EatPlayGrow™:
Creative Activities for a Healthy Start
Training
What is We Can?
We Can! (Ways to Enhance
Children’s Activity & Nutrition)®
A health education program
developed by the NIH designed to
provide parents, caregivers and
communities the tools and strategies
they need to help children stay at a
healthy weight through:
 Eating right
 Moving more
 Reducing screen time
Children’s Museum of Manhattan
Over 35 years serving families in the
most diverse city in the world
375,000 visitors per year
20% of visitors are low income, head
start families and groups
A nationally recognized leader, CMOM
tours exhibitions and programs in
early childhood education,
creativity, culture and health
throughout the U.S. and in Canada
Experienced collaborator with public
and private partners
Research + Creativity = EatPlayGrow™
We Can! Parent Program
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Research on
nutrition, physical
activity, obesity
prevention
Behavior change
theories
Community
Engagement
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Art-making
Storytelling
Music
Age-appropriate
movement activities
Family Health Journal
8
What is EatPlayGrow™?
EatPlayGrow™
An early childhood health curriculum developed by the
Children’s Museum of Manhattan in partnership with the
National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) We Can! program
• Teaches positive messages
about health in fun and
engaging ways for the whole
family
• Designed to meet Pre-K and
Health Standards
• Uses art, literacy, math and
physical activities to teach
health content
EatPlayGrow™
Provides families
with information and
strategies to make
healthy choices.
What is EatPlayGrow™
all about?
EatPlayGrow™: The Eleven Lessons
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My Five Senses
Go Slow Whoa
Fabulous Fruits
Move to the Beat
Energy Balance
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I Love My Veggies
Perfect Portions
Dem Bones
Healthy Beverages
Smart Sleep
Family Meal
Each lesson takes
approximately 70
minutes
EPG: Lesson Structure
• Introduction and
Discussion
• Key Teaching Messages
• Art Activity
• Healthy Snack
• Story Time
• Physical Activity
• Parent Hand-Outs
Lesson #2
From the EPG Curriculum
Lesson #2
Go, Slow, and Whoa
A Walk Through Lesson # 2:
GO, SLOW, WHOA
EatPlayGrow™ :
Getting Started
GO, SLOW, WHOA: Introduction
The “Hello” Song will begin each lesson
Lyrics:
Hello everybody yes indeed, yes indeed, yes indeed
hello everybody yes, indeed we're so glad to see you!
Hello to (insert each child's name)
Short rhythmic songs are fun and
engaging for children and help
focus the class!
GO, SLOW, WHOA: Discussion
We use the concept of a stop light to explain how to think
about foods in three categories.
 GO Foods - lowest in fat,
sugar, and relatively low in
calories. Great anytime!
 SLOW Foods- higher in fat,
sugar and calories. Have
sometimes, at most a few
times a week.
 WHOA Foods - highest in
fat, sugar and calories. Have
once in a while, in small
portions.
Go/Slow/Whoa was originally adapted from
CATCH: Coordinated Approach to Child
Health, 4th Grade Curriculum, University of
California and Flaghouse, Inc., 2002.
GO, SLOW, WHOA: Key Teaching Messages
• Objective:
Learn the three food categories and how to identify foods
that are good choices for a healthy body
• Adult Message:
Increase family’s daily intake of “Go” food, while reducing
“SLOW” and “WHOA” food
• Pre-School Readiness Skills:
Learn to count, sort and, categorize
Go, Slow, and Whoa!
Lesson Video
http://vimeo.com/83615828
GO, SLOW, WHOA: Physical Activity
GO, SLOW, WHOA Movement Game
For GO foods, children
Directions:
run in place
Call out and show
For SLOW foods, children
an image of a GO,
walk in place
SLOW, or WHOA
For WHOA foods,
food.
children sit down/or stop
Cool Down Activities
• It’s important to add a
warm up and a cool down
to any physical activity.
• It’s also a great way to get
students focused and on
task.
GO, SLOW, WHOA: Art Activity
Stop Light Collage
Directions:
1. Make copies of the stop
light included in the lesson
plan.
2. Cut out food images included
in the Lesson plan.
3. Color in the stop light.
4. Go through each category one
at a time and have students
glue them to their
corresponding light.
A Go, Slow, Whoa Traffic light made by a
Head Start classroom in Brooklyn, NY
GO, SLOW, WHOA: Group Story Time
GO, SLOW, WHOA: Healthy Snack
• There is a
recommended
snack that
accompanies every
lesson.
• This lesson has two
GO Foods: orange
slices and whole
grain rice cakes!
GO, SLOW, WHOA: Parent Handouts
GO, SLOW, WHOA: At-Home Strategies
• Serve a piece of fruit instead of cookies
• Serve water and fat-free or low-fat milk
instead of sodas with sugar
• Remove WHOA and SLOW snacks from the
house and replace with GO choices
• Remember, if you eat sweets and snacks, eat
small amounts and only once in a while
How to Get Started
 First, download a copy of EatPlayGrow
FREE from www.cmom.org or NIH
 Order one (also free, while supplies
last) from the NHLBI Health Information
Center: 301-592-8573
 Think about the topics you’re
comfortable presenting, and don’t be
afraid to adapt the lessons to
accommodate your students’ needs
 Re-visit/Review.
First Book
First Book is partnering with CMOM
to provide low cost early childhood
health books through their website.
First Book: www.firstbook.org
EatPlayGrow Marketplace on First
Book:
http://www.fbmarketplace.org/top
ics/healthy-living/cmomeatplaygrow
Getting the Entire Family on Board
Changing a family’s lifestyle isn’t about convincing one parent to make a
change...it’s about the whole family making health a priority
Tips for the family “gatekeeper:”
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Make changes slowly
Talk individually to family members
that may be a barrier – What
approaches will they value for
improving diet and physical activity?
Think parent and family engagement
Be a role model, even if it’s hard
Hands On Activities
• Each group will be provided with a lesson and materials
• Each group will have the opportunity to go through each
lesson and do a portion of the lesson.
• Groups will report out and give an overview on the lesson
they were provided with to the rest of the group
Thanks for joining us!!
Help us make a difference in the
lives of our children & families!
Questions?