Development of a nutritional sensory toolkit for kindergarten teachers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Children's food preferences are strongly associated with their consumption patterns. Children tend to choose foods with which they are familiar. It is proposed that the earlier and broader the experience with food, the healthier the child's or adult´s diet. In a focus group we developed a toolkit consisting of a training course for kindergarten staff, a booklet with nutrition and sensory-based information, and 55 professionally designed experiment cards. The cards came with exercises focusing on sensory tasting core food groups, including all food groups. Twenty-five kindergarten teachers completed the training, field-testing of the experiments and an online survey evaluating the cards. The evaluation was performed using frequency distributions with IBM® SPSS® 21 for Mac. Teachers reported high interest on the part of the children, good preparation for the experiments’ practical implementation in kindergarten and favoured the appealing design and usability. The combination of the expert-driven development and personal training with sensory experiments is a broader approach for nutrition training and, as such, an enrichment for kindergarten teachers.