Nutrition Essential Questions

       I'm very excited to be part of the RES team and look forward to working with all of the wonderful scholars and educators here at RES. Nutrition awareness for young children has become a hot topic in recent years and a critical issue throughout the United States. Research shows a strong link between eating well and optimal performance both academically and athletically. What do they mean when they say eating well? Why is it important to eat breakfast? Vegetables do what for me? These are all questions that I would like to digger deeper into with our young scholars to find the answers to.

       My plan is to integrate nutrition into P.E class everyday through daily Essential Questions or EQ. The questions will be fairly general and will allow for a vast array of answers. There will be two Essential Questions each week. Our young scholars in 1st-4th grade will be encouraged to talk with parents, guardians, or whomever might be at home about the Essential Question of the day. For example the EQ might be about what a healthy snack looks like or what types of foods are proteins.

       On P.E days during morning meeting time, homeroom teachers will provide critical opportunities for our scholars at RES to share any information that they have about that day's Essential Question. The beginning of P.E class will be culminating time for students to share and for me to answer any questions. I can't praise my amazing colleagues enough for their willingness to work with me on this project. Providing information is only half the battle, providing opportunities for students to make connections to the Essential Questions/EQ through real life examples in the classroom, P.E class, and at home is an equally important part of the process.

       I do realize that this is a rather robust vision and it might not be feasible in all cases. I will post the upcoming weeks EQ's on my blog each week. My hope is to post a section called "In Their Words" each week also. This section will consist of any inquisitive quotes that were shared.

      Creating a positive environment that promotes being active and to have a deeper understanding of how nutrition affects our bodies/academic performance is a passion of mine. My intention is not to tell you what your kids should be eating, but rather to give our scholars the knowledge to make informed decisions about the foods they eat.  If  you have any ideas or feedback for me please don't hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Brian Godfrey
brian.godfrey@cesuvt.org