C.A.T.C.H (Coordinated Approach to Child Health)
Last year, I was lucky enough to be invited to a training program for something called C.A.T.C.H. The training included a lot of phenomenal statistical information regarding obesity in the United States (especially among children), health issues stemming from obesity, food trends, etc. The goal was to get the attendees to see the need for a program like C.A.T.C.H. I was definitely one ready to jump on board!
C.A.T.C.H will eventually be put into place in all Delaware schools and we will be provided with some excellent learning materials that will help carry the importance of physical fitness as well as nutrition into the classroom. Since we do not have all of the necessary materials yet, I am trying to take some baby steps to get started on the program. My goal is to help everyone realize the importance of teaching our youth to live healthy and active lifestyles.
Since this is a coordinated approach, we need to get everyone involved. The nurse, cafeteria workers, classroom teachers, parents, etc. The idea is that with everyone involved we can better show the students the importance of what we are trying to achieve. Ultimately that being a healthy and active lifestyle. Statistics show that healthier children produce better grades, attend school more, etc., so what better reason do we need to get involved?
One of the ideas I took from the C.A.T.C.H training was to hang posters of “Go, Slow and Whoa” foods. “Go” foods are those that contain much nutritional value. For example, fruits and vegetables. “Slow” foods are those in between foods which are okay to have sometimes, but definitely not on a regular basis. Finally, “Whoa” foods are those which have very little or no nutritional value. These are the foods we are trying to teach the students to stay away from.
Since we must lead by example, I have already discussed with my fellow teachers how we need to make an impression on students with what we eat. We need to encourage them to take and eat the fruits and vegetables provided at lunch, as well as their milk. My hope is that you all will do the same for the students at home. Teach them about the “Go, Slow, and Whoa” foods, so you can join me is leading them toward healthy lives!
March is National Nutrition Month, and we will definitely be spending some time discussing calories, sugar, carbohydrates, calcium, etc. Again, allow your students to be advocates and teach you some of this very useful information!
Please visit the link on this Edublog which will lead you to an extremely useful website for learning about nutrition. (http://www.mypyramid.gov)
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