Health and Wellness

Just Be It! Healthy and Fit

Just Be It!

New Mexico Extension's Just Be It! Healthy and Fit Program -Reduces childhood obesity risk factors by implementing prevention techniques identified by World Health Organization (2003) - Provides nutrition education to students, teachers, and parents

  • Teaches students to make nutritious food choices like fruits and vegetables
  • Teaches students to choose appropriate serving sizes of food
  • Helps parents and teachers support healthy food choices for children
  • Promotes regular physical activity
  • Promotes healthy lifestyles for children and families

Includes: proven teaching strategies field trip workshops activities for the classroom informative worksheets & charts cooking activities & recipes best practices food safety comprehensive nutritional guidelines preventative health information

Learning Theory & Teaching Strategies

New Mexico Public Education Department Standards and Benchmarks, Social Learning Theory and Health Belief Model, and Tips for Safe Classroom Cooking.

Activities

  1. Food Safety Fight Bac Video Activity; Germ Detective; Soapy Solutions Hand washing Activity; Safely Separate - Cross contamination; Seeing is Believing; Store Foods Properly; Microwave Safety; Move It! Fitness Activity; Mini Kabobs Snack; Mini Quiz; Parent Newsletter

  2. Food Guide Pyramid Build a Healthy Diet; MyPyramid Basics; Food Nutrients, How Many Servings Do We Need?; MyPyramid Grocery Store; Make a Meal Relay; Paper Plate Pyramid; Make a Favorite Food Pyramid; Three Dimensional Pyramid; MyPyramid Matching Game; Parent Newsletter

  3. Power-Up with Exercise The Three Forms of Exercise; Safety, Warming up and Cooling Down; Pedometers, Logging Your Steps; Be Cool with Water Activity; Dance Pads; Start a Classroom Walking Club; Calories In, Calories Out; Parent Newsletter

  4. Grains - Whole or Not? Health and Nutrient Benefits; Label Detective, Breakfast Cereals; Where are the Carbs?; Fiber Experiment; Grain Obstacle Course; Grain Mini Quiz

  5. Milk Anyone? Health Benefits and Nutrients; Rate the Milk; What's on the Label?; The Merits of Milk; Bone-Up on Calcium; Yogurt Parfait Snack; Parent Newsletter; Milk Group Quiz

  6. Meat and Beans Group Health Benefits and Nutrients; Where's the Fat Activity; Don't Spill the Beans Activity; Muscle Chart; Stretch Band Strength Activity; Trail Mix Snack; Protein Word Search

  7. Vivacious Veggies Health Benefits and Nutrients; Stone Soup Story; Vary Your Veggies and Focus on Fruits; Steps to a Healthier You; Veggie Identification; Veggie Ad Campaign; Potato Races; Crunchy Vegetable Burrito Banditos

  8. Fabulous Fruits Fruit Fly Bingo; Comparing Labels; Applesauce Taste Test; Fruit Basket Upset; Fruit Leather

  9. Fast Food or Fat Food? Are There Any Good Fast Food Choices?; Fast Food Consumer Decision Making; Fat Facts, Compare Solid Fats to Oils; How to Calculate Percent Calories from Fat; Another Where's the Fat Activity; Eat, Move, Learn Activity; Parent Newsletter

  10. Diabetes Prevention Diabetes Prevention; About Type 2 Diabetes; How Diabetes Affects the Body; Diabetes Vocabulary Game

Programming taught by NMSU Los Alamos County Extension Home Economist Desaree Jimenez

To get your school involved in the Just Be It! Healthy & Fit Program, please contact the Los Alamos County Extension Service at 505-662-2656.