An Association of County Children and Families Commissions
Investing in Nutrition and Physical Activity For Children Birth to 5
First 5 San Benito has funded the Department of Health and Human Services for the Healthy Pathways for Children program which is focused on nutrition and recreational activities. Initially, the program was targeted at center-based preschool programs, but in 2006 the program was expanded to include private child care providers. Ellyn Satter’s research-based curriculum, “Feeding With Love and Good Sense,” is used as a basis for workshops. Research-based tools by Tout Tools such as the “Kitchen Center Kit” for children, and the ‘Kitchen Toolkit” for providers provide tools to teach manipulation, math, color, and shape, and are used in conjunction with books recommended by Nutrition on the Bookshelf from UC Davis. In addition, nutrition and recreation education has been provided by the SPARK Early Childhood Physical Activity curriculum, food demonstrations and a series of workshops for parents. They will also be incorporating the Nutrition on the Bookshelf into literacy nights as part of their their Pre-K and Family Literacy programs. First 5 San Benito has funded the Healthy Pathways program for $125,000/year for 3 years.