Meal plan

Here at Wonderworld Montessori Academy, our yearly student meal plan offers a vast variety of nutritious foods, handpicked by health professionals with the sole purpose of bringing a well-balanced and nutritious diet to our students throughout the day. Our breakfasts are never the same and are rather fun and interchangeable with options such as omelets, waffles, oatmeal, and many more—making sure our kids are never bored with the same breakfast while continuing to provide them with the right brainpower to kick off their days.

As a preschool, Wonderworld acknowledges the large importance soup plays in a child’s healthy diet, which is why along with our two other hot meals, we schedule a soup of the day. In between our three hot meals, our children are given what are considered to be the most beneficial snacks for them. As a school we look to the fact that fruits and vegetables benefit kids in many ways, including improved nutrition, decreased obesity risk and better school performance. Children’s growing bodies require good nutrition, and fruits and vegetables contain a multitude of vitamins, minerals, and other healthy compounds. Citrus fruits and strawberries are rich in immune system-boosting vitamin C, carrots are loaded with eye-healthy vitamin A and spinach is a good source of iron, a mineral that helps prevent anemia. Along with our vegetable and fruit snacks being imperative for children’s health our school focuses on it’s role on our learning environment as well. According to a study of Korean adolescents that was published in 2016, the regular consumption of fruits, vegetables, and milk contributed to high levels of school performance, which brings us to the next portion of our meal plan.

Along with our supplemental meals and snacks, we make sure our children continue to get what’s best for their health when it comes to beverages as well. Unlike many other schools, we’ve made the choice to replace juice with more healthy options. Juice has less fiber and is less nutritious than whole fruit. It also tends to be much higher in sugar. For example, 1/2 cup of apple juice has no fiber and 13 grams of sugar. Compare that to 1/2 cup of apple slices, which has 1 1/2 grams of fiber and 5 1/2 grams of sugar. So it's healthier for your children to eat fresh fruit and drink water instead. They'll get more nutrients and fiber – and a lot less sugar. Too much juice can also cause diarrhea and tooth decay, and even contribute to obesity if kids fill up on juice instead of healthier options. Wonderworld, instead, provides each and every child with the perfect amount of water, making sure they stay hydrated throughout the day. In fact, each of our water fountains have a certified filtering system to validate that we are only providing clean and pure water. Along with water, we also see milk as vital for a child. Many kids don't drink enough milk, which is unfortunate because fortified milk is a good source of many important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Milk is considered a key part of a healthy diet for kids, as it provides those children with a good source of vitamin D, calcium, vitamin A, protein, vitamin B12, and potassium—which is exactly why we incorporate this as an essential part of our healthy meal plan.