Guest Author - Meg Grooms

Mini-lessons are great for quick learning, supplementary education and for when you don't have the time to dedicate to a full lesson plan. This is a mini-lesson plan, designed to take no more than 1 hour per day, which is split up into smaller lessons throughout the day. This mini-lesson is full and complete as it is, but feel free to spend more time as desired.

We all know there is a problem today with childhood obesity. In this day of stationary entertainment it is even more important that we all eat right and stay active. Starting can be scary, but this easy lesson plans gives you a starting point for talking about health, exercise and nutrition with your children.

The Lesson:

Visit http://www.mypyramid.gov with your child and browse through the resources of interest to your family (reading, computer skills)

Help your child create their customized food pyramid and print (computer skills)

Explain how the pyramid works and read together what types of food and how much is recommended (reading)

Note the exercise suggestions and make a goal to meet your daily requirement (physical education)

Have child keep a list of everything they eat and drink for the day (writing, spelling)

Weigh the food the child eats so you can properly mark it on their food pyramid (math)

At the end of the day have your child compare what they ate versus what is recommended (math)

Talk about how you can work together to meet nutrition goals (narration, communication)

Do this for a week and average your daily requirements versus what you are actually eating (math)

Plan recipes and a shopping list to better meet your health goals (math, writing, spelling, homemaking)


Ideas for older children:

Have your child chart the amount of foods they eat on a graph. Use a contrasting line color to show their eating goals (math)

Have your child cook the meals in healthier ways (homemaking)

Have your child weigh their favorite foods before and after cooking, measure the amount of fat that is produced by the item through cooking (science, math)

Have your child read about vitamin retention and write or narrate a report on the subject (writing, research, science)

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