Can a Child’s Diet Impact Learning Ability?

Apple Montessori Schools

There are many factors that determine a child’s ability to focus and learn, but one important one that often times gets overlooked is nutrition and diet.

Apple Montessori Schools understand that food is crucial to our daily performance and that there are actually foods out there that will hinder a child’s ability to learn.

Many food items filled with sugar, caffeine, and sodium are popular amongst children, but they can leave our children feeling tired, unfocused and sick. This not only affects their performance in the classroom, it also influences their behavior and mood.

A recent study by the Society for Neuroscience has shown that diets that are high in saturated fat can actually impair a child’s learning and memory. Higher-fat foods contain high levels of glucose and sugars, which can cause a post-meal crash after the food is digested. Eating a healthier meal has the opposite effect. After a nutritious meal, your body’s natural glucose levels should rise slightly and actually energize your body.

Vitamin, nutrient and mineral intake are also important to keep in mind when preparing meals for your child throughout the school year. Malnourishment is the lack of proper food intake, which doesn’t mean that a child isn’t receiving enough food; it signifies that they aren’t getting the right amount of nutrients in their meals. Children who receive insufficient nutrition in their diet tend to have more problems with health, learning and psychological behavior.

Having a proper plan at home can ensure that your child is eating the right diet and maximizing their learning potential. To promote healthy brain function, parents should provide children with smaller snacks or meals that can be eaten every three to four hours, as opposed to just eating the three main meals in a day—breakfast, lunch, dinner. Having a nutritious breakfast before school starts is the most important meal and will get your child’s day off on the right foot.

The healthy meals and snacks that parents make for their children should include natural fruits and vegetables; whole grains; as well as lean proteins like chicken, fish, nuts and eggs. Foods that are rich in vitamins such as lecithin and potassium are also great to incorporate into nutritious meals. Try to avoid processed foods and keep your ingredients as natural as possible.

Top Reasons to Enroll in Apple Montessori

With 45 years in early childhood education, there are countless reasons to choose Apple Montessori Schools for the apple of your eye. Apple Montessori inspires a lifelong love for learning and has fostered the unique potential of tens of thousands of children since 1972.

If you’re considering enrolling your child in Apple Montessori but aren’t quite sure yet if it’s the right choice, let us help get your over the hump. Here are the top reasons to choose Apple Montessori Schools.

Whole-child learning: The Apple Montessori whole-child approach to learning is designed to make your child feel happy, safe and be successful in school and beyond.

Experience: Family owned and operated since 1972, Apple Montessori has set exceptional standards in early childhood education. Apple Montessori has taught multiple generations of families and some former students have even become members of the staff.

Safety: All Apple Montessori Schools have been safety certified by Secure Education Consultants.

Highly trained staff: Apple Montessori’s highly trained team of educators are hand-picked for their unique abilities to “follow the child” as early education guides. Apple’s teachers help children be their best selves on a holistic level. Our team members love children and they love what they do. In fact, 83 staff members have been with Apple for five or more years.

Curriculum: Apple Montessori’s Plus curriculum includes lessons in practical life, sensorial, history, geography, math, science, technology, and language. With Apple’s proprietary reading programs, most children can read by age 4.

Parent involvement: Apple Montessori values its partnership with parents and shows it by offering parenting seminars, resources, observations, conferences, daily e-reporting, and school events.

Enrichment programs: The enrichment programs at Apple Montessori Schools include art, music, character education, yoga, baby signs, foreign language, and advanced technology.

A better future: Research has shown that Apple Montessori graduates are highly sought out by top secondary schools.

What do Parents Expect from Preschools?

Choosing the right preschool for their child is one of the most important decisions parents can make. When parents leave their child at school, they want to know that they are safe, happy and learning. But outside of the basic expectations, what are parents really looking for in their child’s school and what do they expect from their teachers?

Communication

Parents want to feel connected to what’s going on at school, which can only be achieved through effective communication. At Apple Montessori Schools, we value our partnership with parents greatly and help foster communication between our staff and the parents of our students by offering parenting seminars and resources, observations and conferences, daily e-reporting and school events.

Whole Child Development

The early, developmental years of a child’s life can be crucial to their growth and in turn lay the groundwork for the rest of their lives. Parents want a preschool that helps their child develop across all developmental areas. A preschool program should instill in a child a love of learning, independence, creativity, respect, and compassion for others while helping him or her hone their natural abilities. Exposure to engaging activities and art forms can help teachers identify a child’s talent in certain areas early on and help them reach their fullest potential. Apple Montessori Schools offer a comprehensive curriculum that includes practical life, sensorial, history, geography, math, science, technology and language, as well as distinctive enrichment programs such as art, music, character education, yoga, baby signs, foreign language and advanced technology.

Passionate Teachers

Parents will view teachers as an extension of what goes on in the classroom on a daily basis. A passionate and experienced teacher can make a huge difference when it comes to parents entrusting a preschool with the well-being of their child. The teacher’s passion and excitement can also be contagious and help get students more involved. Our schools are staffed with highly trained educators who are hand-picked for their unique ability to help children feel challenged, happy, safe and loved. Eighty-three staff members have been with Apple Montessori Schools for five years or more.

Safety

Now, I know safety was on the list of ‘basic expectations’ that was laid out already, but it is such an important criteria when it comes to parents looking for the right school for their child that it bears repeating. Parents will not send their child to a school that they don’t feel is safe. Our schools are safety-certified by Secure Education Consultants, former United States Secret Service agents. Furthermore, our parent safety perks also include parent live video monitoring, biometric check in/out, and hospital-grade germ sanitizers.

At Apple Montessori Schools we help children reach their fullest potential. With more than 25,000 graduates from our preschool through elementary grades, children follow their own passions at their own pace with engaging hands-on materials. For more information about our schools, please visit us at https://www.applemontessorischools.com.