Wilson students get a taste of world cuisine and cultures

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

By Melanie Stein

Jackson Hole, Wyo--In an effort to instill healthy eating habits, an appreciation of other cultures, and creative history lessons in elementary-aged students, a group of dedicated women led by Barb Zelazo have brought a new curriculum to the Wilson Elementary School.

“Food is Elementary” is a “hands-on curriculum integrating academic disciplines with food, nutrition, culture and the arts.” The program aims to expose children at a young age to healthy and ethnic foods with hopes of fostering a lifelong healthy eating ethic.

As part of the program, students in kindergarten, second and fourth grades help chop vegetables and measure and mix ingredients before eating.

Last week, the kindergarten classes at the Wilson School focused on Japan. They looked at maps, listened to traditional music, played the drums and helped prepare and cook Soba noodles with edamame and seasonal vegetables.

“They really have a good time,” kindergarten teacher Shirley Brock said. “It’s a good tie-in with math with the measurements and they tie in maps and culture in the presentations.”

The five-year-olds helped shell edamame beans and chop ginger and red peppers with paring knives, Brock said. Many were also introduced to cilantro, inhaling its sweet smell and picking the leaves from the stems to use as a garnish.

While the dish was cooking, the class formed a circle around Juliana Kowski who passed around plastic drum tops and drumsticks. After listening to some music, the kids carried the rhythm of a Japanese drumbeat until the noodles were ready.

Though many of the students had never used chopsticks, most tried to eat their food with the traditional Japanese utensils. I polled a few shy kindergarteners about their creation.

“I like the noodles and the beans,” said Sarah Coxhead, who helped cut the red pepper.
“I love the spaghetti because it helped me catch the beans – it tangled it up,” said Kylor Rockwell Adams.

Once they’re finished eating, students cast their vote via silent “bean” ballot to determine if the dish will appear in the school cafeteria for lunch.

“Remember, a black bean means put it in the lunchroom and a white bean means no thanks,” Zelazo reminded each student as she walked around with a handful of beans and a jar covered in orange construction paper.

“I voted that I don’t want to see it again,” Adams said.

However, the black beans were victorious, 12-4, and the soba noodle dish will enter the lunchroom meal rotation.

“There are a lot of recipes in the [curriculum] book and that’s really our challenge – finding healthy things that kids are going to eat,” Zelazo said.

It’s easier to find recipes the fourth graders will enjoy, she said. When the classes vote in favor of seeing a dish in the lunchroom, so much time lapses that they often forget they’ve tried it.

Though the pilot program at the Wilson School is a good start, Zelazo doesn’t want to stop here. She hopes the program can be implemented district wide.

On May 10, the group will present the program to the community at the Teton County Library with two local dietitians.

“The program needs a full-time organizer to bring it to the other schools,” she said.

Selecting recipes, ordering materials, purchasing food, arranging time with the teachers and preparing amongst themselves is a huge time commitment and couldn’t be replicated on a larger scale as it currently stands, Zelazo explained.

The Wilson School program receives funding from the PTO, the Wyoming Education Department, and donations from parents.
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Wilson students get a taste of world cuisine and cultures | Planet JH News Article: Wilson Elementary School

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