Wellness Program at Persimmon Early Learning

Fitness activities that develop and improve motor skills, coordination, language and listening skills, physical ability, social skills, spatial awareness, and overall health and wellness.

Every day we provide our toddlers and preschoolers with at least 30 minutes of structured physical activity.  Toddler fitness occurs at 10:30 am and preschool fitness at 11:30 am. Classes are held in different spaces in order to eliminate COVID exposure.

Yoga to find a sense of calm. To learn body movement and breathing techniques that help acknowledge emotion and improve ability to self-sooth. Learning to move our bodies in a different way.

Persimmon Early Learning wants to teach the importance of fruits and vegetables by implementing fun hands-on nutrition activities like: gardening, cooking classes, taste testings, field trips, farmer visits, and meals and snacks. Now is the time to develop food preferences in children so they can learn to make healthier choices in the future!

Did you know it can take trying a food 10 times before a child may like it? Our program provides children the opportunities to do this with a variety of foods. They begin to feel empowered by their bravery and ability to step out of their comfort zone!

Ellyn Satter, Registered Dietitian and author, can teach us the appropriate way to feed our children.  Please check out the website for great resources! Links to other resources can be found at the bottom of the page.

Our partners: Farm to ECE and CHOP

Reading “Lettuce grows on the Ground” and learning about locally grown leafy greens

Exploring kale

First bell pepper of the season 2019

2019 Garden

Parent Gardening Event

Making spinach, strawberry, cantaloupe salads

Food art!

Learning to cut radishes

Tasting the green bean fries during lunch

Shucking corn from Ollin Farms

Crazy colored carrots!

Field trips are intended to expose children to a new learning environment. These trips can include harvesting, planting, learning about the garden or farm, observing farm animals or bugs, and nutrition lessons. We love using these trips to show the kids where our food comes from!

Future Trips: TBD due to Covid-19 restrictions and precautions. Online virtual tours are available from Growing Gardens!

Have any recommendations? Please call Persimmon Early Learning’s front desk or email tori@ywcaboulder.org!

This July we got to visit the High Street Hives, a local bee keeper right down the street from the YWCA! The preschool classroom learned about bees and the process of making honey, they got to do a taste test, and explored the honeycomb. They love bees! Check out this bee keeper if you are looking for some smooth, sweet, locally made honey! highstreethives@gmail.com

Past trips: Growing Gardens, Ollin Farms, Boulder Farmers Market, Anderson Farms, and Miller Farms.

Our outdoor spaces are currently under construction. However we will be starting gardens in every room (infant, toddler, and preschool)!

Right now we have our plants growing in pots waiting to be transplanted. This year in the preschool room we are growing bell peppers, jalapenos, cabbage, peas, beans, kale, lettuce, varieties of cherry tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, red onion, turnip, radishes, squash, cucumbers, herbs, and strawberries!

Our infant and toddler room will have plants that are colorful and fun to touch. We hope to give them opportunity to have different sensory exploration.

Check it out!

View our current menu in the lobby or online here!

Carter Angel, our Nutrition Coordinator, cooks all the meals. We do our best to tie in the nutrition lessons throughout the week! Please see some great recipe resources below!

 Baked Cheesy Zucchini Boat

Hawaiian Wrap (broccoli, carrot, chicken)

Sun-butter Berry Bagels

Turkey Sliders

Fruity Chocolate Yogurt Bowls

Blueberry French Toast

Roasted Corn and Avocado Wraps

Whole Wheat Pomegranate Muffins

Cheesy Broccoli Muffin Bites

Fruit Kabobs!

Red Cabbage Quinoa Wraps

Kale Chips

Zucchini Noodles with Red Cabbage and Red Bell Pepper

Watermelon Shark

Eggplant Parmesan

Turkey Stroganoff, Roasted Shishito Peppers, Farm Fresh Salad, and Red Apple Slices

Strawberry Rhubarb Quinoa Pudding w/ Dollop of Yogurt

Pancakes with Banana sauce (we also had Basil peach sauce!)

Sun-butter Chocolate Berry Whole Wheat Bagels

Is that not enough? Of course not! In addition to the physical activity classes and nutrition education we partner with many other teachers and organizations to create a fun and unique learning environment.  See some examples below…

Music class with Mr. Scott!

A few times a year we receive a special nutrition education class from our nearby farm, Growing Gardens!

ECO-CYCLE Presentation on recycling and composting- how to better take care of our planet!

Ollin Farms giving a presentation on fruits, veggies, and farming!

Due to COVD-19 we explored new ways to continue our wellness education through fun and entertaining cooking videos! Carter and Tori walk through a few recipes for families to try at home with their kids.