Healthy ideas for fun classroom parties
Here’s a great idea for class parties that had me slapping my forehead. Why hadn’t I ever thought of this? It’s so obvious!
Serve the healthy snacks first and save the sweets for later.
“It’s just like at home. Do we serve dessert first? Or dessert with the rest of the meal? No,” said Deirdre Kleske, who works with California Project Lean and the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative.
Any parent who’s helped at a class party knows very well that kids will eat just about anything you put in front of them. So why not put out the fruits and veggies first, let them have their fill and then bring out the cupcakes or cookies?
And while we’re at it, why not serve water rather than juice boxes loaded with sugar? And pretzels instead of chips? Here’s another idea sent in by a mom: She’s made muffins in place of cupcakes and served milk in place of the juice for a healthier birthday classroom party.
Here are some other great ideas Kleske has for parents and teachers to mark a child’s birthday in the classroom:
“It’s not all about having a cupcake,” Kleske said. “It’s about balance and moderation.”
For other great ideas for raising healthy kids, go to the San Diego initiative’s Web site ourcommunityourkids.org. Click on the Resources menu at the top of the homepage. There are several subject areas to explore, including Families, School Foods and Beverages and another called Sports Teams. California Project Lean’s site can be found at CaliforniaProjectLEAN.org.
Comment by Georgia on 30 March 2009:
For my 1st grader’s birthday, I brought in 3 science projects. Dancing Noodles, materials to make a volcano and exploding sandwich bags. The kids loved it! The teacher explained about the baking soda/vinegar chemical reaction after the students had completed the three experiments. More memorable than a cupcake!
Comment by Skin Care Guru on 19 June 2009:
Thanks for the healthy ideas for fun classroom parties. These days its tough to keep things in check when it comes to all the events kids eat at. It sometimes seems like its the normal menu to serve hotdog and cake at birthdays.
Comment by Leslie Kilgore on 18 August 2009:
I am a school nurse. Last school year a parent made pizzas out of fruit for her daughter’s birthday. She cut watermelon in wedge shapes like a piece of pizza and cut up cantaloupe for “cheese”, sliced purple grapes for “olives” and sliced strawberries for “pepperoni”. The teacher called for me to come to her classroom. The kids were so excited. They loved pretending that it was pizza and every kid liked eating the fruit.