Training programs to initiate and enhance your school's local wellness policy

Intended Audience: Policymakers, administrators, teachers, food service staff, nurses, coaches involved in implementing local wellness policy

Building a Healthy A La Carte Program—Provides skills-based training and marketing resources to school food service staff to enable them to shape nutritionally and fiscally sound a la carte programs. (Jr. high/high school)

New! Evaluating School Wellness - An interactive workshop that will help you evaluate progress in implementing wellness policy goals for nutrition education, physical activity, school meals, and other foods. (All school staff responsible for wellness initiatives)

HealthierUS School Challenge: A Sneak Peek at Model School Criteria for Student Wellness—Provides key information on USDA HealthierUS School Challenge - a voluntary national recognition program. Covers criteria for Silver and Gold certification including standards for school meals as well as for other foods sold, nutrition education and physical activity. Provides strategies and resources for success, including discussion of a mini-grant opportunity. Participants will receive hands-on training evaluating lunch menus against HealthierUS School Challenge standards. (Elementary)

New! Marketing Meal Appeal - School nutrition staff will discover how to promote healthful menu options including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and nonfat and lowfat dairy products. Learn how to create an eye appealing serving line that will entice students to choose healthier options. (PreK - Grade 12)

ONLINE Workshop Nutrition Education That Works: An Integrated Approach—Provides educators with the information and skills needed to successfully implement Team Nutrition curricula and integrate the new MyPyramid. Learners can complete the workshop at the own pace. Sign-up is easy and completing the course provides 2 CPDU credits (PreK-Grade 5). Access here.

Putting Your Local Wellness Policy Into Action—Learn about key resources and strategies to help you meet legislative requirements for nutrition education, physical activities and other wellness activates as well as implementing nutrition guidelines in school. Participants will receive hands-on experience in evaluating curriculum and programs. (All school staff responsible for wellness initiatives)

Training programs to promote and enhance nutrition education and physical activity

Intended Audience: Educators including curriculum coordinators, teachers, school nurses, child care staff and food service staff involved in health education( PreK-grade 12).

Color Me Healthy—Provides fun, innovative, interactive learning opportunities on physical activity and healthy eating.  Learn how to teach toddlers ages 4 and 5 years old that healthy food and physical activity are fun by stimulating all of their senses and by using color and music. (PreK)

New! Color My Meals Healthy - Learn how to make gradual changes to child care meals and snacks which comply with the USDA Guidelines for Americans. This is an interactive workshop which teaches how to plan meals with "kid appeal", while increasing whole grains and decreasing sodium, trans and saturated fats, and cholesterol. (Child care staff)

Kaleidoscope Cafe—Provides skills and tools needed to help young children establish healthy eating behaviors. Covers the nutritional needs of young children and creative ways to promote healthy eating, including how to add variety to menus and snack selections. (PreK-K)

Multicultural Make and Taste (Social Science)—Provides teaching strategies and hands-on food activities that serve as a springboard to cultural exploration and nutrition education in the classroom as well as provide children with an opportunity to appreciate cultural diversity. (PreK-Grade 3)

Got Dirt? - Growing Healthy Kids (Science, Language Arts, Social Science, History, Health, Math, Art and Music)—Learn how to bring core subjects alive and encourage healthy eating and increased physical activity for children and adolescents with a garden project. Got Dirt? - a garden toolkit for the Midwest - will help you plan and implement a successful garden to support community and school wellness initiatives. PreK-Grade 3)

Body Walk (Health)—Provides teens and their advisors with tools and information to plan and implement a fun, educational tour of the body for young children to promote healthy habits. Coordinating classroom lessons and a how-to manual are included. This is an excellent club or service learning project. All props for the Body Walk program can be checked out from the Illinois NET Program Loan Library. (teens teaching K-5 students)

A Game Plan for Sports Nutrition (Physical Education) — Provides teachers and coaches with skills to educate athletes to be physically fit and eat healthy diets that are nutritionally sound. (Grades 7-12)

ONLINE Workshop Nutrition Education That Works: An Integrated Approach—Provides educators with the information and skills needed to successfully implement Team Nutrition curricula and integrate the new MyPyramid. Learners can complete the workshop at the own pace. Sign-up is easy and completing the course provides 2 CPDU credits (PreK-Grade 5). Access here.