Kids spend the majority of their time at school. This makes school the ideal environment in which children can forge healthy habits at a young age. Healthy habits that stress the importance of a balanced diet, foods from MyPlate, and physical activity set our children up for academic and lifelong success!

Vang Pao Elementary School teacher, Mrs. Garcia, spent a week dedicated to teaching her Transitional Kindergarten students about nutrition. During this week-long nutrition immersion, students enhanced their understanding of MyPlate by categorizing common foods into their respective food groups. 

Students further reinforced their knowledge by interacting with MyPlate. The UC CalFresh Nutrition Education program provided enrolled teachers (Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten teachers) with a child's MyPlate to encourage and enhance the nutrition education in the classroom.

Mrs. Garcia has her students organize foods into the correct food groups.

Students also showcase their artwork by creating MyPlate collages. 

Students can identify their favorite foods!

Moderation is key to a healthy lifestyle, so learning which foods are healthy or "anytime" versus "sometimes" is critical to making the best food choices.

What better way to teach important life skills such as...shopping, handling money (planning/selection, buying, and budgeting) than a TK Market, of course!

Students are encouraged to select and purchase healthy food items!

Beautiful work, Mrs. Garcia's TK class! Your hard work will inspire and help others to make healthy choices! Go all-stars! 

 Let's inspire future healthy all-stars! If you have a success story, share it with us by commenting below. We can also be reached on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.