Educator Resources

Educator Resources
The links on this page will help teach students to eat smart and play hard. All links open in a new window and connect to external sites.
	Body Venture is a traveling walk-through health education exhibit operated by Child Nutrition & Wellness, Kansas State Department of Education. Each year it visits approximately 100 Kansas elementary schools and is toured by 25,000 students. Body Venture's goal is to teach children to eat smart and play hard while helping them understand how their daily decisions impact the body's health.

	Eat Smart. Play Hard. for Kids offers downloadable activity books, bookmarks, and comic books.

	The HealthierUS School Challenge is a voluntary initiative established by the United States Department of Agriculture to recognize schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity. Learn more about Kansas schools that have earned this prestigious award.

	Healthy Kansas Schools focuses on assisting schools with creating healthy school environments. The goal of Healthy Kansas Schools is to assure that all students are healthy and ready to learn. Increasing physical activity, decreasing tabacco use, and improving student nutrition are all aims of Healthy Kansas Schools. Kansas State Department of Education's Division of Child Nutrition & Wellness and Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Bureau of Health Promotion are partners in Healthy Kansas Schools initiatives.

	Kansas Team Nutrition is a USDA supported initiative that provides a wide variety of health education resources for schools and child care providers. Among these are: Power Panther Preschool, a health education program for children in child care Power Panther Pals, a classroom health education program for students in grades K-2 and 3-5 Power Up, a classroom health education program for students in grades 6-8 Power Panther Professionals, a wellness program for school staff Family Fun, Food and Fitness Events that involve families and community members in building healthy lifestyles

	Kids a Cookin' is designed to "share the fun and skills of cooking with children and those who guide them." It provides a large variety of healthy, simple, kid-tested recipes plus cooking tips and techniques. There are also curricula and resources for educators. This is a program of K-State Research and Extension's Family Nutrition Program.

	A feature of the award-winning KidsHealth website, KidsHealth in the Classroom offers free health education teacher guides for grades PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. At each level, there are age-appropriate lessons on the human body, health problems and personal health.

	Let's Move - Actions for Schools provides information about five simple steps to success that principals, teachers and parents can take to help make schools healthier places to learn.

	ChooseMyPlate.gov provides practical information to individuals, health professionals, nutrition educators, and the food industry to help consumers build healthier diets with resources and tools for dietary assessment, nutrition education, and other user-friendly nutrition information. As Americans are experiencing epidemic rates of overweight and obesity, the online resources and tools can empower people to make healthier food choices for themselves, their families, and their children.

	MyPyramid for Kids Classroom Materials offers elementary-level classroom materials that include lesson plans, an interactive game, and a MyPyramid for Kids Poster. The nutrition and physical activity messages included throughout the materials are designed to help children 6 to 11 years old make healthy eating and physical activity choices. MyPyramid materials for middle and high school students consist of the MyPyramid poster and mini-poster and the handout, Anatomy of MyPyramid. USDA's Team Nutrition program is developing additional MyPyramid educational materials for middle and high school students which will be posted to the MyPyramid site as soon as they are completed.

	MyPyramid for Kids offers resources that can be used by parents and educators including MyPyramid Blast Off, an interactive computer game that reinforces the key concepts of allowing students to select a variety of foods (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks) and physical activity. Food group fuel tanks will help students keep track of how their choices fit into MyPyramid. By not going overboard on total fuel, added sugars, and solid fats, students may reach Planet Power! See what happens when students blast off!

ESPH Topic	Resource
Boost Fiber Rich Foods	National Agriculture Library - Provides links to reputable websites with everything you need to know about the importance of fiber in the diet.