Author: Michael Radigan

Maintaining a nutritional, balanced diet can be quite difficult for children during the holiday season, especially with the holiday activities and sweet treats floating around. Supporting your kids’ healthy nutrition and eating habits is an important responsibility you have as a child care provider. While offering more treats during the season may seem insignificant right now, your children are at risk of losing the healthy habits you helped them form throughout the year. It may also be more difficult for them (and you) to jump back on the healthy bandwagon after the holidays have died down. Don’t stray from your normal healthy menu and routine to ensure your children’s health is top priority throughout the year.

Take some extra time this season to prep your child care menus. You will need to plan for more children and extra meals if your child care is open for longer hours during the holiday season. Make sure to continue to include nutritious, healthy food, and fill your menu with whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Refrain from buying sweets and fatty foods as they can prevent your children from consuming the healthier options you have available.

School is out and more children are in your care for longer periods of the day. Try not to stray from your normal child care routine, and make sure to stick to a consistent eating schedule. Avoid allowing children to indulge in extra meals if that is not what they normally consume. Keep healthy, nutritious snacks available if they get hungry in between meals such as oranges, cucumber slices, baby carrots, and grapes. Remember to always keep water readily available for children so they stay hydrated throughout the day.

Yourkidstable.com suggests “opening a discussion and skipping the lecture. Ask questions like,’ What type of food do you think that is?’ Or, ‘There’s something really cool about salmon. It’s sort of a super fish because it has these special vitamins that actually help our brain grow. Did you know that?”

Make your menu enjoyable by allowing your children to explore and talk about a variety of nutritious foods. Head to the farmer’s market or your local grocery store and pick up some flavorful winter produce to add to your holiday menus.  Make mealtime fun and exciting by having your children describe the food they eat. Talk about the texture and smell and focus on descriptive words such as crunchy, tart, and juicy. Educate children on the nutritional value of the foods, and turn mealtime into story time! Yourkidstable.com suggests “[opening a] discussion and [skipping] the lecture. Ask questions like, ‘What type of food do you think that is?’ Or, ‘There’s something really cool about salmon. It’s sort of a super fish because it has these special vitamins that actually help our brain grow. Did you know that?”

Allow your children in the kitchen with you while you prepare the meals. Kids love to be involved, and by allowing them to help prepare/cook/bake with you makes them more likely to consume the food afterward. Delegate easy, age-appropriate kitchen tasks for each child to ensure safety and productivity. Educate them on healthy substitutes to add to your recipes such as zucchini noodles instead of pasta. For a full list of healthy substitutions, check out www.greatist.com.

Stay active! Promoting physical activity in your child care throughout the day will ensure your children are maintaining their healthy habits throughout the holiday season. If you live in a colder climate that prevents outside play, keep the activity inside by throwing a dance party in your living room, teaching your children simple yoga poses, putting on skits and plays – the list goes on and on. Enjoy the quality time with your child care kids and play!

Don’t forget to take care of yourself! Make sure you’re looking after your own nutritional needs, as well. Be mindful of the foods you consume, try to take daily walks after you close, stay hydrated, and swap unhealthy ingredients with more healthful ingredients in your own food.

Make the most of this holiday season, and stay mindful of you and your children’s healthy habits. Stay on the nutritious path to ensure a strong and healthy year ahead! Have some tips on how you keep a healthy menu? Let us know in the comment section below!

Winter solstice can be an enchanting time for children and is a great opportunity to celebrate and provide an educational experience for the kids in your child care home. The winter solstice is on December 21, 2018, and is the official mark of winter making it the shortest day and longest night of the year. Create some magic in your child care home this season with winter solstice crafts and activities for your child care kids.

The winter solstice is a wonderful phenomenon that happens when the North Pole is shifted to the farthest point from the Sun. Scholastic.com provides a simple explanation on both summer and winter solstices.

