Missy and her boys.

The 3rd grade teacher, Mr Oviedo, told us that his class had been doing a unit on health and I decided that there was no better issue to discuss than SUGAR.  A story was found online entitled A Day Without Sugar and I made copies for each child and copies of pictures for them to color about the story. The content was important: discovering hidden sugar in everyday foods and learning to eat more healthy.

The story is about a family of cousins who visit their Aunt Sofia who is a wonderful cook. The first night she makes popcorn for them, which is healthy, and lets them sleep on the floor in the living room. The next day she makes hamburgers and explains how much sugar is hidden in catsup and mayonnaise, to say nothing of the 10 teaspoons of sugar in a can of Coke. Before they leave she serves them apple turnovers sweetened with juice and gives them each a big kiss, saying, “Here is some sugar that you all can have”.

Diabetes is a huge problem in Mexico and education about better eating habits seemed like an ideal lesson to tackle. After we read the story the kids colored pictures about the story and at the end of class each child told his part of the story in English to the other students at his table.