Nutrition is important in all years of life. Not only do parent’s need to work on their children’s nutrition; these parents also need to worry about their own nutritional status. The concept of family nutrition is important in every family, but it is much harder for lower-income families to have the resources needed to have a proper nutritional diet. That being said, I recently found a nutrition cirrculum that focuses on just that.
The University of Missouri created The Family Nutrition Education Programs in order to bring the latest nutrition information to the lower-class families in Missouri. This program is made up so many different programs and lessons for all of the different situations a family can face. What’s great about this program that Missouri is that it has a curriculum is designed for specific age groups in the family as well as the family as a whole. Each set of lesson plans come with lessons for each week, activities and check lists for each of the programs the website has to offer. What I love about this website is the easy printable handouts that correlate with each lesson in each curriculum. That and the checklists with each of the objectives that the lessons are made for allow the educators to know exactly what is need in order for that target population to learn. From teen moms to adult moms, this website has it all.
One of the best examples of these programs is the Jump into Foods and Fitness curriculum. This particular program has eight different lessons and made for children in grades three through five. Since this education program mainly focuses on the kids, there are a lot of different fun activities that reinforce the lessons that are being taught to the kids in these groups. They are being able to practice what they learning in eating health during these programs with recipes to do during the class. The Whole Great Grains Mix is a wonderful mix of every food group and is made up of most of my favorites foods. The final aspect of this particular program has to do with the weekly letters sent home to the parents in order for them to incorporate these lessons in their daily lives. This is what I find so amazing about the programs that The University of Missouri created when it comes to trying to change behavior. They know that behavior cannot just change in the classroom but it has to be a part of each part of a child’s life.
The University of Missouri created Education Programs that focus of each family member with the different events that can happen in life whether that be pregnancy for women or even making healthy snacks for children. I recommend you all go look at this website and see all the education lessons they have to offer. This website is great for anyone who is trying to find a nutrition education curriculum for parents and children alike. The easy to comprehend lessons along with the specified activities for each lesson makes Family Nutrition Education Program easy for all to understand no matter their learning ability. Any educator looking for nutrition curriculum for any grade age should look no further.
http://extension.missouri.edu/fnep/teaching.htm