Blog 3 Observing and Interacting with Program Director and other Administative Staff in Your Setting

For my blog I interviewed and observed a Head Start Edcuation Supervisor who oversees and directs the lead teachers, the associate teachers and the center support aides.  This Education Supervisor has 6 sites with 3 to 6 classrooms at each site with each classroom having 3 staff people in it who educate and care for between 15 to 17 children in each classroom.  I know from speaking with her that Head Start is well aware of the growing epidemic of childhood obeisty and its overall effects on children and families.  Head Start is active in reversing and or reducing childhood obeisty in various ways according the this supervisor.  For example each classroom must according to licensing and Head Start mandates children must spend at least an hour a day outside moving, learning, playing and exploring the outdoors.  Each day the teacher must have 2 skills  and 2 games for outside play offered and listed on the weekly lesson plan.  Each classroom must engage in at least 15 to 20 minutes daily of music and dance along with another 15 to 20 minutes of IMIL which stands for the daily activity of I am moving I am learning.  Also classrooms are encouraged to take their materials and items of the classroom outdoors and have an outdoor classroom.  This program believes that what ever is indoors can also go outdoors.  This program possesses a nutritionis, a nurse, an entire kitchen staff to oversee that the food and beverages served are healthly for our children.  This program  never fries any food items, uses whole grains daily, offers fresh fruit, 1% milk, canned fruit served in juices or light syrup, offers vegtables at least once if not twice a day and the children and teachers eat together family style offering a great deal of healty discussion for the children and wha they are eating.  I really like the conversations about food and what is healthy and what is not and the talks about exercise and its importance that I have heard from the children and teachers in this classroom.  It is so nice to see healthy models who care and nurture their children's learing about what is healthy eating and what is not.