Kindergarten students at Birney Elementary had a lot of fun learning about grains with their nutrition educator, Mrs. Rogers!

The students read the book, Macaroni and Rice and Bread by the Slice, which taught them about the difference between whole grains and refined grains.

Mrs. Rogers brought along a model of a whole grain to show the students that all three parts (the brain, germ, and endosperm) provide us with the fiber, vitamins and minerals, and energy that we need, as Mrs. Rogers says it, "to last us the whole day long."

To check the students' understanding, Mrs. Rogers brought examples of rice, pasta, tortillas, and bread of all different kinds. As she held each one up the students had to give a "thumbs up" if it was a whole grain, or a "thumbs down" if it was a refined grain. All of the students expressed their love of popcorn, and were excited when they found out that it was a grain.

Every student got involved when Mrs. Rogers did the grains song, which got their bodies moving and their hearts pumping. Since grains give us energy, she thought she would have them use a little bit of it while she was there!