Vegetables

StartSmart Pilot School : St Anthony's Anglo-Chinese Primary School and Kindergarten

《Time for Mixed Vegetable Soup》
Paint and cook: Have fun with eating

Stage 1: Introduction

Vegetables are rich in dietary fibre, minerals as well as vitamin A and C; they improve our immunity and prevent constipation. Some children refuse to eat vegetables because of their taste and texture. As a result, they have inadequate dietary fibre intake and so suffer from constipation. In order to solve the problem, parents should be patient. They should not scold or punish their children or else kids would associate vegetables with negative feelings.

Children often take some time to adapt to new foods. To initiate them into new foods without pains, the school can arrange games and activities for them. Children can even take part in cooking with new food materials to increase their acceptance of the new food items.

Therefore, in accordance with the guidelines provided by the StartSmart@school.hk Pilot Project, the school encouraged children to experience the fun of cooking mixed vegetable soup through their own participation. Pupils took part in the cooking process, including washing and cutting the vegetables. The colourful soup aroused their interest in eating. Meanwhile, pupils learnt how to draw different vegetables during class. They learnt the colours, shapes, appearances and internal structure of the vegetables. The activity successfully consolidated their understanding of vegetables.

Stage 2: Start Smart!

Live: Vegetable Jump

Objective: To enhance children’s knowledge of different vegetables and fruits.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Materials: Pictures of vegetables and fruits, hula hoops, baskets, and a white board.

Let’s GO!

1. Teacher shows children the pictures of vegetables and fruits and asks them to differentiate which are fruit and which are vegetables.
   
   
2. The teacher divides the class into 2 groups. In front of each group, he/she places a basket with pictures inside the 3 hula hoops.
   
   
3. The game starts. Children in each group take turns to pick up the pictures of vegetables from the basket, and jump over the hula hoops.
   
   
4. Each child runs to the whiteboard and posts the pictures on it.
   
   
5. In the end, the teacher announces that they will cook mixed vegetable soup using the vegetables as shown on the whiteboard.

Live: Mixed Vegetable Soup

Objective: To encourage children to eat vegetables in every meal.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Materials: Painting tools, pictures of vegetables, and fresh vegetables brought by children.

Let’s GO!

1. The teacher shows the pictures of vegetables and asks children what their favourite vegetables are.
   
   
2. Children describe the colours and shapes of the vegetables they have brought to school. The teacher explains the benefits of eating vegetables.
   
   
3. The teacher divides the class into small groups and helps children wash the vegetables.
   
   
4. The teacher puts plastic cover over the table. Children put on their aprons. Then the teacher instructs them to cut the vegetables into cubes with plastic knives.
   
   
5. The teacher prepares a pot of boiling water and assists the children to put the vegetable cubes into the pot.
   
   
6. The teacher instructs the children to draw different kinds of vegetables.
   
   
7. After 30 minutes, let the children share the delicious soup together.

Joyful Vegetable Reminder

1. Cook fresh vegetables such as pumpkins, tomatoes, carrots and eggplants. Steaming of roots and rhizomes is recommended for the preservation of vitamins which may dissolve in water.
   
   
2. When vegetables are being cooked, the water should be at boiling point and should just cover the vegetables. The time of cooking should be well controlled. To prevent the loss of nutrients, vegetable stems should be cooked first, and then the leaves.
   
   
3. No excess salt, oil or sugar. Avoid dried, canned or preserved vegetables and fruits.