Christina Ferraiuolo 2012-2013 KSC Dietetic Intern Healthy Class Celebrations
Jan 02, 2016
Christina Ferraiuolo
2012-2013 KSC Dietetic Intern
Healthy Class Celebrations
Birthday parties and holiday celebrations at school provide an opportunity to help make healthful eating fun and for children to practice wise food choices.
Schools can take advantage of classroom celebrations to serve food that tastes good, is nutritious, and provides students with an opportunity for a nutrition education experiences.
Opportunity
Children consume an estimated 35 percent to 50 percent of their calories during the school day through school meals, as well as foods and beverages sold through vending machines, school stores, and among other venues.
Children ages 2 to 18 consume nearly 40% of their calories from sugar and added fat.
Children have a perception of perceived healthfulness of foods in relation to taste, color, presentation, etc.
Multi-component strategies that include families are seen as more successful.
Why is this important?
Story, 2009, Connecticut Dept of Ed, 2011
Dietary and physical activity interventions along with a change in policy in schools significantly improve children’s BMI.
Policies related to improving the school environment and children's diets show that eating patterns are more likely to improve when these changes are made with classroom nutrition education.
"The median number of hours per year that schools devote to teaching nutrition education and dietary behavior is 3.4 hours for elementary schools and 5 hours for middle and high schools." (p. 10).
Story, 2009
Staff and family supportAdequate fundingTimeEducation and support of policyCommunication Adequate tools to implement the policyImpact of policy change in the eyes of the
stakeholderA national research study determined that 75%
of stakeholders surveyed believed school wellness policies positively impact:
Challenges
Agron, 2010
Schools are taking initiative to promote wellness in schools but more needs to be done outside of gym class and the lunch room.
Limit low nutrient foods
Increase physical activity throughout the day
Symonds 3rd grade class Valentine’s party overview with pictures
What makes parties fun?What healthy foods did you eat?What unhealthy foods did you eat?What games did you play?Why do we like the foods that we do?
Class Series- class one
TasteTextureSmellSightHow can we use these to make healthier
choices?crunchy, sweet, salty, fizzy, smell, chewy,
smooth
Class one continued
Party PlanningMyPlate
Where foods fit on myplateCategories
Healthy vs. Unhealthy FoodsWhere did the Valentine’s party food fit into the
categories?Plan a healthy menu using tools we have
learnedIf we like fizzy we can…
We tested a game for the party day
Class Series- class two
To get children involved in planning a healthy celebration- take ownership
To help children understand why they like different foods
To provide a better understanding of MyPlate
To distinguish what components make foods healthy
To identify less healthful foods and why
To support the concept that less healthful foods should be consumed in moderation
Goals of the classes
Healthy ONESThe focus was on changing the organizational policies and practices of nutrition services, school staff, teachers, parents and students to improve the nutrition environment." (p.14).
Coleman, 2012.
Provides snack ideas for every holiday
Gives children an opportunity to be involved in the planning
To get parents involved in the healthy party initiative
Policies for a healthier school party
Tool Kit
Research indicates that a young child’s food preference patterns are largely influenced by repeated exposure to food, and the social context in which food is offered. Offering any food as a reward to a child tends to make that child want that food above any other.Food will not be used to punish or reward child No more than one party per class per monthLimit snacks to one “less healthy food” item per partyIncorporate most/all of the food groups into the menu To be a learning opportunity to reinforce food
groups, healthful foods, and physical activity.
Policy Sample
Connecticut Dept of Ed., 2011
Sign up sheet for each holiday party with themed foods that represent each food group
Healthy foods to brainstorm with children per holiday
Sample school celebration policy
Parent newsletter
3rd grade two class series outline
Tool Kit Includes
Sample Sign Up Sheet
Encourage social and cognitive developmentObesity interventionSupport healthful eatingAlign school health curriculum topics with
activities in the classroomPromote healthy behaviors for all childrenStaff modeling opportunity Parent involvement with healthful eating
strategies
Benefits
Providing healthy classroom celebrations demonstrates a school commitment to promoting healthy behaviors. It supports the classroom lessons students are learning about health, instead of contradicting them.
I would love your feedback!
Agron, P., Berends, V., Ellis, K., & Gonzalez, M. (2010). School wellness policies: perceptions, barriers, and needs among school leaders and wellness advocates. Journal Of School Health, 80(11), 527-535. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2010.00538.x
Coleman, K. J., Shordon, M., Caparosa, S. L., Pomichowski, M. E., & Dzewaltowski, D. A. (2012). The healthy options for nutrition environments in schools (Healthy ONES) group randomized trial: using implementation models to change nutrition policy and environments in low income schools.
International Journal Of Behavioral Nutrition & Physical Activity, 9(1), 80-95. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-9-80
Connecticut State Department of Education (20011). Healthy Celebrations. www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2678&q=322436
Meininger, J., Reyes, L., Selwyn, B., Upchurch, S., Brosnan, C., Taylor, W., & ... Phillips, M. (2010). A structured, interactive method for youth participation in a school district-university partnership to prevent obesity. Journal Of School Health, 80(10), 493-500. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2010.00533.
Reedy, J., & Krebs-Smith, S.M. (2010). Dietary Sources of Energy, Solid Fats, and Added Sugars among Children and Adolescents in the United States. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 110(10):1477-1484
Story, M., Nanney, M. S., & Schwartz, M. B. (2009). Schools and Obesity Prevention: Creating School Environments and Policies to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity. Milbank Quarterly, 87(1), 71- 100. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00548.x
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