Wellness Policy Introduction

On July 1st, 2006 a new federal law (PL 108.265 section 204) goes into effect. This new law, which is referred to as the “Local Wellness Policy,” requires that schools and classrooms develop a wellness plan for children aimed at reducing childhood obesity. The Local Wellness Policy requires the involvement of parents, teachers, and the community to help develop a policy for each school or classroom. At the National Head Start Association we are concerned about the alarming trends in childhood obesity and poor nutrition and are dedicated to helping Head Start classrooms meet the requirements of this new Local Wellness Policy.

Local Wellness Policy Fundamentals

To read more about the Local Wellness Policy, click here.  

Or, go to this government web site: http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Healthy/wellnesspolicy.html

As you can see, some of the Local Wellness Policy requirements deal with the foods being provided to students everyday. Other requirements more directly affect student learning as goals for “nutrition education”, “physical activity”, and “school wellness” are also included within this policy.

Nutrition Education Component

The NHSA is anxious to help Head Start classrooms meet requirements aimed at promoting children’s health. To assist you we have developed, with our partner HighReach Learning (http://www.highreach.com), a full six-week “good nutrition” curriculum aimed at preschool children, that will fulfill the nutrition education requirement. This curriculum provides great value at a reasonable cost, and it fulfills the nutrition education requirement. For only $69.99 per classroom, the NHSA Food, Fitness & Fun curriculum will provide you with:

  • 21 Good Food and Play Make a Balanced Day-Junior Student CDs - Each child in your classroom receives his/her very own copy of this wonderful interactive CD which reinforces concepts from the daily curriculum activities. Children can use their CD during classroom computer center time or take them home to share with parents, siblings, and friends.This CD is entirely self-directed and is aligned with classroom activities and the parent/child learning activities (these CDs retail at $9.95 when sold individually).

Sample of interactive games from the Good Food and Play Make a Balanced Day-Junior Student CD

  • Learning Extension Resource CD-ROM - Contains activities that children can complete with their parents at home and provides additional classroom resources. All resources are in PDF format for easy printing/downloading.

 

Physical Activity Component

There are many things that a classroom can do to meet the physical activity component. Organized walks, additional physical activity time, a stretching program during school time are just a few of the easy ideas that can be used to create a physical activity component. The basic intent of the policy is to help children better understand why physical activity is important for them and/or to get them involved in physical activity more consistently.

Other School-based Activities Component

There are many things that a classroom can do to meet the school-based activity component, like developing a policy for the kinds of treats parents or children can bring for classroom events. The basic intent of this requirement is to help classrooms communicate the wellness message to both children and their parents, and to make sure that classrooms are also concerned about children’s wellness.
 

How to Order

To order online with a credit card, click here.

To order my mail, click here.