STURGIS - The Family Resource Centre has implemented a new program with the focus on health, active play and literacy, all designed for children and their caregivers.
The program will offer six monthly Cooking With Kids sessions from October 2023 to March 2024 based on the Healthy Start program. Children and their caregivers will actively engage in preparing, serving, and eating meals together as a group. Caregivers will learn about budget shopping for healthy food choices and healthy, kid-friendly meal ideas. Children will be involved in meal preparation and be exposed to new food choices. There is also the promotion of active play, physical literacy, and healthy lifestyle choices.
“This program was inspired by the comment of one parent that her children ‘willingly eat healthier at play group than at home,’” stated Karolyn Kosheluk, FRC co-ordinator. “This sparked a conversation that revealed that this was a common theme for many families. Our snack time at Drop In And Play is a major focus for the children. They especially love being directly involved in the preparation for snack by cleaning up their activities, washing the table and their hands, and carrying all of the healthy snack foods to the table. Everyone sits and eats as a group.
“After some discussion, we decided to expand this idea to involve the children in the preparation of a whole meal to eat together, and the Cooking With Kids program was developed,” said Kosheluk.
Families are looking forward to incorporating some of these new meals and ideas at home. With higher food costs, everyone is wanting to make the most of their food budget. The Healthy Start program will be used as the foundation for this program. Healthy Start has a goal of encouraging and supporting healthy eating and physical activity practices with the children, especially preschoolers.
The first session was held on October 13 at Grace United Church, Sturgis. Kim Gelowitz from Regional KidsFirst of Yorkton is also providing support for this program. The next session is Friday, November 17 at Grace United Church, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
