The center I’ve come from often neglects to include children in our conversations around meal time. This causes children to act out during these times.

I have been reintroduced to the importance of spending quality time with the children while they are eating.

At meal times the educators sit with the children and eat a small portion of what the chef has prepared. Using this time to converse with the children about their day and the food they are eating. They develop meaningful relationships with all children while providing language skills.

“Who is picking you up after daycare today?”

Melanie
(Not expecting an answer, just looking for conversation)

When the children are finished eating, they clean up their space, scrape their extra food into the compost bin, and put their dishes into another. The educators use simple language to guide the children through their jobs: “Dishes.” “Cloth.” “Wipe face.” “Laundry.”