We provide morning tea, hot lunch, and afternoon tea every day. If your child is here late (after 5pm), we provide a late snack (e.g. a couple of rice crackers and some fruit) to tie them over until dinner. These meals provide a balanced diet covering all food groups, and help children develop life long healthy eating habits.
Our meals are catered for and delivered fresh daily to the premises by Kids Gourmet Food. A copy of the current menu is displayed for families' information on the noticeboard outside our kitchen. All Food Handling and Safety regulations are strictly adhered to. We also take into account dietary and cultural/lifestyle preferences for individual children and age groups. For example, mealtimes in the Baby Room will be flexible to accommodate each baby's routine. Our catering company, Kitchen Assistant, and Educators will work together with families with regard to your baby/child's individual feeding needs.
At Nought to Five we view routine times such as meals as valuable and rich opportunities for social interaction, conversation, supporting children's learning and developing their sense of belonging.
We create a relaxed and pleasant social atmosphere by:
- having progressive morning and afternoon teas that allow small, intimate grouping of children, that meets the children's individual needs and ensures a calm and relaxed environment;
- using tablecloths and centrepieces at our dining area that contributes to the children's enjoyment of meal times;
- having educators sit and interact with children during meal times;
- serving meals at the table, encouraging a calm and timely pace.
In all rooms, educators extend children's learning whilst engaging in shared conversations during meal times. Children are learning:
- by listening to and watching others
- to share their thinking by participating in turn taking conversations with others
- about good nutrition and healthy eating habits
- about where our food comes from and the kinds of food being offered
- to be adventurous and try new foods.
From the Baby Room we foster independence and self-help skills by involving children in the process of scraping their plates and putting dishes in the wash buckets. The older children are provided with numerous opportunities to exert their independence and develop self-help skills. These include:
- using small sized tongs so children can serve themselves (with assistance from educators when needed).
- pouring own water from child sized jugs
- taking responsibility for setting up the meal tables
- safe and accessible areas for children to scrape and stack their used plates, cutlery, and cups.