1. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Developed by the Harvard School of Public Health in collaboration with the YMCA
Part 1: Training Trainers
Improving nutrition and physical activity for children in afterschool programs
Note to trainer: Start with intro
Why you are doing the Food & Fun training
Introductions
The powerpoint we’re taking you through can be used to train staff at your program(s).
Make sure you review the curriculum before your start your own training.
Copyright YMCA of the USA. The Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum is jointly copyrighted by President and Fellows of Harvard College and YMCA of the USA.

2. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Why is the curriculum important?
Research shows that kids do not consume enough healthy foods & drinks, spend too much time in front of the screen, and get less physical activity than they need
Schools and community organizations are looking for creative ways to help children and families develop healthy habits
Afterschool and other out-of-school time programs are ideal settings for promoting healthy nutrition and physical activity environments
The Food & Fun Afterschool Curriculum materials are designed to support these healthy environments and teach kids and families about positive nutrition and physical activity behaviors
Note to trainer: Read through bullets
Other notes:
Screentime = TV, computer, video games
Part 1: Training Trainers

3. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Training — Part 1 Objectives
Learn about the variety Food & Fun activities and materials
Understand how the materials fit with a current afterschool curriculum or youth programming
Understand the Food & Fun health messages
Make a plan for how to get started with Food & Fun
Note to trainer: Read through bullets
Using another curriculum is fine as long as the messages and goals are consistent with our the messages contained in Food & Fun
Part 1: Training Trainers

4. What’s My Role as a Trainer?
Train staff on the Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum materials and health messages
Coach staff on using the materials to connect with kids and families
Plan for tracking use and effectiveness of the materials
Note to trainer: Read through bullets
This training is unique. Coaching & tracking for use is important for you need to stay connected. Collecting data will help you see who is using the curriculum and what materials are used most.
Part 1: Training Trainers

5. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Curriculum Components
Afterschool activities for kids
Parent communications
Nutrition and physical activity planning and tracking tools
Harvard Prevention Research Center Environmental Standards for Nutrition and Physical Activity in Out-of-School Time
Snack Sense guide for healthy, budget-friendly snacks
The Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum is one support for making YMCA programs a healthy place for kids. The curriculum components include afterschool activities for kids, parents communications, and nutrition and physical activity planning and tracking tool. In this part of the training, we’ll spend the most time talking about the afterschool activities for kids and the parent communications. We’ll also refer to the environmental standards for nutrition and physical activity in out-of –school time that guide the health messages in this curriculum. In training #2, you’ll find out more about our planning and tracking tools.
Part 1: Training Trainers

6. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
The Basics
Designed for children in grades K-5
Focused on 7 simple science-based healthy eating and physical activity environmental standards
11 units with over 70 activities to pick and choose from
Encourages healthy behaviors through active play, literacy and math skills development, creative learning, and hand-on snack time activities
User-friendly, flexible format and instructions
Lesson extensions make activities easily adaptable across program settings and diverse populations
Note to trainer: Read through bullets
Part 1: Training Trainers

7. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Background
Before developing Food & Fun, researchers at Harvard School of Public Health held focus groups and interviews with childcare and afterschool staff
Key issues that emerged included:
Major opportunities to integrate lessons are during snack, physical activity time, arts & crafts, and homework periods
Storage space and budgets are limited at most locations
Activities usually happen in minute intervals
Parents want to get health information in a variety of ways
When Food & Fun was complete researchers tested the materials in childcare and afterschool programs
Note to trainer: Read through bullets
Part 1: Training Trainers

8. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Key features:
Activities are fun, affordable and simple
Health messages are easy to understand and based on the latest science
Activities can easily integrate into many parts of the afterschool day
Each unit has opportunities to enhance academic skills
Food & Fun can be used on its own or to complement other ongoing curricula
Many tools and tips to connect with families
Note to trainer: Read through bullets
Part 1: Training Trainers

9. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Unit Themes:
Fruits and vegetables – Take a Bite! & Mix it up
Physical activity – Get Moving & Play Hard
Sugar-sweetened drinks – Be Sugar Smart
Healthy & unhealthy fats – Go for Good Fat
Whole grains – Go for Whole Grains
Healthy snacking – Super Snacks
Reduce TV viewing – Tune out TV
Keep hydrated with water – Be active, stay cool
11 teaching units focus on 7 science-based healthy recommendations and provide a range of activities to use throughout the school year. You don’t have to do all of them. Staff should pick the ones that they’re comfortable with and excited about doing.
Themes support the goals (or environmental standards) for nutrition and physical activity in out of school time programs. For example, they include serving water on the table every day, no sugary drinks or trans fats, eating whole grains, physical activity every day, vegetables and fruits every day, and no TV time (especially TV with advertising).
Messages are simple and relevant, and not technical.
Discussion questions:
What healthy goals/environmental standards do you think will appeal most to your staff?
What unit do you think you’d like to start with?
Part 1: Training Trainers

10. Activity Options for Children
Variety of ways for kids to have fun while learning about nutrition and physical activity
Arts and crafts: allow leaders to introduce messages in fun and creative way
Active games: designed to involve all children in active play
Group games & activities: can be used at circle time or in small groups to reinforce unit themes
Books: promote literacy and healthy messages
Snack time activities: hands-on way to introduce new foods and get kids interested in healthy eating
Note to trainer: Read through bullets
Discussion questions:
What part of your program can you most easily integrate Food and Fun?
Will you be able to include active games and snack time activities?
Other notes on activities:
The symbols can help you find the type of activities you’re looking for
Check out the Recipe and Taste Test packet for new snack ideas and tools for doing taste tests with kids.
Part 1: Training Trainers

11. Parent Communication Tools
Many ways to connect with families about nutrition and physical activity
Engagement activities tailored to each unit’s healthy goals
messages
Newsletter articles
Parent handouts
Family handbook
Most parent materials available in English and Spanish
Each program has different ways that they work to engage the families they serve. Food and Fun recognizes that staff have varying levels of comfort talking with parents and helps to support staff with a variety of resources that fit their needs.
The engagement activities include ideas for ways to talk to parents about the Food and Fun topics at pick up.
Each Food and Fun topic has an message you can send to parents to tell them what the kids are learning and how it relates to creating healthy habits at home.
Newsletter articles and colorful parent handouts are other ways to send health information home.
If you like the idea of giving an all-in-one reference to families, then check out the family handbook. This comprehensive reference for families provides practical tips for shopping and preparing healthy foods. It also provides recipes.
Discussion questions:
What parent communication tools do you think will work best at your program?
Do you think you staff will feel comfortable communicating with parents about nutrition and physical activity?
Part 1: Training Trainers

12. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Health Messages
Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Note to trainer: The could be a great opportunity to review the Environmental Standards for Out of School Time, which include the rationale and some suggested strategies for each environmental standard . The content in the environmental standards is very similar to the health messages reviewed in these slides.
Part 1: Training Trainers

13. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Health Messages
Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Short, simple, positive, and motivational!
NOT lectures, negative, guilt producing, or humiliating
Encourage kids to feel good about healthy eating, drinking and physical activity
Foster an interest in trying new foods, drinks, and activities
Develop healthy behaviors early in life
Emphasize that being healthy can help kids feel strong and fit, improve moods, promote learning. It’s also FUN!
First, a primer on what the messages ARE and what they are NOT.
Food and Fun messages ARE short, simple, positive, and motivational.
Example: “I’m glad to see you’re enjoying that fruit. It’s giving you healthy fiber and vitamins to grow and stay healthy.”
Food and Fun messages are NOT lectures, negative, guilt producing, or humiliating.
Example of a positive message: “It’s great to eat fruit every day because studies show that fiber can lower blood cholesterol and lower your risk of heart disease. Plus it’s low in calories so it can help you keep a healthy weight.”
The goal is to encourage kids to feel good about eating healthy and foster an interest in trying new foods. It is important to start developing healthy behaviors early in life to establish good healthy and physical activity habits for the future.
Part 1: Training Trainers

