PSLE Oral Practice health

It has been about two weeks since the new term has begun and the ‘race’ towards the PSLE is underway. I have been wanting to post more on the upcoming Preliminary Oral…so here goes!

I’ll be posting a series of Orals that I have completed with my students under 3 themes.

1) Health
2) Community
3) Family

Today, I’ll be posting 2 on Food under Health. This seems to be a common theme every year.

1) HEALTH

Illustration:

Cookie Dough Snack Balls from Primally Inspired to give you boundless energy for all your activities!

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup nut butter of choice or peanut butter.
• 1 cup coconut oil melted or softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups mini chocolate chips

Instructions

• 1. Combine all the ingredients, except mini chocolate chips into a bowl and stir until well incorporated.
• 2. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
• 3. Roll out into bite size balls (about 1 inch).
• 4. Refrigerate or freeze until hardened (only takes a few minutes!)
• 5. Eat and enjoy!

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Would you make these Healthy cookie dough cookies?

Yes, I think that I would. The ingredient list looks a little complicated but I think that with my mother’s help, I will be able to get them. The recipe itself seems quite easy. I just need to mix the ingredients altogether and roll them into balls.The advertisement for the recipe says that it will give me boundless of energy and that will be great. I have a lot of activities after school and sometimes I can get very tired immediately after school. My mother always makes sure that I have a good balanced lunch but around 4pm, I can get hungry again. Usually, I will bring along or buy a small snack and most of them are not healthy. I will eat a packet of crisps or sweets.I know that these snacks are not good for my body and I think if I can prepare my own snacks like the one above, it will be helpful. I can make them beforehand and pack them with me in a small tupperware. 

Are you influenced by what your friends and family eat?

Yes and no. I am influenced by what my friends eat. When they bring a new snack to school, I always want to buy it and try it. When they change to a new one, I will also change to what everyone is eating. My mom says that I am a sheep because I follow what my friends are doing. She is right! However, because I want to stay healthy, if the snack contains too much sugar or fat and has too much colouring in it, I may try it once and not buy it again.At home, my family eats a lot of vegetables. My mom is health conscious so she only cooks healthy food. I am not a fan of vegetables even though I will eat small amounts of it during my meals else I get a scolding! 

Aside from eating well, how else do you stay healthy?

Aside from eating balanced meals of protein, vegetables and carbohydrates, I also exercise almost every day. I am an active person and enjoy my PE lessons. At recess, I am always playing tag or soccer with my friends. I am also in the school’s netball team and we have practice twice a week. On weekends, I sometimes run at the stadium with my father or go swimming with my mother. If I don’t exercise, I feel strange, like something is missing.I also sleep early whenever I can. I am in bed at 8pm on school nights because I read an article that said children my age need 10 hours of sleep for our brains to function well. I have many friends who sleep very late. Some are studying but most of them are playing on their computers or on their phones. In my opinion, this is wrong. If we don’t stay healthy we can become ill later in life. I have a classmate who is always eating fried foods during recess and after school he will go to a fast food place almost every day. He hates to exercise and only enjoys playing on his smart phone. He is obese and is sick quiet often. This year my teacher has advised him to change his unhealthy habits. She reminded him that next year will be his PSLE year and if he is unhealthy physically, he will find it difficult to focus in his work. I hope that he will listen to her.

2) HEALTH

Illustration:

What is your favourite food? (Choice)

I love fried chicken! I have always loved it since I was young. There is something about the crispiness of the chicken when it is fried. I know that it isn’t healthy but every time we go out to eat I veer towards the fried chicken stall. My mother makes delicious fried chicken and she cooks this dish as healthily as possible by using free range chicken and olive oil to fry. Another favourite dish of mine is French Fries. I know, I know. All my favourite foods are listed as junk food but they are so yummy. I used to beg for the fries at McDonalds when I was younger but now mom makes them at home. She bought a special potato cutter that can cut up potatoes in the shape of fries. Sometimes, she will bake them in the oven and other times she will fry them in olive oil. As I am now getting older, she worries about the type of food that I eat. She says that I need to get into the habit of eating healthy food. So, I now eat my favourite foods once in a blue moon. 

Why is it important for children to have a healthy diet? (Opinion)

I think that as children we should develop good eating habits for later in life. If we learn to eat vegetables and fruits daily, it will develop our mind and body into fit adults. Too much junk food can lead to obesity and no one wants to be obese. At my age, overweight children cannot run fast or play sports well. It restricts what they can do during PE and even during recess. It can be difficult to make friends later in life. This will also be difficult during National Service as we should be ready and fit for the challenges that we will face. Eating too much sweets and fatty foods can lead to illnesses later in life. Too much sugar can lead to diabetes and too much fatty foods can lead to high cholesterol and other diseases. My grandfather dislikes vegetables and fruits. All his life he has eaten unhealthy food. He has a number of diseases now and cannot walk that well while grandma has always eaten well and even at 80 years old she is still active! Mother has an interest in cooking healthy food. She says she doesn’t want to put on weight so she cooks low fat food and a lot of organic vegetables for our meals. She is always looking for healthy recipes to try out on us!

Aside from having a healthy diet, how else can children have a healthy lifestyle? (Recount & Opinion)

I think that exercise is very important. I have many classmates who spend all their free time studying and they relax by sitting on their sofas and playing games on their smart phones and tablets or computers. This is isn’t healthy. All children need to exercise and I read in an article that exercise improves memory and makes you smarter! I am an athletic person. I have always loved sports! I swim once a week with my family members and we cycle at the beach as often as we can. I am also on the school’s soccer team and we have practice sessions at least twice a week. During recess, my friends and I prefer to play tag or soccer in the school field than to sit down and discuss about the newest computer games.Getting enough sleep is also important. This year is our PSLE year so we have a lot of additional homework. I think we must find a balance between studying and having a good night’s rest. A few articles in the newspaper talks about how children in Singapore do not get enough sleep. Plus we wake up very early for school too. My mother makes sure that we all are in bed by 9pm. This means that during weekdays we do not have time to watch television or play computer games. That’s fine by me. I think we should take care of ourselves and find different ways to relax. I like to read before bed. It lulls me to sleep!