydrated.
Children and adults need to stay hydrated to maintain optimal focus on set tasks.
We know water is good for our health, however it is interesting to note the effects of not drinking enough water and how this can impact on our learning.
Drinking water can improve learning, so why wouldn't we drink more?
Students drink bottles will be named and will remain in learning hubs. Students will be responsible for filling up water. Students will still require their own drink bottles for sport and outside of class activities.
We as a staff are still looking into how bottles will be cleaned. Teachers are encouraged to participate and could be involved in some sort of competition. There are lesson plans, letters to parents, so this initiative is greatly supported. Our focus is to encourage our Year 5 and 6 students to drink a 460ml bottle within a day...one before lunch and one after lunch. Interestingly the bottle is clear to ensure we see what students have or haven't drunk. It is also interesting that in schools trialing this only some students have used the toilet more than others.
We look forward to Liz launching this initiative by introduce the children to it's benefits within each hub this Friday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment