CATHOLIC FAMILY CHILD CARE NUTRITION TRAINING 2013

LET’S GROW A GARDEN

Farm to Pre-school • Introduction

• Resources

• Build A Garden

Preschool gardening engages children by providing an interactive environment to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn. School and child care gardens are living laboratories where interdisciplinary lessons are drawn from real life experiences, encouraging children to become active participants in the learning process.

Studies have shown that school gardens encourage preference and consumption of fruits and vegetables, increase parental support and involvement, and improve children’s enthusiasm about preschool/child care, teamwork skills and self-understanding. Gardens can be easily integrated into classroom learning and can be as simple as a raised bed or a few containers.

Preschool children are active learners who experience the world through their senses, physical involvement, active play and from behaviors modeled by adults and peers. Research shows that the preschool years are a particularly sensitive period in the formation of life long habits and taste preferences.

Nutrition education at the preschool level can prove instrumental in influencing the development of healthy eating habits while developing kindergarten readiness through hands-on activities in the areas of science, math, art and literacy. Research indicates that when students learn where food comes from, how it is grown, have hands-on experiences, and use their senses to understand it, they are more likely to taste new food items and accept them as part of their diet and build a foundation of lifelong healthy choices.

Below is a list of nutrition and/or garden-based education curricula utilized by Farm to Preschool programs across the country. Each curriculum comprises a varying set of components, some of which are regionally focused.

Color Me HealthyNutrition education and physical activity curriculumNorth Carolina Cooperative ExtensionEarly Sprouts Nutrition and garden-based education curriculum Keene State College, New Hampshire Eat Well Play Hard: In a Childcare SettingNutrition education and physical activity curriculum New York State Department of HealthFood For Thought-Nutrition Across the CurriculumNutrition education curriculumCalifornia Department of Education Let’s Move! Child Care Through the website of the First Lady’s federal initiative, curricular resources are available.Nutrition Matters Nutrition education curriculumUniversity of California Cooperative Extension of Alameda CountySowing the Seeds of Wonder – Discovering the Garden in Early Childhood Education Garden-based education curriculumLife Lab, Santa Cruz, California

Show Me Nutrition – Lets Read About Being HealthyNutrition education curriculumUniversity of Missouri Extension The Preschool InitiativeNutrition and garden-based education curriculumThe Food Trust, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania From Our FarmsNutrition and agriculture education curriculum Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New JerseyGrow It, Try It, Like ItGarden-themed nutrition education kitTeam Nutrition, United States Department of Agriculture Harvest of the Month Nutrition and agriculture education curriculum Network for a Healthy California

Please watch the video about the Farm to Preschool Program.

Click here to view the video

LET’S GET STARTEDChoose an area with at least 6 hours of sun.

Prepare the area and decide whether to build raised planter boxes or use the ground.

You can either go online and see the different styles and dimensions of boxes or go to your local gardening center and they will have ideas for you.

Plan and Shop Choose a spot that you can reach with your hose and gets at least six hours of sun a day. Sketch a plan, taking into account how large everything will be when fully grown—don’t jam the plants too close together. Then go buy your seedlings and enough bagged compost to spread a 6-inch-deep layer—we used 16 cubic feet.

Amend your soil When you get home, water the seedlings thoroughly while they’re still in their plastic containers. Then spread compost over your entire planting bed. Mix it in with a digging fork, removing any rocks, and rake the area flat—this will help water soak in evenly. Now break for a long lunch.

Plant and Water After the heat of the day has passed, set out the seedlings according to your plan. Tip plants out from their pots and gently loosen any matted roots with your fingers, then plant each seedling so that the top of its root ball is level with the soil. Water your new garden well, even though it’s late afternoon (usually, you’ll want to water it in early morning).

Watch it grow

Things will really take off when the weather gets even warmer in about six to eight weeks, your garden should start looking like the one pictured.

