One of the things parents and teachers consistently say makes Abeona special is community. There are many ways we build community at Abeona House, from our laid-back potluck events to our teachers coming over to babysit. So far my favorite community builder has been our Community Work Days. Community Work Days happen a couple of … Continue reading Community Work Days
Each year in August, Abeona House closes for a week of professional development. What do we do all week? Read on to find out. This year we kicked off the week with three hours of medicine administration training. “Nurse Nikki” (aka Nikki Greenaway, certified family nurse practitioner and child care health consultant) taught … Continue reading Professional Development Week 2018
Everything is well on the food program front. We’ve been trying new sides – kale chips! cucumber salad! – and enjoying our old favorites, too. This month, though, I thought I’d take a break from sharing about the food itself to discuss another favorite topic at Abeona House: community building. Food brings people together. It … Continue reading Chef Hannah’s Blog – July: Family Food Traditions
The Abeona House food program was instituted using the farm-to-table model, incorporating local, fresh, and organic foods into the meal plan wherever possible. Following in these footsteps—and excited to see how we can expand our vision—the Abeona House community will take on a food program inspired by the movement for Food Justice. So, for my … Continue reading Chef Hannah’s Blog
This Friday is our very first build your own pizza day! I will be going into each classroom and helping the teachers and students top English muffins with sauce, cheese, and different toppings. This is part of our bigger goal to incorporate food, cooking, meals, and nutrition more into the curriculum at Abeona. Not to … Continue reading Build Your Own Pizza Day
We are very excited this week to be finally putting in our new school garden! Working with professional gardener Susie Wrenn, whose work you can see at Atchafalaya Restaurant (among others), we hope to have a beautiful and diverse garden. Our vision is to have vegetables, flowers, and even fruit trees that our students can … Continue reading School Garden
One of my favorite breakfasts to make is granola. If you haven’t tried it at home, it’s super easy and versatile. I actually don’t even measure anything except the oats when I make our Abeona House granola. Add your favorite 100% juice, some molasses and brown sugar, salt, and olive oil until your oats clump … Continue reading Granola: It’s for Everyone!
We eat a lot of eggs at Abeona House, it’s no joke. They’re full of protein, easy on a budget, and kids love them (unless you have an egg allergy, then you’ll probably have toast and sunbutter that day). To feed around fifty 1-4 year olds takes 39 eggs according to the USDA. That takes … Continue reading Eggciting Personal Victory
Friday September 5th was National Cheese Pizza Day! In accidental celebration, we feasted on delicious cheese pizza on our homemade sourdough crust. The dough is started from a little chunk saved from the last batch, and takes 3 days to finish. The original sourdough was made in France many years ago using rotting fruits and … Continue reading National Cheese Pizza Day
Sometimes a picky eater can be a daunting task for caregivers. One day, feeling a little defeated, I cried to Julie, “If only we could give an M&M reward when they try everything on their plate!” Rewards and incentives subsequently became one of our topics of conversation during Professional Development. We discussed how rewards for … Continue reading Thank-You Bites
Abeona House Child Discovery Center 