If you have been watching TV at all in the last few months you have heard heard that the White House chef has been included in a list of innovative people for his participation in Michelle Obama’s campaign for children to eat healthy foods and get exercise and so fight obesity in children.
For thirty-five years I have run Children’s Country House, a day care center in Altadena, California. I am fortunate to have an old estate on an original acre of land. We have a large yard where children can run and play, and one of our children are overweight. It has been our philosophy that children should be outdoors to enjoy nature and the sun.
We have a vegetable garden where children learn to grow food and can pick vegetables from the garden and eat them. They think it is wonderful. They are learning how food grows and how good it tastes when it is fresh from the garden.
We also have animals at the school; goats, bunnies, chickens, and a pony which enable us to acquaint the children with animals. It also enables us to teach about the importance of animals in the natural scheme of things.
This is an environment that allows our children learn about nature. We think our environment is one of the reasons they are happy, care-free and enjoying their childhood, and when the children go in for their nap the fauna in our area come into the yard; birds, squirrels, rabbits to enjoy a wonderful environment of trees and space.