Tend your garden You want the soil to feel moist but not soggy. For the first few weeks, this could mean daily watering or more, depending on the weather. Then, if it’s not unusually hot, you can probably taper off to every second or third day; just don’t let the soil dry out. Also, pinch off basil flower buds as they appear.

Harvest In general, pick each vegetable when it looks like it does at the market. Wait until tomatoes reach their full color. Pick cucumbers even if you aren’t going to use them, it keeps the plants producing.

Planting TimesTiming is critical for getting the most from your garden. Not all plants are planted at the same time. There are cool season crops that are planted March – May (and again in July-August for fall harvest) and warm season crops that are planted May-June. The most important thing to know are your first and last frost dates. The following dates are recommendations for Washington State.

First and last frost dates for Western Washington

Last Frost First Frost

Most Cities April 1st -30thOct 20th – Nov 15th

First and last frost dates for Eastern Washington

Last Frost First Frost

Ellensburg May 10th Sept 15th – Oct 11th

Moses Lake April 21st Oct 11th

Pasco April 8th Oct 5th

Pullman May 12th Sept 9th- Oct 1st

Spokane May 8th Sept 15th – Oct 11th

Yakima May 14th Oct 11th

We realize this information does not help you this planting season, but keep this information for next spring and lets see a lot of gardens growing out there. There will also be grants available through the Midwest Garden Grant program next spring. Keep the information and apply.

LETS TALK SNACKS

Snacks can be challenging, its easy to serve crackers and juice. Looking through the food served reports this year we decided we need to help you serve snacks that are fun and healthy. Crackers seem to be the favorite snack food. Water needs to replace some of the juice and the milk that is served. The children really don’t need milk other than the main meals and juice is high in sugar content.

Meeting Meal Pattern Requirements for SnacksBefore planning meals and snacks, check to make sure the meal pattern and serving size meet the requirements of the Food Program. Remember snacks require foods from two different food components.

Meat or Meat Alternate

Vegetable or Fruit or Juice

Bread or Bread Alternate

Milk

Snacks as Mini MealsSnacks are an important part of children’s diets. Young children have high energy needs. Their small stomachs cannot hold enough to keep them from getting hungry between meals. Thinking about snacks as mini-meals helps in planning healthy snacks. Snacks that emphasize whole grains, fruits, and vegetables help to meet children’s nutrient needs.

Consider serving smaller portions of entrée items as part of a snack.

•Bean or cheese quesadilla with salsa

•Breakfast items such as muffins or bagels with fresh fruit

•English muffin mini-pizza

•Pasta salad with carrots and broccoli

•Peanut butter sandwich half

•Pita pocket with melted cheese

•Yogurt parfait with berries and granola

•Small bowl of soup

Making Snack Time FunInvolving children in preparing their snacks can invite

their interest in new foods.

Consider the following ideas:

Make fruit and yogurt smoothies. Allow children to help prepare the snack.

Create a fruit and yogurt cone. Spoon lowfat yogurt into an ice cream cone. Let the children decorate their cones with small pieces of fresh fruit.

Make a fruit salad face. Give each child a pear or peach half. Provide cherry halves for eyes, a thin apple for a smile, and grated cheese for hair.

Offer fruits with a yogurt dip. Let the children help choose the fruits you will serve for snack.

Make a bean dip to serve with lightly steamed vegetables cut in manageable pieces. Let the children help mash the beans for the bean dip.

Snack time is a good time to introduce new foods. Snacks can be used as a taste test opportunity. Offer a small portion of a new food alongside a familiar food. This is a great way to introduce a new recipe you are considering as a main dish or side.

Let’s Sum up SnacksAdd more fresh fruits and Vegetables, protein such as cheese and yogurt and whole grain breads and crackers. Serve water for their drink.

Water information

The new provision requires child care homes participating in the CACFP to make drinking water available to children. Please remember even though drinking water must be made available to children during meal times, it is not part of the reimbursable meal and may not be served in place of fluid milk. Water can easily be made available to children in a variety of ways. Place cups next to faucet or sink, set out water pitchers and cups or just provide water at the request of the child.

