Upper Valley Healthy Eating Active Living Partnership

UV HEAL Toolkit for Early Care Providers

NAP SACC Training:

During winter/spring 2010, Upper Valley HEAL will offer three early care centers in the Lebanon-Mascoma region the opportunity to participate in a NAP SACC quality improvement process. NAP SACC is a reseach-tested approach to helping centers self-assess, plan, and make changes to improve their policies and practices related to nutrition and physical activity. NAP SACC services will be offered at no cost to participating centers, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center will offer small grants to participating centers to help them purchase supplies or equipment to help them meet their goals.

The Child Care Project

The Child Care Project at Dartmouth College offers ongoing training for providers. Several of their workshops each year focus on topics related to nutrition and physical activity in early care settings. Upcoming trainings include:

Bringing Movement Inside Training organized by the Child Care Project at Dartmouth; February 11, 2010
Cooperative Games for Preschoolers Training organized by the Child Care Project at Dartmouth; May 13, 2010

Upper Valley HEAL's 5210 Backpack Flyers

Each month UV HEAL publishes a colorful, fun flyer focused on how parents can help their kids eat smart and be active. We provide these flyers at no cost to Upper Valley early care providers to distribute to parents. Contact Maudi Silver-Mallemat (603) 653-3455 to take part in this easy-to-manage parent education activity.

Education Handouts from Trusted Sources:

There are many online sites that have published great 1+ page handouts for parents. Some excellent sites include www.letsgo.org, www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org, and www.healthynh.org. Below are samples of some of the flyers available. In choosing educational flyers, remember that UV HEAL and other groups in NH will be widely promoting the 5210 wellness message in coming years, so when possible, we encourage you to use materials that use or closely follow the 5210 approach.

More Peas, Please handout for parents of preschoolers with great tips
Eat Smart – Back to School!
Eat Smart – Family Dinners
Eat Smart – At the Grocery Store!
Eat Smart – On the Go!
Fruits and Veggies: More Matters (educational handout)
Three Steps to Eating More Fruits and Vegetables
How Many Fruits and Vegetables Do YOU Need?
Fruits and Veggies On The Go!

Professional Resources

Center on Media and Child Health, Children's Hospital Boston
Fruits and Veggies at the PreSchool (Information and activity ideas for providers)
Encourage Kids to Eat More Vegetables (Ideas for Making Fruits and Vegetables More Attractive for Kids)
5210 Goes to Child Care Manual (Materials to help early care and education providers think about how their programs address healthy eating and active living and suggestions for making their programs healthier environments for children.
Nutrition for the Preschooler including ideas and serving sizes.
UV HEAL Provider News. UV HEAL publishes a monthly news page for early care providers. If you would like to subscribe, contact maudi.j.silver-mallemat@hitchcock.org. Click on links below to view past early care news.