14. Food and Fun Afterschool Curriculum
Unit Themes:
Fruits and vegetables – Take a Bite! & Mix it up
Physical activity – Get Moving & Play Hard
Sugar-sweetened drinks – Be Sugar Smart
Healthy & unhealthy fats – Go for Good Fat
Whole grains – Go for Whole Grains
Healthy snacking – Super Snacks
Reduce TV viewing – Tune out TV
Keep hydrated with water – Be active, stay cool
As a reminder, the themes support the goals (or environmental standards) for nutrition and physical activity in out of school time programs. For example, they include serving water on the table every day, no sugary drinks or trans fats, eating whole grains, physical activity every day, vegetables and fruits every day, and no TV time (especially TV with advertising).
Part 1: Training Trainers

15. Guidelines Reflect Current Science
2005 Dietary Guidelines
2006 American Heart Association Guidelines
2006 USDA Food Guide Pyramid
2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
2010 White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report and Let’s Move Campaign
The messages in Food & Fun reflect the most up-to-date science in the field of nutrition and physical activity.
Part 1: Training Trainers

16. Part 1: Training Trainers
Vegetables and fruits
Environmental Standard
Serve a vegetable or fruit at every meal or snack
Why is it important?
Contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber that keep kids and adults healthy
Protect against heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, some cancers
Suggested strategy
Use taste tests to learn kids’ fruit and vegetable preferences
Food & Fun key messages
Go for Five! Eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables (combined) each day.
Try to eat a fruit or a vegetable with every meal and snack.
Just take a bite! Don’t be afraid to try a new fruit or vegetable – chances are you’ll like it.
Fruits and vegetables come in lots of colors. Try to eat as many different colors as you can.
Units 1 & Unit 7 focus on the importance of eating fruits and vegetables
Note to trainer: Read through each environmental standard, rationale, and key messages
Other key point: Serving fruit juice does not substitute for whole fruit because it does not contain fiber
Part 1: Training Trainers

17. Part 1: Training Trainers
Healthy beverages
Environmental Standard
Serve water every day
Why is it important?
Water is the best way to keep kids hydrated
It is calorie-free and almost cost free from the tap!
Suggested strategy
Serve water in a pitcher with cups at the snack table every day
Food & Fun key messages
Water is the best thirst quencher
Water and low fat milk are the best drinks to have at snacks and meals
Drink water when you are thirsty
Drink water instead of juice or soda at every snack and meal
Unit 10 focuses on the importance of drinking water instead of sugary drinks
Note to trainer: Read through each environmental standard, rationale, and key messages
Part 1: Training Trainers

18. Part 1: Training Trainers
Healthy beverages
Environmental Standard
Do not serve sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, sweetened teas, fruit punch, fruit drinks, and sports drinks
Why is it important?
Sugar-sweetened drinks are the top source of added sugar in kids’ diets
Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with obesity in children
They provide a lot of calories with little to no nutritional benefit
Suggested strategy
Offer water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages every day and create rules that restrict the use of vending machines or sugary drinks brought from home
Food & Fun key messages
Drinks like soda, fruit drinks and sports drinks are loaded with sugar
Eating and drinking too much sugar is not healthy for your body and it can cause cavities
Juice is not as healthy as it seems. It can have as much sugar as soda
Unit 3 focuses on the importance of cutting out sugary drinks
Note to trainer: Read through each environmental standard, rationale, and key messages
Part 1: Training Trainers

19. Focus on healthy dietary fats
Environmental Standard
Do not serve foods with trans fats
Why is it important?
Trans fats have many harmful effects on the body and no health benefits
They are commonly found (and sometimes hidden) in packaged bakery products and deep fried foods
Suggested strategy
Read nutrition labels and avoid foods with the words “partially hydrogenated oil” on the ingredient list. They mean the food contains trans fats.
Food & Fun key messages
You need to eat fat to keep your body healthy, but not all fats are the same.
Fats from fish, nuts, and seeds area healthy for your body.
Limit fats from animal sources like butter, whole milk, and red meat.
Do not eat trans fats found in fast food like French fries and baked goods like cookies.
Unit 4 focuses on the importance of understanding the difference between unhealthy and healthy fats and cutting out trans fats.
Note to trainer: Read through each environmental standard, rationale, and key messages
Part 1: Training Trainers

