Yesterday I read an article on the BBC website and I was utterly ashamed.
10% of young children believed that potatoes grew on bushes and about a third of five to eight year olds believe that pasta and bread is made from meat.
I wondered if this was yet another sensationalist article so decided to put it to the test. Elizabeth is a very intelligent little girl. We have visited lots of farms, grown our own flowers and cress and have been blackberry picking together. She knows that sausages and bacon come from pigs and so I thought she would know where a lot of these food products come from.
Ok so she knew fish fingers were made of fish but then it was obvious in the name but she didn’t know that cheese came from a cow.
The article goes on to explain that most of the kids knew they should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables, although most of them don’t and they have also visited farms. It seems that in trying to promote a healthy lifestyle to the kids we are getting the message across but they don’t seem to be teaching our children about the staple foods that we eat everyday.
When I asked Elizabeth where chips came from she answered the supermarket. I couldn’t exactly tell her she was wrong so had to rephrase my question. She did know they were made from potatoes but seen as she has helped me make them fresh on many occasion I am not surprised.
It seems that hands on learning is the way to go and I remember doing these sorts of activities at school so now I aim to teach her about making yogurt and cheese, bread and anything else I can do.
I also want to take her to a farm where we can pick our own fruit and vegetables. Does anyone know one in Manchester or the surrounding areas?
10% of young children believed that potatoes grew on bushes and about a third of five to eight year olds believe that pasta and bread is made from meat.
I wondered if this was yet another sensationalist article so decided to put it to the test. Elizabeth is a very intelligent little girl. We have visited lots of farms, grown our own flowers and cress and have been blackberry picking together. She knows that sausages and bacon come from pigs and so I thought she would know where a lot of these food products come from.
Ok so she knew fish fingers were made of fish but then it was obvious in the name but she didn’t know that cheese came from a cow.
The article goes on to explain that most of the kids knew they should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables, although most of them don’t and they have also visited farms. It seems that in trying to promote a healthy lifestyle to the kids we are getting the message across but they don’t seem to be teaching our children about the staple foods that we eat everyday.
When I asked Elizabeth where chips came from she answered the supermarket. I couldn’t exactly tell her she was wrong so had to rephrase my question. She did know they were made from potatoes but seen as she has helped me make them fresh on many occasion I am not surprised.
It seems that hands on learning is the way to go and I remember doing these sorts of activities at school so now I aim to teach her about making yogurt and cheese, bread and anything else I can do.
I also want to take her to a farm where we can pick our own fruit and vegetables. Does anyone know one in Manchester or the surrounding areas?