29 September, 2024

Kindy kids off to a healthy start

Grow it, cook it, eat it… Milford Kindergarten pupils have a taste for healthy food

Kai time… Milford Kindergarten children Ralph Sa’u, aged 3, and Emily Law, 4, ready to tuck into their hangi lunch, held during Maori Language Week last week in celebration of the Pierce Rd centre receiving a health award

Hearty appetites… Heart Foundation nutrition adviser Lesley Carter, who works with the kindergarten, with healthy heart mascot Hearty, speaking to the children before the award was presented

Lunchtime treats… (clockwise from above left): Indigo Rogers (3) and Maryam Janna, (4); Evan Alite (left, 5) and Marcus Tulikihakau

Eddie Szczepanski (4) shows off his lunchbox; Frank Sweas (3) with a toy; and Romano Kang (3) pauses to pose during the celebration

Eating well and staying active are a winning formula for Milford Kindergarten, earning it another New Zealand Heart Foundation award.
The Pā-Harakeke award is given out by the Heart Foundation to kindergartens where healthy eating and physical activity are flourishing. Milford Kindergarten has now had its award renewed six times, every two years.
Foundation representatives visited the kindergarten to present the award last Friday 20 September, and were treated to a hāngī alongside the teachers and children.
Head teacher Amanda Bowen said the kindergarten “really encourages” parents to pack healthy lunchboxes for their children and has a water-only policy for drinks.
The kindergarten has a large garden which the teachers and students use to grow fruits and vegetables, and a coop of quail, which provide them with eggs.
At least twice a week, students assist with preparing and cooking the food grown in the garden, helping them learn what foods are healthy and how different foods can be nutritious for different parts of the body, said Bowen.
“Marcus today had a yoghurt; he said ‘I’ve got yoghurt, it’s good for my bones’.”
She said the kindergarten was fortunate to have a large outdoor area where the kids can kick a ball around and get plenty of exercise.
It plans to revamp the playground, to provide more height and scale to challenge the physically capable children, she said.

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