Rockford School District 205, Rockford

• Ninety kids learned about MyPyramid, how to read food labels including fat content of foods in this afterschool program. To demonstrate their skills, children fill in a blank corn tortilla label with nutrient information. They also compare labels and pick out the healthy choice.
• A lesson about vitamins ended with the students making a mandarin orange salad – a huge hit!
• A trip to a local supermarket was turned into a scavenger hunt. Each child had to find three types of leafy greens, two kinds of cream cheese and record the fat content of each, and describe what an artichoke looks like. They also sampled kiwi and mango.
• To reinforce learning, the kids record nutrition information and their thoughts on the lessons in a journal.
• The Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, a partner in this project, also hosted a community-wide event called “Get Moving: Playing with Food” and children in the afterschool program and their families were invited to attend the event for free.
• Download: Rockford Activity Sheets

Chopin Elementary, Chicago

• The kids at Chopin are brushing up on their acting skills to write, direct and star in their own healthy Cooking Show!
• The kids are introduced to a healthy recipe with unusual ingredients, like hummus, and then spend time studying each ingredient and how the recipe works.
• They discover how important math and science skills are in cooking by learning how to measure ingredients and doing mini-science experiments, like using lemon juice to oxidize a cut apple to keep it from getting brown.
• The kids become experts in preparing their healthy snack or meal and then write a script and star in their own Cooking Show.
• The kids get to taste the new foods they are preparing and take home the recipes to make with their families.
• In April 2011 all of the Cooking Show episodes will be premiered for the entire school and their families at a school-wide event.
• Download: Recipe for Hummus and script for The Cooking Show

Martin Luther King Elementary, Urbana

• Each week forty kids take part in a cooking lesson that involves reading food labels, measuring ingredients, and discussing serving sizes. Lessons also focus on choosing whole grains and low-fat food items.
• The kids work in groups to prepare a healthy recipe and then take a copy of the recipe home. One of their favorites was Confetti Bean Salsa!
• Each quarter the kids are publishing a quarterly Healthy Newsletter for the entire school. They are asked to write a story or poem about a food group. One story was about a boy who didn't eat his daily servings of vegetables. They also include healthy kid-friendly recipes like Cucumber Tomato Salad.The kids have also shown their creativity through banana jokes, poems about grapes, and "Top Ten Facts You Didn't Know About Strawberries".
• Their second newsletter focused on the MyPyramid and every student in the school received a MypYramid button with their newsletter.
• This spring the kids will compile all their recipes into a healthy cookbook and take part in a school-wide Health and Wellness fair.
• Download:
  MLK Quarter Healthy Newsletter - 1
  MLK Quarterly Healthy Newsletter - 2

Summersville Grade School, Summersville

• The kids in the Summersville Afterschool Latchkey Program have been having a blast “breaking-in” new hula hoops and really getting their hearts pumping.
• They play hula hoop tag where one person has to “tag” the others by trying to put the hoop around them; and they play capture the hula hoop where everyone gets a hula hoop. If you tag someone you get their hoop. The person who collects all the hoops is the winner!
• The students learned all about healthy snacks, with a focus on fresh fruit. They got to taste apples, strawberries, pineapple and tangerines.
• To celebrate Dr. Suess’ birthday the kids made Meow Mix, a healthy version of trail mix. This lesson also included measuring out ingredients and discussing portion sizes.
• The kids are looking forward to their upcoming vegetable lesson which includes a cooking activity and different ways to eat their veggies.
• Soon the kids will be “visiting” different countries each week and trying samples of healthy foods in different cultures.

Prairie Du Rocher Elementary School, Prairie Du Rocher

This small afterschool program began with no resources for teaching their children about healthy eating and engaging them in physical activity. With their mini-grant funds they have been able to create a program that includes learning how to make healthy food choices and daily physical education/activity:

• Gym scooters really get the kids moving and they are having a blast! The older kids get extra activity by pushing and pulling the younger ones on the scooters.
• The kids choose from volleyball, basketball, or jumping rope to get their hearts pumping. They have even tried yoga!
• Using the MyPyramid as a resource, the kids are learning how to make healthy choices at snack time. The kids are offered several healthy options, including some they have never tried, and they are encouraged to try something new.
• They are also learning how to create a balanced snack by combining a fruit or vegetable with a protein source.
• The children are working on a healthy cookbook that will be given to all school families at the end of the year. It includes recipes the kids have made together, recipes submitted by families, and healthy recipes that the afterschool staff would like their school families to try.  
• This spring the children will be working on a garden project. All of their vegetables will start from seed in pots. Once the plants have emerged the children will tend them until the school year ends. Each child will take home a starter garden to care for over the summer.

Sycamore Middle School, Sycamore

• Sycamore middle-schoolers learn about nutrition using hands-on cooking activities and games.
• In the whole grain lesson students identify the different parts of a whole grain and then get to see and feel different kinds of whole grains. They talk about the importance of whole grains and fiber and learn how to figure out if a food item contains whole grains. They practice their new skills identifying whole grains by looking at the product packages.
• For physical activity, the kids participate in the “Whole Grain Race” – Different areas of the gym are designated as parts of a whole grain and as the leader calls out the various parts of a whole grain the kids must race to that spot.  
• The students are also creating short movies conveying the nutrition messages they have learned in their lessons. These will be posted on the school website and sent home to all parents at the school so the messages can be shared with the whole school community.
• The students were asked to vote for their favorite healthy recipes and then they learned how to prepare them. One of the winners was Healthy Deviled Eggs.
• Download: Healthy Deviled Egg recipe
• The whole grain lesson is based on the University of Illinois Extension’s munchin’ maniacs
• View two of the short movies made by the students:
  • Cauliflower Massacre
  • Eat Healthy or Else!

This Program has been funded in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services. The content of this website does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department, not does mention of trade names, commercial product, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.