Food for Thought

For 2021 our courses will commence on Thursday 1st July and all courses must be completed by 5 pm on Friday 30th July. As per the DES criteria you must complete the required time on the course and your start and completion date will now appear on your Cert for your EPV days. If you buy two or more courses you must only complete one course at a time.

Course places are limited due to DES criteria.

Discounts are limited. Discount applied automatically at checkout.

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About this Course

Food for Thought – Special Food for Special Children - Summer Cpd

This nutrition course will demonstrate the consequences of food choices on concentration, behaviour and medical conditions. Gain an understanding of Autism, Aspergers, ADD, ADHD, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Coeliac disease, Asthma, Eczema, Psoriasis and Allergies. Learn the links with nutrition for each condition. Explore nutrition and brain development in school children. How can better nutrition lead to improved academic success in class?

You will be provided with imaginative, creative ways to promote and support nutrition and health, involving games, ICT, real world examples, real life practical recipes and tools. These tools will challenge children to reflect and think about what they eat and how their choices affect them. Allowances and awareness will be made of special needs, special dietary needs and cultural needs. You will be encouraged look to your own health and nutrition and ideally involve the whole school in this consciousness.

Join us this summer and let’s give our schools some food for thought!

All courses are approved for EPV days.

Course Aims:

Learn how to help children recognise how their food choices are affecting their concentration, attention, behaviour, memory and growth. Gain knowledge of the main medical conditions that affect concentration and behaviour; Autism, Aspergers, ADD, ADHD, Dyspraxia and Dyslexia. Learn about nutrition for children with atopic conditions – asthma, eczema, psoriasis and allergies. Understand how Coeliac disease affects children – memory, concentration, growth.

Learn tools to encourage better choices for children with additional support for anxious children. Acquire an understanding of how food choices have good and bad impact on concentration, attention, behaviour, memory and growth.

Develop awareness of how nutrition affects concentration. Explore classroom displays and focus on top 10 charts, good and bad. Learn about nutrition and brain development. How can better nutrition lead to improved academic success in your class?

Explore and learn how to teach the connection between sleep, stress and brain function. You will be given interactive methods to introduce brain food to children in class.

Module 1

Create opportunities to help participants and children recognise how food choices affect concentration and behaviour.

Top 10 foods that boost concentration.

Top 10 foods that hinder concentration.

Demonstration charts for the classroom.

Module 2

Knowledge of the main medical conditions that affect concentration – Autism, Aspergers, ADD, ADHD, Dyspraxia and Dyslexia.

Explore and teach the impact of good and bad food choices.

Strategies for encouraging new food choices with anxious children.

Understand how external stimuli e.g. chemicals, smells can impact behaviour.

Classroom tools.

Module 3

Knowledge of nutrition for children with atopic conditions – asthma, eczema, psoriasis and allergies.

Understand the connection with digestive health.

Explore and teach the impact of good and bad food choices.

Understand the connection with poor concentration.

Classroom tools.

Module 4

Understanding Coeliac disease and how it affects memory, concentration, and growth.

Best diet practices, fresh foods versus gluten free products.

Understanding the adverse effects of too many gluten free products.

Understanding of the need for a colourful diet.

Interactive and simple ways to implement learning in the classroom.

Module 5

Nutrition and brain development in school children.

How can better nutrition lead to improved academic success in the class?

Best nutrients for the brain and what foods you will find them in.

Food versus supplements. Which is better? Which is easier?

Becoming aware of the connection between sleep, stress and brain function.

Understanding foods for developmental stages of a child’s brain.

Interactive ways to introduce brain food to the classroom.

Bonus Module - Restorative Practice

A free module on Restorative Practice with all Summer Courses

Michelle Stowe brings you an introductory module to Restorative Practice.

More Info

What people are saying

Laura

I have recommended this course to every teacher I’ve met in the last month, simply put I think it’s the best course I’ve ever done. The content was so interesting providing just the right amount of information whilst not being overly scientific or technical. The tone of the course was positive and encouraging. Appropriate links were made between what was being taught and how our new learning could be applied in the classroom and whole school. I will be referring to the information regularly and revisiting the content.

Geraldine

I found the course both enjoyable and very interesting. It made me aware of the strong link between a healthy digestion and learning. If a child is suffering from digestive issues, then his/her concentration level will be affected. The course clearly identified brain-boosting foods and foods the hinder brain function. It identified foods which could help improve symptoms for children on the autistic spectrum, ADHD and dyspraxia. The course provided a variety of resources which can be used in the classroom to promote healthy eating and therefore promote positive active learning.

Tereasa

This is an excellent course. I did this for me, but will most certainly use a lot of the resources in the classroom. The course has sections that would be most useful on the Open Night for new pupils, or indeed for Parents Associations. As teachers, we need to nurture ourselves better and this course gives nice easily achieved changes we can make in our lives to flourish not flounder.

Karl

I think this course was extremely relevant and topical in today's ever changing education system. I believe there is more to good nutrition than the healthy body, I believe it inevitably leads to a healthier mind which is essential today. I believe parents/guardians are the key to successful education and none more so than being educated themselves on the advantages of good healthy nutrition and well balanced diets for their children.

Michael

One year on and I'm back to complete my second course with Anokha this summer, I can't recommend them highly enough. The online course structure is simple and accessible for all users. The interaction between teachers and tutor is fantastic giving participants an in-depth knowledge of the course and new ideas to bring back to school. Well done. Thank you!

John

The course was extremely well organised and laid out. The information within each lesson was clear, concise and overall, very insightful. Each lesson contained excellent resources which I will definitely use in the classroom.

Jane

I really enjoyed this course. Each module was presented in a very clear concise fashion. I feel very enthusiastic and well prepared to include lessons on the importance of a healthy Wholefood diet during the next school year. There was plenty of child friendly printables on each topic, that I can easily imagine using in my class.

Jenna

When I saw a link to the Anokha learning page on Facebook way back in April, I was delighted to see courses which were refreshing, topical and a little bit different to courses offered by other institutions. I signed up with the early bird special offer and I feel that the course offered fantastic value for money. The course itself was easy to navigate, interesting and relevant. The discussion questions were interesting and thought provoking. It was well worth doing this course and I will definitely sign up to Anokha learning again next year.

Emma

This course has been invaluable to me: for someone who has an awareness of the influence diet has on our minds and they way we function I needed the knowledge to inform myself as a primary teacher and to help others; this course not only gives your a very thorough understanding of the link between diet and autism, ADHD and atopic conditions to name a few it provides you with a range of resources and ideas for bringing this content into the classroom, resource room and into real life. I think the link between nutrition and our minds as well as our physical bodies is something that is only going to get more attention in the modern classroom and a course like is crucial for any teacher to have.

Carina Kennedy

Course Author - Food for Thought – Special Food for Special Children

Carina is a naturopath, herbalist, nutritional therapist, iridologist, reflexologist, reiki practitioner and qualified nurse. Having experienced health problems herself, Carina’s goal is to show as many people as is possible that they can take control of their health and nutrition with a little guidance. Carina runs a holistic clinic in Mayo. She also holds workshops and is currently writing a series of books on nutrition for children.

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Food for Thought – Special food for Special Children