The Food Connection

James knows about food. His Daddy is the co-founder of Carolina Grown here in North Carolina and he knows where most of his food comes from. He has been to the farm where his beloved chocolate milk is made, the apple orchard in the mountains where we get our beautiful apples this time of year and he has picked strawberries to bring home. This sort of learning isn't found in the curriculum but it's important for kids (and adults) to have an understanding of where their food comes from. Currently, James is a self-imposed vegetarian and if the food comes from the farmer he will eat it. He is a picky eater; not to be confused with a problem eater. Again, not in the curriculum but we need to talk about food daily. I cook most nights and he likes to help me out in the kitchen. We also make sure that James sees us enjoying all sorts of healthy foods. I am trying to get a little creative and incorporate discussions about food into our daily lessons. That part of the lessons will mostly move to the kitchen where we will do taste testing with some of his favorite foods to talk about taste, texture, temperature and the flavor strength. He's an auditory learner and, hopefully, talking about food in this way will help him to be just a tad more adventurous in trying new foods. Maybe he'll even eat TWO chicken nuggets next time!