20. Part 1: Training Trainers
Whole grains
Environmental Standard
When serving grains (like bread, crackers, and cereals), serve whole grains
Why is it important?
Whole grains contain fiber, vitamins, and healthy fats
They can lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes
Whole grains help you feel full longer
Suggested strategy
Select bread, crackers, and cereals that list a whole grain at the first ingredient. Examples are whole wheat, barley, oats, and rye.
Food & Fun key messages
Whole grains are important because they help you feel full longer and make your body healthy.
Eat whole grains (like whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat crackers, and brown rice) instead of refined grains (like white bread, muffins, pasta, and white rice) whenever possible.
Unit 5 focuses on the importance of eating whole grains instead of refined grains whenever possible
Note to trainer: Read through each environmental standard, rationale, and key messages
Part 1: Training Trainers

21. Part 1: Training Trainers
Staying active
Environmental Standard
Provide all children with at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day
Offer 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity at least 3 days per week
Why is it important?
Kids 6-17 years old need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day
Regular physical activity is important for preventing chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoporosis
Suggested strategy
Schedule at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day
Food & Fun key messages
Moving your body is fun and helps your body be healthy and strong
All types of activities like playing, dancing, and sports are good for you
Do something active every day
Doing activities that make you sweat and breathe hard will make you strong and keep your bones and heart healthy
Unit 2 and Unit 9 focus on the importance of being physically active
Note to trainer: Read through each environmental standard, rationale, and key messages
Also for vigorous: Children should participate in vigorous physical activity that makes them sweat and breathe hard on at least 3 days per week
• Playing hard is fun when it’s something you like to do.
• Do an activity that makes you sweat or breathe hard at least 3 times per week.
Part 1: Training Trainers

22. Part 1: Training Trainers
Staying active
Environmental Standard
Eliminate broadcast and cable TV and movies
Limit computer time to less than 1 hour each day
Why is it important?
Kids should spend no more than 2 hours each day watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the internet.
Screentime can lead to overeating, less physical activity, and overweight
TV watching may influence kids to make unhealthy food choices because they see a lot of ads for foods that are high in sugars and calories
Suggested strategy
Try new indoor active games or an arts and crafts project if weather limits outdoor play time
Food & Fun key messages
Moving your body keeps you fit
Do something active instead of watching TV, playing video games, or spending time on the computer
Unit 8 focuses on the importance of cutting down on time in front of the TV, video games and the computer.
Note to trainer: Read through each environmental standard, rationale, and key messages
Part 1: Training Trainers

23. Getting Started at your Program
Variety of ways to teach staff about Food & Fun
In person or telephone training with PowerPoint slides
Food & Fun Facilitator's Guide for an interactive 2 hour group training
Strategies to continue to build staff awareness & enthusiasm
Post the Healthy Places Healthy Kids poster on your program bulletin board
Make copies of your favorite units and activities
Distribute parent info flyers to program staff and families
Review the Key Messages for Staff found at the beginning of each unit during monthly meetings
You’ve completed this training, now it’s time to take this information back to your program
Note to trainer: Read to the way to teach staff
Discussion questions on how to get started in programs:
How will you introduce site staff to Food and Fun?
-Slides? Facilitator’s Guide?
How will site staff use the materials?
How will you continue to train and coach staff?
Best unit/healthy messages to start with?
Part 1: Training Trainers

24. Getting Started at your Program
Training resources
Where to find them
Train the trainer slides
Right here!
About Guide
Front of the curriculum
Environmental Standards for Nutrition and Physical Activity in Out-of-School Time Programs
Key Messages for Staff
Page 4 of each unit
Food & Fun Facilitator’s Guide
Getting Staff on Board
Healthy Places Health Kids poster
New materials in Food & Fun 2nd edition are based on feedback from past Food & Fun users and research on training best practices. They are available online.
Part 1: Training Trainers

25. Part 1: Training Trainers
Your Assignment . . .
Provide an initial training to your staff
Try out the curriculum at your programs
Note to trainer: Read bullets and add any other tasks for your trainees to this slide.
Part 1: Training Trainers

26. Part 1: Training Trainers
Come visit us!
For more information on nutrition and physical activity visit the Harvard Prevention Research Center Web site.
The next call will be
Part 1: Training Trainers