Dairy Council of California uses teachers to develop and evaluate our nutrition curricula. One such teacher, Kiley Ferrari, also starred in our
online teacher training video. Kiley has taught at
Grand Oaks Elementary in Citrus Heights, California for five years. Currently teaching third grade, she serves as a shining example of the many teachers we work with each year.
Watch her cameo in our
video, but first read my interview with her below to see how and why makes nutrition work into her busy school day.
TW: What is your favorite thing about teaching?
KF: I am a creative person, so one of my favorite things about teaching is being able to use that creativity in the classroom. I love developing projects that support the curriculum, and engage the children in fun and exciting ways. I also love watching the excitement in a child’s face when he/she FINALLY understands a concept that has been difficult for them! When the “light bulb goes off” is a rejuvenating moment that keeps me coming back!
TW: How do you think nutrition education impacts your students?
KF: Nutrition education has made a huge impact on my students. My most memorable example involved a little boy who was notorious for bringing junk food to lunch. One particular day, he pulled out a candy bar, looked at the grams of sugar and said, “Mrs. Ferrari, this has 33 grams of sugar, so I think I’ll only eat half today.” There were many examples like this. Most of the kids realized they weren’t making healthy meal choices in their daily lives. Again…these are the “light bulb” moments that I love!
TW: Do you have any funny or interesting stories that happened during your nutrition lessons?
KF: Some of the funny stories were the kids “ratting out” their parents for what they eat. Their honesty and transparency about their parents’ choices was classic! They would say things like, “my dad never eats vegetables,” or “my mom loves chocolate…she eats it every night!” Kids will say the darndest things!!!
TW: Do you make other curriculum connections with nutrition?
KF: The nutrition unit is easy to make other curriculum connection with. For example, we write constantly in our journals, we add and multiply nutrition facts on labels to support our learning in math. We relate growing fruits and vegetables to plant life cycles in science. There are multiple ways to connect the curriculum!
TW: Why did you agree to help us develop our 3rd grade program (did you know what you were getting into??)
KF: I agreed to help with the program for two reasons. One, nutrition is fascinating to me...so I knew I would enjoy teaching the program. Two, it was something new and I like to add new things to my classroom that I feel will benefit my students. Every day I see the lunches these kids bring, and their nutrition habits are atrocious. I figured I could at least steer them in the right direction.
TW: Regarding the video on our website that you starred in, who was the first person you showed it to?
KF: I showed my husband...he loved it!
TW: What was your favorite thing about working with Dairy Council of California?
KF: My favorite thing about working with Dairy Council is how friendly the staff is. The ladies that came to observe the lessons were very welcoming! I also love how simple the material is to follow, yet it incorporates a rich variety of information.
Kiley concluded our interview by saying, “I look forward to using Dairy Council materials every year! I also hope to get the entire staff on board!”
Thanks, Kiley!
Tracy Witmer, R.D.
Territory Manager