Voncyle Wilson, owner of Wilson Family Child Care, is one course away from getting her associate's degree in early childhood education. But participating in the ECE Learning Collaborative added to her education and the way she operates her family day care home in a positive way. “Healthy eating, physical activity, and healthy living is very important for the kids, the heart, myself, everyone,” says Ms. Wilson.
Through participating in the collaborative. Ms. Wilson developed an action plan to increase fruits, vegetables, and whole grains on her menus, and to eliminate fried foods. “My menus no longer have fatty meats, fried foods, or chocolate chip cookies. I prepare baked chicken now, and it tastes good!” says Ms. Wilson. “The food preparation we did in the classes was a great experience.” One of the popular dishes from those experiences was fruit with yogurt, which has become very popular with the children.