ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO STATALE “V. TIERI” CORIGLIANO CALABRO (CS) ITALY PRIMARY SCHOOL “G. RODARI” Comenius Multilateral Project

The activities of the project, carried out in primary school classes, began with an investigation into the way of pupils' eating. After completing the questionnaire, we discussed in the classrooms with our students about what they eat, also involving their families.

In some classes we decided to write a food diary, to compare the students’ feeding. (We go to school with taste).

In at least one week per month, the children wrote down what they ate during their meals.

They have been shown to be aware that often are present in their meals unhealthy foods and that these foods should be eaten less frequently than healthy ones. So we decided to build together the healthy food pyramid.

Planned…. designed… and created by us!

In our reflections on healthy food, it was found that the our pupils’ weekly diet, often includes foods that, if consumed frequently, could lead, in the future, to obesity, but if these foods are placed in a varied diet, they are not harmful.

We have included in the project brochure photos of the days when children were engaged in a cooking workshop, in which they made the pancakes…

…and pizza, of course…!

Now, when we talk about Italian food that make you fat, we all know that among these foods, there is always the famous chocolate cream Nutella. Yet, despite this, we had also a Nutella-party! But everyone knows that these things can be done rarely!

We have tried to balance our diet with very healthy foods such as fruits, so we wanted to follow, in this activity, the seasons rhythm!

Our land, Calabria, jutting into the Mediterranean Sea and has a temperate climate, so it produces fruit throughout the year. Our citrus are known and appreciated all over Italy… …and our clementines obtained Typical Geographical Indication by the European Community.

…so, the kids can get used to consume seasonal fruits. The whole Plain of Sybaris is rich in fruits and vegetables…

Rarely children bring to school a fruit for snack... But on the day that we decided to make a fruit salad, they ate it all, because on that day they did it alone!

They peeled… …squezzed.. And ate it all!

To explain to our students that even the fish, which is abundant in our sea, it is very important in their food, we went to visit the fish market... …and someone photographed a dish prepared by her mum.

In some classes has been paid attention to some agricultural activities typical of autumn: the harvest. Each child brought a bunch of grapes. They were great to removing the stames… …and squeeze out grapes with their hands!

Children observed that the juice was squeezed purple, dark, hot, sticky. They were asked to taste it: they said that it was sweet and juicy, and that the smell was pleasant. We put the juice, skins and seeds in a clear vase. After a few days children have noticed the smell was very strong.

At this point they separate the juice from the skins by squeezing well with their hands. Fantastic! In vase was only a fruit juice dense, bitter-tasting: the must!

…to make fruit… …and decorations for the Christmas tree.

For Christmas we've also made decorations with old newspapers… …oranges peels…

…and recycled plastic.

The last workshop activity was carried out with paper mache to make carnival masks.