In this time of confinement, Camp Fire Patuxent along with our partner are sharing information and activities that families and seniors can use to build community, engage in healthy living, and just plain have fun. It is designed for youth in grades k-9
• Safety and Health Habits--to foster positive decision-making about healthy and risky behaviors.
• Fitness Fun: to increase fitness through sp
orts, games, and other forms of physical activity.
• Healthy Eating--to provide information about nutrients, portion control, cooking, kitchen safety, and other aspects of good nutrition.
• Media and Messages--to encourage critical assessment of the ways in which health messages are communicated and the impact of the media on healthy attitudes and behaviors.
• Mind-Body Connections--to teach about stress management, body image, eating disorders, and other connections between mind and body.
• Healthy Family, Healthy Community--to support family health, community action, and advocacy in the community. The programs is designed around National Health Education Standards and outcomes and is age specific to each age group. The program is taught by nursing and public health students and interns as well as Camp Fire Staff. Our Second Program is Wise Kids. The Sajai Foundation has recently merged with Camp Fire and created this curriculum for youth. It is geared toward youth in grades k-5. Wise Kids - This 9-lesson program introduces the concept of energy balance and explores how it works through lessons about MyPlate, food labels, the importance of activity, and how nutrition and exercise benefit the body. Wise Kids Two -- The follow-on to Wise Kids, this 9-lesson program reinforces energy balance learning with more in-depth explorations of nutrition and activity concepts such as serving size, vitamins, and bones. Wise Kids Outdoors -- This stand-alone 20-lesson program explains the energy balance concept while encouraging children to explore the outdoors and to understand the way nature lives in balance. The Wise Kids programs provide lessons that are hands-on and involve physical activity to keep kids interested and having fun while learning valuable concepts. Anecdotal responses from agencies that have used Wise Kids indicate that the agencies think highly of the program, because it does what almost no other programming does: gives them a valuable educational tool that kids enjoy and that doesn’t require specialized teachers or extra materials. In addition, because budgets are limited or reduced and personnel is stretched, finding a turnkey resource which doesn’t require additional staff time to create, makes them more efficient and effective. Wise Kids follows a Learn-Do-Play format. Children receive workbooks that guide them through learning about a topic. They can read individually, in pairs, or as a group. Workbooks include fun games and activities that help the children practice making healthy choices. Group leaders are provided with 3-5 learning activity ideas so children can learn about the concept in a hands-on way. Leaders also receive 3-5 physical activity options to help the children stay physically active for 30 minutes. We suggest organizations cover each lesson twice for an hour at a time. Here is a very basic take on how we evaluate and measure:
Program Evaluation and Impact Goals:
We will collect program impact data for both children and the family to understand how healthy eating and physical activity attitudes, values, and behaviors change following program delivery. Research will be conducted through the Wise Kids Evaluation Tool to measure pre- to post- changes in children. A family survey will help assess transference of learning to the home. At least 60% of youth participants will understand the reduce-reuse-recycle and basic energy balance concepts. And, 60% will have positive perceptions about the outdoors, healthy eating, and physical activities.
2. 50% or more of youth participants will exhibit healthy behaviors in at least 3 of 6 measured areas such as physical activity, healthy eating, and outdoor involvement.
3. At least 75% of youth participants will want to learn more about the outdoors and/or healthy eating and physical activity.
4. Families will note positive changes in the home and/or their habits regarding eating and activity. Brief Program Overview and Rationale:
• Camp Fire 500 children ages 6-11 about healthy eating and physical activity in remote rural villages and one Anchorage based community center serving low income, high risk youth
• Many of our kids between 27% -40% children are overweight/obese.
• Wise Kids® has reached more than 21,000 children nationwide. It impacts children’s attitudes and behaviors toward healthy living including healthy snacking, breakfast consumption, increased physical activity, and screen-time reductions. Program Objectives:
• Increase healthy nutrition choices incidence and knowledge of energy balance principles with participating children.
• Ensure all participants have at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day of attendance in the program.
• Provide participating families with information about the energy balance concept, healthy eating ideas, and the importance of physical activity. Outcomes and how the program will produce those results
• Children will develop positive attitudes and values towards the energy balance concept, the difference between healthy and junk foods, the benefit of physical activity, and how to read important information on food labels.