Offering water with snack is an easy way to incorporate water in a child’s day.

Children are at a much greater risk of dehydration, they tend to not show any signs or symptoms until they are already dehydrated.

The Facts About WaterThe human body is about 60% water. It is necessary for our health and well-being. Water is part of our cells, blood, digestion, and waste elimination. Water also lubricates joints. We cannot live more than a few days without water.

Too little water can lead to dehydration and the following symptoms:

• Fatigue

• Headache

• Dry Mouth

• Muscle weakness

• Lightheadedness

How much water do we need?The amount of water we need depends on our body size, physical activity, the weather, and caffeine consumption. Most men and women need about 8-12 cups of water per day. Children need less because they are smaller.

About 70 – 80 % of people’s total water intake comes from drinking water and other beverages; the rest people get from food. Below is the adequate daily intake of beverages.

1 – 3 years about 4 cups

4- 8 years about 5 cups

9 – 13 years about 8 cups for boys

about 7 cups for girls

14 – 18 years about 11 cups for boys

about 8 cups for girls

Sugar Sweetened Beverages and Juices

Children who drink just a couple servings of sugar-sweetened drinks each day have a higher risk of being overweight. These children also tend to eat a less healthy diet that is low in important nutrients. For instance, they may drink less milk, missing out on the calcium needed for healthy bone growth. Since the children are growing, this lack of nutrients impacts their health for life. This includes not only soda pop, but also juice drinks that are less than 100% juice.

While fruit juice contains a high dose of important vitamins and minerals, it also has a lot of sugar. This means that drinking juice instead of eating fruit causes a child to consume more calories and feel less satisfied. In addition, some juices are very acidic and can damage teeth.

Yearly requirements that need to be included in our trainings every year

Enrollment FormsPlease make sure to send Enrollment Forms in time to cover the claim you are sending and the parent dated the enrollment within the month the child started care!

The Three Daily Requirements

Daily record keeping is a critical part of participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

The THREE items that need to be kept on a daily basis are:

1. Menus – listing each component for all meals served during the day. Menus if handwritten need to be dated for the day the food was served.

2. Meal Counts – listing each child individually that participated at each meal served, which includes if you are recording in a notebook or by daily worksheets the meals served to each child must be documented.

3. In and Out Attendance – Minute Menu software data entry or handwritten attendance forms should be identical to the parent sign in and out attendance records.

Other records also need to be kept, such as copies of the Application and Agreement you signed to participate in the program, review forms, child enrollment forms, etc.

All CACFP records should be kept for the current year, plus 3 years back.

Claim Submission

Submitting your claim by the 4TH OF EACH MONTH assures you that you will receive your reimbursement in a timely manner.

Your claim consists of the 3 items listed in record keeping

When you submit your claim, you need to make sure that all supporting documentation is on file to support the claim.

Current Child Care license

Enrollment forms

Holiday Confirmation form signed by each parent (Only for a major holiday care)

Medical Statement to support special diets (call the office to be sure the correct Medical Statement is used.)

Reimbursement Process

Meals will be reimbursed to the provider within five working days of Catholic Family Child Care Nutrition Program (CACFP) receiving payment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Meals will be reimbursed for the appropriate number of meals multiplied by the current reimbursement rate set by USDA.

Meals may be disallowed for reimbursement if:

1. The provider’s records are incomplete, inaccurate or missing

2. Meals that do not meet the CACFP meal pattern requirements

3. Meals are claimed in excess of the authorized licensed capacity

4. Meals that do not match with the monitor during a review

5. Time in/out is not listed for a child claimed for a meal

6. Breakfast claimed for a child arriving at 9:00 AM or after

7. Lunch claimed for a child arriving at 1:30 PM or after

8. Dinner claimed for a child leaving before 5:20 PM or earlier

9. Provider is not home during a meal monitor review and did not inform the office

10. Holiday documentation for claiming meals on a major holiday (New Years, Memorial day, July 4th, Labor day, Thanksgiving and Christmas)

There may be other circumstances that may cause loss of reimbursement but these are the most common.