Winter solstice has been celebrated around the world, by many different cultures, in many different ways for thousands of years. Because this is the shortest day and longest night of the year, many celebrate new light and the welcoming of the Sun. The winter solstice is also a celebration and appreciation for nature and winter wildlife. The seasons affect nature and wildlife in fascinating ways, and this time of the year is a great time to teach your child care kids about the relationship between them.

Storytime Diving into a winter solstice book with your children is a great way to teach them about the event. There are many books available that teach children about cultural celebrations, nature, and seasonal change. Some of our favorite winter solstice books for children include:

Lights of Winter by Heather Conrad
The Shortest Day by Wendy Pfeffer
Secrets of Winter by Carron Brown

Celebrate Wildlife Teach children how to appreciate winter wildlife by building small birdseed ornaments. Onelittleproject.com has the perfect birdseed ornament recipe that only calls for a few ingredients that you probably have around your house. These simple crafts can be displayed outside and will encourage your children to observe nature more carefully and appreciate the beauty of winter wildlife. Your children will enjoy seeing the birdseed being chipped away day by day.

Nature Walk Escort your kids on a small nature walk to celebrate. Your kids will find it very fascinating that the day is ending sooner than it normally does. Bring flashlights and lanterns during your walk and talk with them about the history and the science of what the winter solstice is. Take a small stroll around your block or go on a nearby trail and observe nature and wildlife. Have your children scavenge for colorful, fallen fall leaves to use for a winter solstice craft later on.

Solstice Lantern Since this day widely celebrates light in the darkness, build winter solstice lanterns with your child care kids. Try out these beautiful winter lantern crafts from Eco Explorers that incorporates the colorful fall leaves your kids gathered on the nature walk! The colors of the leaves will illuminate from the tealight inside and make for a whimsical and magical craft your kids will love to make.

By incorporating winter solstice activities in your child care home, your children will have a greater appreciation for nature and science. How do you celebrate the arrival of winter?

The weather outside is frightful, so that means extra precautions and safety measures for the children in your care! Particularly if you live in colder climates with snow, your child care kids may be itching to go play outside during winter. Keep them safe this season with a few winter weather safety tips.

Layers layers layers 

Make sure every child is snugly wrapped up in thin, warm layers. Don’t let the kiddos leave the house without their jackets, boots, and gloves – especially if they plan to play in the snow (not today, frostbite).

Don’t forget the sunscreen 

Don’t skimp on the UV protection this winter season. Although the risk of sunburn seems low during these months, children are still exposed to sun rays, especially with the bright white snow. So play it safe and put on some sunscreen before heading out to play.

Padded protection

What kid doesn’t love a good snow sledding day? Make it a safe one by making sure every kid has a helmet, protective layers, and knee and elbow pads on. Teach them how to properly sled to prevent injuries. Avoid sledding near roads or crowded areas (trees, fences, etc.). Click here for more sledding safety information for children.

 Stay warm

Every time your child care kids come in from outside, keep them toasty, dry and warm. Have dry clothes and warm blankets readily available. Heat up some soup or hot chocolate for extra warmth. Be careful with electric heaters as young children may not understand the danger. Keep them behind a gate to prevent burns.

Car seats

If you have young children in car seats, remove any puffy coats or layers before strapping them in. They may seem protected with the extra layers; however, this can be very dangerous and does not secure them properly into the car seat. Read more about safety precautions and car seats during the winter.

Don’t shy away from winter fun. Implement these safety tips for a fun and safe winter season!

Do you want to build a snowman? We do! Celebrate the frosty season with an easy snowman craft with your kids! This simple snowman craft for kids involves craft supplies that you most likely have at home already. Put some wintry, joyful music on and craft the day away with your kids.

Supplies:

White construction paper or cardstock
Colored construction paper
Colored ribbon
Markers
Scissors
Glue

Start with cutting out circles from the white construction paper or cardstock. Trace circles for your children using the edge of a cup. This activity is a great exercise for children learning to cut out shapes and master scissor cutting!

