Your students will be empowered to make better food choices if they have access to good information. Talk to your students about what their bodies need and how eating right can help them feel better.  In addition to offering lessons on nutrition, consider working nutritional information into your discussion of other subjects. For example, if you’re teaching a chemistry lesson on iron, you might talk briefly about the role of dietary iron in the human body. Help your students connect with educational resources outside the classroom. For example, you might tell them about how choosemyplate.gov can help them choose what to eat at each meal. When you send your kids home with assignments related to nutrition and good food choices, this can encourage them to bring what they are learning with them outside of the classroom. Create assignments that the students can complete with their families so that other members of their household can get involved, too. For example, you might have your students work with their families to design a healthy meal that contains all the major food groups. In addition to providing your own lessons on nutrition, work with school health staff to make sure everyone is on the same page and delivering the same messages. You might invite the school nurse or a nutritionist (if your school has one) to speak to the class about healthy eating. If your school doesn’t have any health services staff who can talk to your class about nutrition, consider inviting a health or nutrition specialist from outside the school to speak as a guest in your classroom. Peer pressure can have a major impact on kids’ self-image and eating habits. If you witness or hear about children bullying each other about their bodies or eating habits, talk to the students involved and take appropriate actions to put a stop to the behavior. Different schools have different guidelines for handling bullying in the classroom. Alert the administration at your school and discuss the best way to deal with the situation. Students react well to positive reinforcement for good behavior or scholastic achievements. However, rewarding students with food or treats can encourage the development of unhealthy behaviors. If you’d like to reward your students, look for non-food alternatives, such as stickers, books, or extra playtime. Conversely, you should never deprive your students of food as a punishment. To the best of your ability, make sure your students always have access to the nutrition they need throughout the school day. You can reinforce the lessons you teach your students by being a good role model. Eat lunch in the cafeteria with your students, and select healthy food and snack options. If your students see you taking advantage of the nutritious meal options your school provides, they may be inspired to try it themselves. Avoid eating unhealthy snacks in front of your students, especially if those options are off-limits to them.

Summary: Incorporate lessons on good nutrition into your curriculum. Assign homework focused on healthy eating choices. Collaborate with the school nurse on nutrition lessons. Intervene if you see bullying related to weight or body shape. Avoid using or withholding food to reward or punish students. Model healthy behaviors for your students.


Wedding invitations are typically broken up into three different parts: the save-the-date, the wedding invitation, and the RSVP card. Decide if you want all of these to be included in your invitation-making process, and how similar or different you would like each part to appear.  The save-the-date typically includes an announcement of engagement and marriage, the names of the couple, and the date and (optional) time of the wedding. You don't have to include the location or any other details. The wedding invitation should be sent out at least six weeks before the wedding date. These should include all of the information for the wedding including the names of the couple, the location, date, and time. Feel free to include more than just the basic information on your invitation. The RSVP card is a smaller card that is sent with the invitation. This is an optional, but helpful, inclusion to your invitation. It comes with an envelope and gives the recipient of the invitation the ability to tell you if they are coming, the number of guests, and their preferred dish for the dinner. The recipient will mail this back to you, so you know how many people your wedding needs to be prepared for. Before you can make your invitations, you need to know how many you will have to create. To do this, make a guest list organized by family or household. Include the full name, address, and optionally their email and phone number.  It is easiest to organize all this information into a spreadsheet on your computer. This way, you can quickly pull up the information and make any necessary changes. As guests RSVP, highlight or mark their names on the guest list. This will help you to keep track of who all is going, and who you have not heard from. Pay attention to anyone on your guest list who may have special invitation needs. If they live in a rural or remote area, you may need to send them an invitation online as well through the mail. If they speak another language, have a special translated version of your invitation made. Once you've decided what parts of the invitation you want to make, make a sample (or a few) for each part. Choose the exact wording you want to appear on your invitation, including the order of different sets of information and spacing on the invitation.  Decide if you want to use formal or informal wording. Classic formal introductions include “[couple's name here] request your presence at their wedding ceremony on...” or  “The [insert surname of the grooms' parents here] family humbly invites you to the wedding of [insert couple's name here] on...”  If you want a more informal wedding invitation, try an introduction like “[couple's name here] happily invites you to their wedding on...” or simply “You're invited!” with the included location and date/time. Although this is just the sample text, make sure that you proofread to avoid any spelling or grammatical errors in the invitations. Don't feel limited to making one version of the information that will be on your invitation, but make several versions testing different styles of writing. Feel free to include directions on the wedding invitation, especially if the location is remote or unknown to most of the guests.

Summary: Organize the sections. Make a guest list. Write all your invitation information.


Following the same recipe and instructions, make a batch of cinnamon pancake batter. Cinnamon roll pancakes combine the best parts of a pancake and a cinnamon roll, including the cinnamon swirl sauce and the icing. For the cinnamon topping, you will need the brown sugar, the cinnamon, and 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of the melted butter or margarine. Whisk the cinnamon swirl ingredients together in a medium bowl, and then transfer it to a pastry bag. If you don’t have a pastry bag, transfer the mixture to a re-sealable plastic bag instead. The remaining ingredients will be for the icing portion of the cinnamon roll pancakes, including the powdered sugar, milk, and the final tablespoon (15 ml) of melted butter. Whisk or beat these ingredients together in a medium bowl and set it aside. Add more milk (in very small increments) if the icing is too thick to drizzle. When it’s hot, pour the pancakes. Use one-quarter cup (60 ml) of batter as before. When the pancake begins to form bubbles in the center, get ready with your pastry bag of cinnamon sauce. Start in the center of the pancake and squeeze the cinnamon sauce into the pancake in a swirl pattern. Continue cooking for another minute, until the bubbles start to pop. Flip the pancake over and cook for another two minutes, until the other side is golden brown. If you are using a plastic bag instead of a pastry bag, snip off one of the bottom corners of the bag and gently squeeze the cinnamon sauce out through the small hole. When the pancake is cooked, drizzle it with a thin layer of icing. Alternatively, you can use a maple syrup drizzle instead to finish off the pancakes.
Summary: Mix your pancake batter. Make the cinnamon sauce. Prepare the icing. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Create the cinnamon swirl. Add the icing.