Our principal told us that it was physiologically incorrect to allow a small child to have a snack at school. I disagree. Some of my students in second grade arrive at school around 7am and eat breakfast before they arrive. They do not eat lunch until noon. Would you recommend snacks for this age range?
Yes, yes, yes ... absolutely! In this case, your principal needs a lesson in nutrition and physiology. Little children are not able to eat enough food to sustain themselves for more than four hours. For optimal learning to occur, they should be allowed to have a snack around 10 or 10:30am. This will help keep their blood sugar levels even and prevent them from getting so hungry for lunch that they can't focus on lessons -- without spoiling their appetite when lunch finally does arrive.
Young, elementary school age children have small stomachs. After three to four hours, their stomachs are empty and their blood glucose levels have been reduced. Their brain, to operate at top level, needs a constant supply of glucose (the type of sugar found in your blood), because it can't store any. (This is unlike muscle, which can hold glucose in reserve.) Keeping up mental work requires a large turnover of brain glucose and snacks help to replenish it. Numerous studies have shown that children who attend school hungry score significantly below non-hungry peers on standardized test. This has implications for other areas of school success as well. A midmorning snack is one way to guarantee that they are not too hungry to learn.
The unfortunate fact is that some kids just refuse to eat breakfast or cannot tolerate a meal at such an early hour. For these students in particular, a midmorning snack is crucial. Their academic success may depend on it.
Snacks are very important to the total, daily nutritional intake of young children. As a teacher, you can set a good example by eating a morning snack that includes fruit, an item often missing in kid's diets. Use snack time as a chance to actively learn about nutrition. Encourage kids to bring in healthy snacks. You can also create a list of appropriate snacks that can then be sent home with them to share with parents. Include some math skills by employing the kids' food pyramid and keep tally of how many foods from the different levels of the pyramid that the children eat each day. If you have computers in your classroom, the following web sites may help to supplement your nutrition lessons:
Good luck for a successful school year to you and your students!
