Collaboration & Group Learning

Home for Dinner: Mixing Food, Fun, and Conversation for a Happier Family & Healthier Kids

Kids need more than food. They’re starving for family dinners. Sports, activities, long hours, and commutes—with so much to do, dinner has been bumped to the back burner. But research shows that family dinners offer more than just nutrition. Studies have tied shared meals to increased resiliency and self-esteem in children, higher academic achievement, a healthier relationship to food, and even reduced risk of substance abuse and eating disorders. Written by a Harvard Medical School professor and mother, Home for Dinner makes a passionate and informed plea to put mealtime back at the center of family life and supplies compelling evidence and realistic tips for getting even the busiest of families back to the table. Chock full of stories, new research, recipes, and friendly advice, the book explains how to:

Whip up quick, healthy, and tasty dinners

Get kids to lend a hand (without any grief)

Adapt meals to the needs of everyone—from toddlers to teens

Inspire picky eaters to explore new foods

Keep dinnertime conversation stimulating

Add an element of fun

Reduce tension at the table

Explore other cultures and spark curiosity about the world

And more Mealtime is a place to unwind and reconnect, far from the pressures of school and work. As the author notes, family therapy can be helpful, but regular dinner is transformative.

Children as Citizens Video

2-minute video of Mardell and Krechevsky discussing documentation and young children as citizens.

The Family Dinner Project Conversation Cards

These conversation cards, designed for all ages, can help get the chat started around your family dinners. 

The Good Collaboration Toolkit

The Good Collaboration Toolkit, a collection of materials designed to help individuals develop, nurture, and reflect on good collaborations. One can use this Toolkit for a variety of different reasons. Reasons why you may find it useful to work with the Toolkit are: →You have started a collaboration but are uncertain about who should provide leadership. →You have a launched a collaboration and are discovering that the values of your organization clash with those of another member organization. →You have held a series of meetings, and at each one, the time seems wasted.

Why Don't You Tell the Other Kids?

A short essay by Krechevsky about how Reggio Emilia ideas influenced her parenting See other tools for engaging families in this work on pp.151-162 in the Visible Learners: Promoting Reggio-Inspired Practices in All Schools book.