Jenny Is A Good Thing

o what we have here a long P with a whole stomach full of PE we can open it up now and see what's inside PE PE oh what color are white white why with so many little peas be a long sh is this the way it grows out here like yeah sure that's the way it grows now is it round or is it flat oh the pee is round he me do it feel soft or hard [Applause] soft how many does Dana have in her hand look 1 2 3 4 5 is they s or is they bitter how does it really take [Music] some are outgoing some are shy all are children three four and 5 years old they come from City ghettos Royal Shacks Indian play blows the experiences they bring with them are not the experiences of the privileged these are poverty's children but like all children privileged and poor they hold promise and potential headart recognizes that promise and seeks to develop that potential [Music] nutrition plays a major role in the headst Start program it's an integral part of the daily activities many children come to the center without breakfast they can have it here where nutrition is more than just eating it is learning finding out that food can be fun the fun of preparing it the fun of a new experience shared with others the fun of discovering what and why why and how [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] my name is John and where do you live in a great big apartment house what's your address nutrition in all activities at the center try to improve the child's concept of himself give him a healthy image that is not Twisted by poverty how a child feels about himself is how he friends and Community he's loving if he knows that he's loved he's proud he's treated with dignity he grows if he's given encouragement and opportunity at the center the child learns that he's an important person J to [Applause] now to you tell you are J J hello to J now and you can Dre Wings to my S and you are [Music] J do you know now [Applause] the that you can be you are TR [Music] [Applause] [Music] else nutrition activities like snack time add to the child's Knowledge and Skills and build his self-image what is C through food he learns new words and colors he learns concepts of size and shape and texture now we cut it all the way around you will right it is what does he really see how does it smell is it rough or smooth to touch soft or hard is it good to taste food can waken his senses and his curiosity he doesn't reach for fruit instead of candy because he knows that fruit is more nutritious but because he has enjoyed it fully it has meaning for him Beyond just eating a chunk of yeast dough is food it can be baked into bread but it can also be poked and squeezed and pounded and rolled and stamped and and even sculpted and it can be something from which you create something of your very own a chunk of do can be many things maybe only one child small success but small successes make Head [Music] Start a good program doesn't depend on elaborate facilities it depends on Ingenuity in this old and crammed kitchen delicious hot lunches are prepared each day for over 75 [Music] children it depends on Courage this Center came from a poor negro woman who wanted to help the children of her community she begged on the streets till she had enough money to buy a land and a building then appear and volunteers soared and hammered scrubbed and painted a nearby autod dump supplied playground materials and some of the land was saved for a garden where the children could plant dig weed and [Music] grow here each ch has his own water pale placed at a level he can easily [Music] reach with projects like this Garden the child learns about food through direct involvement at Head Start Learning is an adventure [Music] my oh [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] w w [Music] [Applause] there is much for the child to explore in the world of food field trips can show him the relationship between the food he eats and how it is raised harvested marketed and prepared he can help to grow greens for a salad or help choose them at the market he can make a [Music] salad you can learn to handle new [Music] utensils or rely on his own more basic methods [Music] through related experiences the child begins to understand the logic of the world around him and feel his own importance in it arranging and setting a table is a social experience and a personal [Music] accomplishment headstock brings children food together happily at the center each child gets at least one hot meal that gives him a good share of his nutritive needs for the day the children eat family style each serving himself and helping to serve others bread is quarted meat and vegetables cut into manageable sizes teachers and AIDS sit at the level of the children eating with them helping them to identify Foods [Music] meals are attractive and the environment is [Music] relaxed children aren't punished for not eating and if a new food is introduced Bo they're not forced but encouraged to taste [Music] it individual cultures and Regional backgrounds are preserved even in the child's diet meals include those foods that have long been familiar to him and his family mutton stew and a large chunk of traditional Indian bread make a delicious and balanced meal so do pinto beans TS and squash the food and the atmosphere at the center influences the food choices and the meal time atmosphere in the home twice each week a headstock parent eats with the children as their guest and eating with the children and I enjoy eating with my own children at home I am guess I'm a little old fashion but I used to believe in eating and being quiet and I've learned from them that you're supp to talk at the table and I enjoy eating with them to hear what they have to say and they have learned to eat new food food that I thought that they wouldn't eat and so did they and now we all eat and we enjoy a ra vegetables and fruit and different meat what the children learn here at the table they learn informly and by example [Music] and here you don't have to clean your plate to get [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] desert good food habits s the years lay the foundation for later life and good food habits include responsibilities brushing teeth after meals helping to clean up a full participation that builds confidence and self-respect for whatever the region race or culture these children are above all individuals they have a claim on the future and they have a right to be healthy children a well-nourished child has a better chance to grow to learn to look and feel better to have more energy for work and play a child who's fed when he's hungry feels cared for and secure [Music] nutrition like every part of Headstart Works to break down poverty's most corrosive effect believing you are less than what you are these children must learn that they are good because they exist they must know they belong to a society that cherishes their existence [Music] headst is not an end to the problems of poverty's children it is just a chance to have and enjoy a beginning [Music]