By Suzanne Rhodes
Claire Cook is teaching kids how to
cook. She's a senior at the University
of Arkansas studying public health and
doing an internship at Boys & Girls Club
of Fayetteville, otherwise known as
Fayetteville Kids. Claire manages Healthy
Cooking, a class for children from
kindergarten through second grade. Other
cooking classes are held for kids in third
and fourth grades, and those in fifth and
sixth grades.
The day we showed up to see what it
was all about, Claire had her lively group
of 13 students making fruit and cheese
kabobs. They strung long wooden skewers
with strawberries, grapes and cheese – and
sometimes one of the luscious strawberries
didn't make it to the skewer but went
straight into a mouth!
"We talk about why fruits are good for
you, and I gave them a coloring sheet to
work on after they made the kabobs,"
Claire says. "A lot of these kids aren't
very knowledgeable about healthy food.
It isn't something their families always
focus on – and fruit can be expensive. I
give them something they can do easily at
home and that doesn't cost a lot."
The children in her class attend Owl
Creek Elementary School and come to
Fayetteville Kids after school's out. The
class is limited to 20 young cooks. "I like
interacting with these kids and teaching
them new things and building relationships.
I come up with lesson plans."
"They enjoy making the snacks — and
they like to eat them," Claire noted with
a smile.
Macy R., age six, explained why it's
important to eat nutritious food. "You can
glow and get healthy when you eat good
food like carrots and potatoes."
Off icialKidsMag.com • APRIL 2019 • 9