Civil Rights PolicyCatholic Family Child Care Nutrition Program and it’s employees will ensure every customer will be treated fairly, equally, with dignity and respect. There will be no exceptions or excuses.

We have a moral and legal obligation to treat our customers with respect and courtesy, regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political belief, sexual orientation, marital or family status. All employees of Catholic Family Child Care Nutrition Program must commit to uphold this policy.

Our board of Directors and Executive Director will comply with, or adopt USDA’s civil rights policy at Catholic Family Child Care Nutrition Program. Refusal of any kind against customers will not be tolerated; each of us must demonstrate a commitment to equal treatment for all individuals.

Any and all complaints should be forwarded to the Executive Director and/or the USDA. A complaint form will be filled out at the time of the complaint (by the Executive Director or customer with complaint). A copy of the complaint form will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

An internal discussion will take place with the Board of Directors, employee and Executive Director to allow the employee in question to give his/her version of the reported incident to the Board. The Board of Directors will have the final decision of disciplinary action for the employee, if found to be in the wrong.

Civil Rights Policy

Catholic Family Child Care Nutrition Program providers will be treated fairly, no exceptions

The Civil Rights Policy will be adopted by the Board of Directors

Complaints against employees will be addressed and resolved

Minute Menu KidsWeb based program for Provider’s

Our goal for the coming year is to move as many Provider’s as possible to the Minute Menu Kids program.

The world has changed and we live in electronics and cyber space.

If you have a computer with internet then we want you using the Minute Menu system. Someday soon it will be a requirement, so let’s get moving.

Minute Menu is so easy to use and is accurate, very few mistakes are made. You will not lose meals for bubbling wrong numbers or forgetting to list a food item.

The program is available in English and Spanish.

Our goal for the coming year is to move as many Provider’s as possible to the Minute Menu Kids program.

The world has changed and we live in electronics and cyber space.

If you have a computer with internet then we want you using the Minute Menu system. Someday soon it will be a requirement, so let’s get moving.

Minute Menu is so easy to use and is accurate, very few mistakes are made. You will not lose meals for bubbling wrong numbers or forgetting to list a food item.

The program is available in English and Spanish.

RECORD THE MEAL

Meals are recorded by selecting the date and selecting the meal you want to enter.

Meal counts are taken by checking each child name on the menu screen.

Enter the foods that were served by clicking on the food or entering the number of the food item

INFANT MENUS

Infants are always in the right age category so you don’t miss recording the right foods as their months change and more foods need to be listed.

Recording Time in and out

There are 6 boxes available for recording the children’s time in and outs. You can show when they leave for school and come back.

You can pre-plan your meals for a day, week or month and then save the meals and copy them to the next month if you would like. You can also print them out and display them for the parent’s to see and take it with you to the store to get the foods you need for the week.

When you use the pre-plan menus, it also makes it very easy to record the food at the meals because it tells you that you have a pre-planned menu to use and pops the food in the boxes for you.

Use the Provider calendar to record your days closed or vacation you may have planned.

There is also a child calendar to record days when school is out early or no school days.

Submitting your claim.

Submitting your claim is just as simple as pressing a button and knowing it is done. You move right onto the next month and start again.

Kids2go is an App for your I-Pad, Tablet, Kindle Fire or most smart phones. You can enter the children’s time in/outs, record the meals and use the calendars with the Kids 2 go App. You decide how you want to enter the information.

There are several options available for Apps that you need for the different devices. Choose the one that works for you.

Thank you for your participation, please follow the instructions below to finish the training.

1. Complete the quiz online and submit it or if using the by mail training, you must complete the quiz and send it into the office.

2. Complete the evaluation form and submit or mail it into the office.