How to Feed a Henry

For this month's shareable classroom snack , Henry chose sesame sticks and coconut strips . He was excited to serve these snacks to his class mates, as part of their Montessori grace and courtesy routine . One of his classmates is vegan and this has been a hot topic of conversation among the kids in his classroom . We talked about wh at it means to be "vegan" and how that might limit her food choices. Henry was concerned that his snack should be vegan so that everyone in his class could share . H e decided not to bring jerky or honey pretzels since his classmate might not be able to eat th ose foods . I was heartened to hear hi s desire to be inclusive . What is your child's favorite inclusive classroom snack?

Time for another class snack . This time, Henry chose Maui onion seawee d , cr unch y green beans and dried apri cots. What is your child's favorite shareable snack?

Henry was so excited that today he was the student in charge of snack at preschool. There are 19 children in Henry's class and the teacher assigns each student a day on the snack calendar. The teacher sends a special snack basket home with the assigned child and they get to fill it with a snack for everyone to share. Fruits, vegetables, cheese and crackers are recommended. The teacher has a few rules about what not to include: no nuts and no junk food (cookies, candy, chips, etc.).  The kids eat snack together in the afternoon. The student who brings the snack gets to serve it to everyone in the class. Henry and his dad made a special trip to the grocery store to pick out a class snack. He selected two of his favorites -- Blueberries and Teriyaki Seaweed. What are your child's snacktime favorites?

Our family has started a new chapter -- last week I rejoined the paid workforce! I am very excited about my new part-time job at a local history museum, coordinating field trips and special events. As part of this transition, Henry is now going to daycare three days per week.  Henry meets new friends and plays with new toys on his first day at daycare. Searching for quality childcare was a somewhat stressful experience. We visited 8 childcare facilities who had immediate space available for Henry to begin part-time care. I wanted to be confident that Henry would be cared for by experienced, nurturing staff in an environment that would challenge him to learn new skills and form friendships with other children. Of course, the added cost of childcare also had to fit within our family budget. While interviewing daycares, one aspect that I cared about was food. All eight of the facilities participate in the USDA food program , receiving reimbursement at a set rate for the meals ...

This week's Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: NO SNACKING!! All this week, I am featuring “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . On Friday, one lucky reader will win a copy of this inspiring book . As I mentioned yesterday , the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. I think the most critical piece of advice for picky eaters is:   French Food Rule #7 - NO SNACKING!!   American children are notorious for grazing on snack foods at all hours of the day. Recent studies have found that our kids average three snacks per day accounting for almost one-third of their daily calories. Parents who attempt to discourage constant snacking are seen as depriving their children. We’ve been led to believe that kids must have frequent snacks to help maintain their blood sugar levels and prevent temper tantrums. But is this really necessary or healthy ? One of Henry's favorite snacks is nori (dried seaweed). By contrast, French child...