 Plate full of color by Georgia Perez rabbit hopping around rain clouds were starting to roll in over the village dark sky Rain that dances looked at the sky as he ran to the center of the village what's hand out He was meeting his friends thunder cloud Simon and little hummingbird leaves swirl around him Simon had just moved into a home not far from the village the hummingbird lived just across the river It may rain today We may not have much time to meet the great bird rain that dances waves to friends then rain that dances saw his friends Hi, we better hurry before the rain starts. I cannot wait to meet mr. Eagle Me too children waving to Eagle and rabbit when they got closer to the tree stump. They could see mr. Eagle They could also see a rabbit with them. We are here the great bird flapped his wings with joy The rabbit hopped around the tree stump. We are happy to see all of you today Miss rabbit will tell you many things you can do to stay strong and healthy The children quickly sat around the tree stump. They listened as miss rabbit began to talk Have you ever heard your grandparents speak about mother earth little hummingbird raised her hand like she did in school My grandmother has told me many times that I need to take care of mother earth Your grandmother is a very wise woman You have to take care of mother earth because she gives us many gifts The children looked at the rabbit and then at each other butterfly enters Simon raised his hand What do you mean by gifts? Yeah, what kids children sit in circle around rabbit mr. Eagle tells you how you need to play And have fun and keep your body moving You would not be able to do that if you did not have mother earth to walk upon that is a gift Walking and running on mother earth helps keep your spirit strong Then the rabbit hopped over to a flower that was growing by the children You see this flower this flower is a gift from mother earth She grows flowers of many colors for you to enjoy What else does she give you? The children looked around and saw the trees and the grass. I guess she gives us things that grow You are right rain that dances She also gives us food to eat and water that helps the food to grow. I want to tell you about these foods now Now farmland. What do you think I eat? I know you eat grass you eat carrots I have seen you my grandmother's garden to eat the carrots. I've seen you in the garden, too At that miss rabbit left. I Guess I've eaten from many gardens in the village I eat from the gardens because I want to stay healthy. I also like what grows in the gardens I will not eat things from the garden. Those are for a rabbit now miss rabbit hopping around garden Miss rabbit hopped around and then she stopped The fruits and vegetables that grow in the garden are food for you to eat, too They are very good for all of us. Let's think of what is in the garden. What is growing there? carrots, green beans, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, corn and watermelons You are right. I have eaten many of these and what else have you seen growing? We have apple trees in our yard. My grandmother has wild strawberries and grapes growing in her yard Mother earth grows the fruits and vegetables for us to eat Have you eaten many of these fruits and vegetables now near tree stump? I have Me too, especially the strawberries. I like to eat corn Thunder cloud did not say a word miss rabbit and mr. Eagle looked at him. He had his head down You do not eat any of these things I eat some fruits, but I do not like vegetables and I do not eat vegetables that grow in the garden My mom gets vegetables from the store miss rabbit hopped over to thundercloud You can get vegetables from the store But first the vegetables have to grow in someone's garden miss rabbit comforts thundercloud Just as mother earth gives us flowers of many colors. She gives us fruit and vegetables of many colors Carrots are orange Squashes green or yellow tomatoes apples and strawberries are red grapes and plums are purple Green beans are green cucumbers are green Pumpkins are orange butterfly changing color with each described. Why are we talking about fruits and vegetables anyway? Because it is important that growing children eat enough fruits and vegetables every day to grow strong You told us that you do not like vegetables. Have you ever tasted vegetables? No, I don't think they taste good. I just like the other food my mom makes you will never know how they taste unless you Taste them to find out Can I ask you to take one bite of a vegetable to taste it? Okay, I will try I want to be healthy like my friends miss rabbit holds empty plate pick out vegetables Of different colors and try one at a time you may find some that you like after all Different colors have different taste Does corn taste like carrots? No Eating all kinds of fruits and vegetables is good for all of us But how can we eat that many fruits and vegetables every day? Yeah, how can we do that? Yeah, how? You can eat fruits at breakfast and fruit and vegetables at lunch time You can have a fruit or a vegetable for a snack and you can have them for supper Think of making your plate full of color. It will get easy when you do it for a while Every time you eat can be a time to eat a fruit or vegetable children dancing and clapping You are right. I like to eat all the time for a snack I can eat some strawberries instead of a cookie. I can eat sliced cucumbers instead of potato chips I can eat grapes or plums instead of candy Thunder cloud stayed sitting down and did not say a word Mr. Eagle miss rabbit and the children looked at him and rain that dances asked him What can you do to eat a vegetable thunder cloud? Thunder cloud stood up slowly He kicked the dirt and smiled. I guess I could try to eat some carrot sticks. Yeah, we can do it Yes, you can now you better start for home before the rain begins to fall Come back tomorrow. I will tell you more ways to stay healthy and strong Goodbye and thank you mr. Eagle and mr. Rabbit We will be here tomorrow Everyone waves goodbye to each other Now eagle appears talking join us as we learn more about being healthy and strong in tricky treats