Mealtime Observation

What's In This Kit?
This training kit provides teachers with strategies on promoting children’s growth and development through mealtime observations. This training program contains the following components:

• Expected training outcomes and learning objectives
• Training research, models, benchmarks
• Preparation and implementation steps
• Handouts
• The article “Mealtime Observation” by Betty Piedra
• References and resources
• Training Certificate for Learner �" Certificate of Attendance and Participation

Who's the Target Audience?
The target audiences for this are intermediate and advanced teachers. This kit will guide teachers to create their own plan for assessing children’s understanding of key mathematics concepts.

Teacher Skill Level

beginning intermediate advanced

Children's Age Level

infants toddlers preschoolers school-agers birth to 8

Kit Timeline:
Preparation time for this kit is estimated at 1 hour. Implementation and actual training time is 3.5 hours, which includes 2.0 hours of face-to-face training and 1.5 hours of independent study and an applied activity project.

Training Outcomes:

1. Learner will document incidents of at least 2 children’s motor and social-emotional development using the Mealtime Observation Form.
2. Learner will list at least 2 elements of child development that can be observed during mealtime.
3. Learner will describe at least 2 ways to make use of the information/data collected during the mealtime observations.

These training outcomes address the following:

• National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria (2005). www.naeyc.org.
  �" Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and approaches (5b).
• Head Start Performance Standards (Federal Register, November 5, 1-6, Volume 6, Number 215). www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/.
  �" Progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people, such as genders, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structures.
• National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs, National Association of Child Care Professionals (2005). www.naccp.org .
  �" Written observations are made on each child’s actions, abilities, and knowledge as the child engages in the classroom and in routine outdoor settings (D2).

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