At Doctors Inlet Elementary, prekindergartners who eat their veggies get rewards

It happens at 11:40 every weekday morning. Spoons are loaded with broccoli, corn, carrots, or whichever vegetable the school cafeteria is serving that day. As the prekindergarten children finish, they are eager to tell me, their teacher at Doctors Inlet Elementary School, the good news.

"I took the green bean challenge" or "I took the carrot challenge" is a sentence I hear frequently.

The entire class breaks into a roaring cheer. Each child who finishes his or her portion of vegetables is given a certificate. Also, each of those children receives a star on the "Vegetable Challenge Counter" chart on a wall of the classroom.

"The Challenge," as the kids call it, is not a competition. It is a way to encourage doing something they may not ordinarily do - eat vegetables!

To celebrate National Nutrition Month in March, a "Pre-K Farmer's Market" will be opening in my classroom. The children will have the opportunity to be customers who shop for (plastic) vegetables and fruit or cashiers who handle the finances. As part of the theme "All things Green," my class will learn about the parts of a plant and plant their very own bell peppers or tomatoes.

In addition to teaching ABCs, numbers, motor and social emotional skills, I would like each child to leave my classroom with something many lack - an appreciation of vegetables.