What is the Potato Story?
At McCain, we're passionate about potatoes. Like anyone who loves what they do, we want to tell everyone our story. We discovered that there was good reason too: according to research done by The British Heart Foundation, one in three children doesn't know that chips come from potatoes.
The Potato Story details the journey a potato makes from a farmer's field to your fork in a fun and interactive way. It is a teaching resource which is fully aligned to the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2 (children 7-11 years of age). The Potato Story website includes fun learning games and resources and is supported by a fantastic purpose-designed bus which tours schools up and down the country.
The Potato Story supports The Year of Food and Farming.
Will this website support what my child is learning in school?
Yes - the Potato Story is a complete teaching resource, which is closely aligned to the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2 (children aged 7 – 11 years of age)
In Key Stage 2 (age 7 – 11) children must learn that:
- An adequate and varied diet are needed to keep healthy
- Some foods are needed for growth and some are needed for activity and children will be able to name some of these foods
- Certain things are needed for a healthy lifestyle and children will learn the benefits of healthy eating
- Choices and decisions can be made about issues that affect their health
- Plants need healthy roots, leaves and stems to grow well
- Plants need water, light and warmth for healthy growth
- Flowering plants reproduce
- The life cycle of flowering plants include pollination, fertilisation, seed production, seed dispersal and germination
- Plants can provide food for us and some plants are grown for this.
This information is learned through fun, interactive activities that grab children's interests and which teachers find interesting and easy to use. The website includes full teacher lesson plans, games and resources, with links to other useful websites.
How can I get involved at home?
The Potato Story site has loads of ideas for activities to do at home, which will help your child learn about plant growth and nutrition. For example, you can find advice on how to grow your own potatoes at home, or get your children cooking with our fun and healthy potato based recipes. You could even pitch your knowledge against your child's by doing the multiple choice quiz games and comparing your scores!
A fantastic purpose designed bus 'The Potato Story Bus' supports the Potato story, so keep an eye out for it at your local school or at country fairs near you!
The Potato Story also supports a larger, government led campaign called 'The Year of food and Farming,' from September 2007 – July 2008. A number of organisations like us will do their bit across the year to get children interested in and experiencing all aspects of the countryside, farming and food.