.png)
Remember my last post mentioning our observations of shifts in acceptance of new food by offering a variety? I thought I could explore more onto this topic, because it is such a powerful tool that I hope to share with you to take on at home too!
As part of our daily tea break, we provide a variety of fruits and snacks to the kids. Within fruits, children will usually be offered 3 to 5 kinds and we do purchase some 'unusual' options such as dragonfruit, kiwis, berries, melons, grapes, etc. on top of the usual apples, pears and oranges. Out of the daily offerings, children will pick 2 kinds, or all if they choose to! For those who first joined us, it was initially challenging for them to take on those that they did not like (be it they have eaten in the past or because of the outlook of the fruit). To add, at FUN Commune, we strongly discourage wastage. Imagine a child who dislikes oranges. or any citrus fruits, is given apples, oranges and pears. What will happen to those slices of oranges? We will either have a sulking child, or food wasted that would have been better appreciated by another child! Thus, the power of autonomy helps to ease this very much! You may then wonder, why 2 types? Can't the child just have apples as long as fruits are eaten? We reasoned to them that they are still growing, and would need nutrients from different types of food to grow well. This, in fact, really encourages the children drastically! Beyond just ethics, it is imperative to pass on this no-wastage mindset because of the efforts to grow them and the money to purchase..! We are definitely privileged to have delicious food options and this should never be taken for granted. I am so proud to say that we do not have any wastage of fruits and snacks here :D
When it comes to snacks, variety is definitely in the books! Toasts, pancakes, cookies, cereals, pastries and many more. Food has proven to be many of our students' motivation, and it drives them so much. Back to that student who was a little much pickier on her food, she dislikes cheese and many fruits. But she understood why it is good for her body to have options and she started trying out more! When given the option of cheese toast and garlic toast, the latter is always the chosen one. One fine day, one of the 'new' biscuit options was Ritz Cheese crackers. To my surprise, she said, "I have not tried this biscuit before, so I am going to try it and I will tell you if I like it." Wow, wow, WOW! I was so touched to hear that! It may have taken quite a couple of months to get here, but, we are there!!
This power of autonomy, coupled with encouragements and assurances, support children to attempt new adventures. They may have had a bad sour version of an orange and put a ban to it, but if they are able to set themselves to keep trying in new places, they may one day find that sweet version and fall in love with it! We hope to support the kids in having this mindset to always try and never be afraid. Like we all know, if we do not give it a try, we will never know how green the grass really is on our side!
I hope this story inspires you a little, till our next post again! <3
Warmly,
Kei
Comments