- About
- Environmental Standards
- Getting Other Staff on Board
- Articles, Emails, and Handouts
- Unit 1: Fruits and Vegetables
- Unit 2: Get Moving
- Unit 3: Be Sugar Smart
- Unit 4: Go for Good Fat
- Unit 5: Go for Whole Grains
- Unit 6: Super Snacks
- Unit 7: Fruits and Veggies Mix it Up
- Unit 8: Tune Out TV
- Unit 9: Play Hard
- Unit 10: Hydration
- Unit 11: Finale
- Recipe Packet
- Complete Curriculum
Connect With Parents!
Key Messages for Parents
- The type of fats in the foods you eat is more important than the total amount.
- Include "good for you" fats found in fish and plant sources like vegetable oils (such as olive and canola), nuts, and seeds.
- Limit saturated fats found in butter, whole milk, and red meat.
- Avoid trans fats found in fast food, packaged baked goods like cookies and muffins, stick margarine, and any food with "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" or "shortening" in the ingredients list.
Parent Communication Options
It is important to engage parents on a regular basis in a variety of ways. Here are some ways that you can engage parents at afterschool:
- Have a conversation with parents at pick up
- Create a bulletin board with the key messages from each Food & Fun unit
- Involve parents in daily physical activities and snack time
- Hold regularly scheduled events each month
- Hand-out the "Choosing Healthy Fats" section on page 7 of Food, Fun & Family to share with parents how to read a label to look for trans fats!
- Offer healthy trans fat free snacks at pick-up! Serve trans fat free whole grain crackers or popcorn at pick-up time for parents to try out with their kids. Display a box of crackers or popcorn with trans fat and show parents how to find trans fat on the nutrition label.
Refer to the Parent Communications document, Newsletter Article, and Parent Handout to reinforce the messages in this unit of Food & Fun. All three are available in Spanish and English, and the Handout is available in Chinese.
- Parent Communications: Ideas for parent engagement, as well as a newsletter, "Go For Healthy Fats!" and email message, "Healthy Habits Power Tips: Fats in foods" to distribute to parents.
- Newsletter Article: The formatted version of the parent Newsletter
- Parent Handout: "Dietary Fats: The good, the bad, and the ugly". Send this handout home in a mailing, insert it into your next newsletter, or have copies available for pick up at your program's sign-out area.