Next, help your children cut the colored ribbon into sections to use as the snowman’s scarf. The ribbon will vary in size depending on how big you cut the circles. Measure the scarves around the circle before cutting. Glue the ribbon to the front of the snowman in the shape of a bow or with the ends crossed over each other as shown below.

Once the scarves are glued on, cut out the details for the snowmen. Let the children get creative with what accessories to build for their snowmen. We cut out black top hats, orange carrot noses and brown twig arms!

Lastly, add a face to your snowman. Using the markers, draw a happy face above the scarf. Display your children’s little snowmen proudly throughout your child care home this winter season!

‘Tis the season to fill your plate with beautiful winter vegetables and fruits. There is a wide variety of winter produce to choose from, so there’s no need to limit your dishes and skimp out on wonderful seasonal flavors.

Teaching your children about winter vegetables and fruits can be a very fun (and tasty) lesson, especially if you grow your own winter produce. If you don’t grow your own, take a trip to your local farmers market and pick up some bright, beautiful produce to show off to your kids. Make sure to include a variety of items, including produce that you didn’t realize was common for the winter months. You would be surprised at some the winter produce available!

Take this opportunity to whip up some simple recipes with the produce and let the kids join in. While you prepare and cook the produce together, talk with your children and let them describe every aspect of the food – smell, texture, color, taste. Tasty food and an educational lesson. Bon appetite!

Romanesco Broccoli You may not have tried this colorful vegetable, but it is packed full of flavor. Romanesco broccoli is very similar to the traditional cauliflower; however, it has a “nuttier” flavor and is typically crunchier than cauliflower. When selecting romanesco broccoli, look for heads that are very bright in color. The right head will also be pretty heavy for its size. Try roasting romanesco broccoli with herbs, onions, and garlic for a fantastic side dish.

Grapefruit A favorite for many from the citrus family, grapefruits provide so much flavor and nutrients with every bite. This versatile fruit can add a punch of citrus flavor to any dish including salads, baked goods, and even savory meats. Picking ripe grapefruits can be tricky – some may be tangier or bitterer than others. Select grapefruits that are slightly red, plump, and oval in shape to guarantee a delicious, ripe fruit. Try adding some grapefruit to your next breakfast smoothie for a zesty treat.

Radishes There are so many varieties of radishes and all come in different shapes and colors. The typical radish is small, round and red in color. Winter radishes will be larger and thicker than the typical radish you may see in the grocery store. No matter what kind – radishes are tasty! Not only are they delicious, they are good for you. Radishes are an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber and other great nutrients. You can cook radishes several ways including roasting, sauteing, and even raw as a snack.

Pomegranates Pomegranates are a very highly underrated winter fruit. Inside the thick outer layer of pomegranates house delicious, tangy seeds just waiting to be enjoyed. Don’t shy away from selecting and preparing pomegranates. When selecting pomegranates, select ones that are heavy and slightly brown. Take it from thekitchn.com – “The uglier the [grapefruit] looks on the outside, the better the chance that the inside is bursting with sweet arils.” The best method to prepare pomegranates includes placing slices of the fruit in water and working the seeds out of its protective casing.

Beets When it comes to winter vegetable, you can’t beet the flavor and versatility of this vibrant veggie. Beets can add beautiful color to any dish and with them being the ultimate winter veggie, you can easily find them in your local grocery store or farmers market. When choosing ripe beets, select small ones as they tend to be tender and are easier to cook. Ripe beets should aslo be smooth and hard – avoid bruised of soft beets. There is no limit to how you can enjoy beets – raw in a salad, steamed, boiled, sauteed – the list goes on and on.

No matter how you enjoy your winter vegetables and fruits, make sure to pile them on your plate this winter season! Try out different recipes with your children and taste produce you’ve never had before. The sky is the limit with winter produce – enjoy it all!