Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review Standard # 5 in the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards (Links to an external site.) document and the Nutrition standards for CACFP meals and snacks (Links to an external site.).

You have received several letters from the parents in your classroom stating that their children suffer from various food allergies. Additionally, parents have been sending requests to accommodate cultural preferences and even children’s likes and dislikes. In the PDF titled “Parent’s Letter”, you will find letters that parents have written to you as the teacher requesting dietary accommodations. Read each of the parents’ letters and create a list of children and their food issues that you can record in your notes to refer to each month. You will create a monthly menu (two snacks each day and lunch) to accommodate these requests. Each week will also include a theme that will include three questions as conversation topics for your children.

In addition, you will also create the following policies that surround common scenarios in the classroom:

• A policy to address food brought in from the outside (remember that some children have food allergies and may be allergic to the food that is brought in).
• A policy to address a parent’s request to bring in birthday treats.
• A policy to address children who refuse to eat.
• A policy to address the types of modification and requests that are acceptable for menu modification (for example; parents might want you to adjust your menu based on their child’s likes/dislikes).

You will find a template titled “Bright Futures Early Learning Center Monthly Menu.” Please complete this attached calendar and include your responses to the above questions. You may repeat three complete meals within the month. Use the Nutrition Standards for Children and Adult Care Food Programs (Links to an external site.) to view resources that will help give you ideas for snacks and meals.

In your paper,

• Include an introduction and a conclusion.
• Create a classroom roster that incorporates children’s food situation.
• Develop four policies that address the common food scenarios in the classroom.
• Complete and include the menu calendar template based on the roster with a theme and three questions for each week.

The Bright Futures Early Learning Center Monthly Menu Paper

• Must be four to six double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
  • For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
• Must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
  • The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
• Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.