• Weekly workbooks and activities help them understand concepts, offer hands-on practice, and reinforce choosing healthy behaviors.
• Community events and culturally relevant-foods-made-healthy recipes provide everyday application of concepts and foster support. Program Frequency and Duration
• The Wise Kids program follows a Learn-Do-Play format each session: 15 minutes of learning, 15 minutes of reinforcing learning activities, and 30 minutes of physical activity.
• Children are provided with individual workbooks for each lesson topic.
• Staff will lead children for 2-4 weeks, depending on each location, meeting a minimum of one hour each day.
• 15 hours of programming is the minimum with each site able to add hours if desired. Evaluation and Impact
• we will be reaching children living in poverty and surrounded by high risk factors for obesity with preventive education so they can form healthy habits at a young age
• A pre/post-test will be given to participating children. A final report will be provided to track children’s knowledge gains and improvements in attitudes and behaviors.
• A post-program parent survey will be used to gauge impact transferred to the home. Describe how nutrition topics will be incorporated into the program
• Nutrition topics are incorporated into each lesson through Energy In Challenges. These challenges provide children with a weekly goal that focuses on improving their nutrition habits.
• In addition, 4 of the 9 lessons are devoted to nutrition-related concepts: Energy Balance, MyPlate, Calories, and Food Labels.
• Children are provided with self-directed activities and group learning activities that reinforce nutrition concepts (e.g. MyPlate Bingo, Reading Labels). Describe how physical activity will be incorporated into the program
• Physical activity topics are incorporated into each lesson through Energy OUT Challenges. These provide children with a weekly goal focused on improving their physical activity habits.
• 5 of 9 weekly lessons are devoted to physical activity related concepts.
• Children are provided with self-directed and group learning activities that reinforce physical activity concepts (e.g. Tracking the number of steps using pedometers)
• At least 30 minutes of physical activity occurs each session. Childhood obesity is a national crisis, causing significant issues for the nation’s health, health care and insurance industries and government budgets. Prevention through education is critical. In the targeted areas for this project, childhood overweight and obesity levels are as high as 32%. More alarming, 19% of Latino children in Houston are considered obese, which is higher than the national averages. We know that these states also have large numbers of children in before- and afterschool care programs-together they have more than 500,000 K-12 children in such programs. The 2011 Minneapolis and Dallas Expansion Grant from the Northwestern Mutual Foundation showed very positive impact results with both children and adults. Pre- to Post-testing showed an 8% increase in a combined “healthy behaviors” score which measured behaviors such as fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity and screen time usage. A leader from Winnetka Elementary School in Dallas notes, “The biggest success was that all the kids who knew a little bit about being healthy and eating healthy learned more. Also kids who didn’t know got to learn about being healthy.” And, a parent from Minneapolis shared, “Wise Kids had a profound impact on how my son views food as well as exercise. He now actively makes healthier choices on his own…it has provided a mind set about food and exercise that he will carry with him throughout his life. For him, the key was teaching him at a young age.” The opportunity for afterschool programs to play a key role in health prevention is huge. We want to expand into other areas with strong partners to deliver preventive wellness education to children. As a result, we believe the children will build a stronger support network. Together we can create a healthier future. Results:
The Learning to Be Healthy in Afterschool Program will evaluate how quality health and wellness education affects children during afterschool programs. Findings will enable us to have a positive impact on participating children and to form the basis from which we hope to develop an Issue Brief that advocates wellness and outdoor education through afterschool programs on a national basis. In addition, we aim to better understand what information is carried home and how it impacts the family. We hope to achieve positive outcomes in three key areas:
1. Positive quantitative improvements by participating youth in at least 2 key factors linked to long-term healthy living behavior change; at least 70% satisfaction with the program and/or desire to learn more about wellness. Evaluation Method: Analyze pre- and post-program surveys
2. Positive feedback by at least 50% of participating centers. Evaluation Method: Analyze staff survey and qualitative stories
3. Positive feedback from the children’s families showing that content is reaching the home and parents are positive about their children’s experience. Evaluation Method: Analyze parent survey
By gathering research data which supports positive impact, we can teach children the basics of healthy living and advocate for additional support and funding for afterschool programs as a key resource in helping to extend the learning day. In addition, we can build best practices, create additional resources, and offer support for youth leaders in teaching children about healthy living.
