Guest guest Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 My 6 year old daughter had a stupid four food groups assignment given to her at school to do over the weekend. I thought schools/ government in general used the food guide pyramid? The pyramid isn't perfect but certainly better than trying to teach kids that 1/2 of their food should be animal products. Her assignment was to plan a balanced meal using the standard old 4 food groups model - one item from each group. I had no idea she'd really be taught something THAT outdated. I also try to get servings in during the day as opposed to divying them up and eating a 'balanced' meal. Meaning I try to get most of her fruits and veggies in as healthy snacks rather than at meal time. My daughter has no understanding of why she couldn't have 2 servings of bread (like both cereal and toast) at one meal for the assignment. I don't like the assignment at all but I encouraged her to follow the directions anyway and substitute vegetarian foods. I don't want her to get a bad grade for blatently disregarding directions. I'm going to print off a copy of the 'new four food groups' - what our family tries to follow to send into her teacher. Any advice on how others handled similar assignments? Renee Travel Find great deals to the top 10 hottest destinations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Yes, I agree - the 4 food groups are totally outdated. Here is a link for a vegetarian food guide pyramid as well. http://www.utexas.edu/courses/ntr311/nutinfo/pyramid/vfp.html Good luck with this. I'd like to know how it turns out, since my preschool kids may be exposed to these type of assignments soon too. Melodese On Behalf Of Renee Carroll Monday, March 20, 2006 11:22 AM 'old' four food groups assignment My 6 year old daughter had a stupid four food groups assignment given to her at school to do over the weekend. I thought schools/ government in general used the food guide pyramid? The pyramid isn't perfect but certainly better than trying to teach kids that 1/2 of their food should be animal products. Her assignment was to plan a balanced meal using the standard old 4 food groups model - one item from each group. I had no idea she'd really be taught something THAT outdated. I also try to get servings in during the day as opposed to divying them up and eating a 'balanced' meal. Meaning I try to get most of her fruits and veggies in as healthy snacks rather than at meal time. My daughter has no understanding of why she couldn't have 2 servings of bread (like both cereal and toast) at one meal for the assignment. I don't like the assignment at all but I encouraged her to follow the directions anyway and substitute vegetarian foods. I don't want her to get a bad grade ! for blatently disregarding directions. I'm going to print off a copy of the 'new four food groups' - what our family tries to follow to send into her teacher. Any advice on how others handled similar assignments? Renee Travel Find great deals to the top 10 hottest destinations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 We do homeschool now, but when my son was in public school, we talked about the difference between doing what the teacher wants and doing what is correct. There were several lessons where the teacher or the book were simply in error, and we had to study it both ways. Sometimes the lesson isn't the content, it's how to follow directions. We too had conflict about the " nutrition " lessons, and we studied the vegetarian food pyramid, in addition to the FDA pyramid and old 4 food groups. .... Be kind. Be of good cheer. Dick Ford www.dick-ford.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 The basic four food groups is ancient history in the nutrition world (I'm a registered dietetic technician and a member of the American DIetetic Association since 1997.) I can't believe anyone is still teaching it. The beauty of the newer pyramid is that it acknowledges alternate protein sources and alternate calcium sources as well.. Here's a link that might be helpful http://mypyramid.gov/downloads/MiniPoster.pdf Katie http://frugalveggiemama.blogspot.com Brings words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with Mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I think the teacher made handouts from a workbook she was using to supplement lessons in class - no idea how old it is. I understand what someone said about lessons in following directions. My daughter has a huge problem with assignments like 'color the things that do not belong' and she'll just color the whole thing indiscriminately. For this assignment I had her pick out a legume, a dairy replacer (she drinks chocolate silk and eats soy yogurts), a vegetable or a fruit, and a bread. She ended up choosing soy chicken, broccoli, bread and chocolate silk. In our day to day eating I send lots of fruit to school for snacks. But unless I'm sneaking shredded carrots or broccoli into her hummus sandwich (topped with sliced olives) I mostly monitor that she gets her daily veggies at home. Her pediatrician follows the new four food groups guidelines along with 3 additional servings of dairy substitute. The My Pyramid below lists legumes with vegetables? I think it would be a good idea to list more ideas for vegetables on charts like that. This is one of the hardest things I deal with with planning meals for us. Our culture tries to pass so many things off as vegetables that just don't fit into the 'vegetable' group. Its hard to get those three servings of real vegetables a day. Renee Katie Mangan <kmangan33 wrote: The basic four food groups is ancient history in the nutrition world (I'm a registered dietetic technician and a member of the American DIetetic Association since 1997.) I can't believe anyone is still teaching it. The beauty of the newer pyramid is that it acknowledges alternate protein sources and alternate calcium sources as well.. Here's a link that might be helpful http://mypyramid.gov/downloads/MiniPoster.pdf Katie http://frugalveggiemama.blogspot.com Brings words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with Mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 The state of Mississippi school lunch program counts french fries with ketchup at 2 vegetables. .... Be kind. Be of good cheer. Dick Ford www.dick-ford.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Exactly - with school lunch programs the way they are - schools are the last place I want my daughter learning about nutrition. I printed off the New Four Food Groups from The Cancer Project website and wrote at the top 'Some information on healthy eating' and stuck that in my daughter's folder. Renee Dick Ford <dickford wrote: The state of Mississippi school lunch program counts french fries with ketchup at 2 vegetables. ... Be kind. Be of good cheer. Dick Ford www.dick-ford.com For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family.This is a discussion list and is not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Cooking Vegetarian has a vegan food chart in it and gives lots of examples of what foods and what amounts count in each group. This is an interesting guide that gives different vegan food choices when you click on the different groups. http://vegan.uchicago.edu/nutrition/01.html Jacqueline http://adhdnme.blogspot.com On Behalf Of Dick Ford March 21, 2006 11:06 AM Re: 'old' four food groups assignment The state of Mississippi school lunch program counts french fries with ketchup at 2 vegetables. .... Be kind. Be of good cheer. Dick Ford www.dick-ford.com For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family.This is a discussion list and is not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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