FACTSHEETS Food Fun and Reading Food Groups

Dear Parent/Guardian:
Your child is participating in Food, Fun, and Reading, a nutrition and reading program brought to your
child’s classroom by the Holmes County 4-H and Family & Consumer Science Extension Programs. Periodically, we will be sending home suggested recipes for you to try with your child and other fun activities such
as online games to promote fun learning. We hope that you will have fun exploring the food pyramid and
healthy eating habits with your child!
The story book we read today was The Whole Grain Choo Choo Train by Kathy Reeves, Mary
Stickney, Diane Bowden, and Rob Gelhardt. The lesson was on the importance of eating
foods from the Grains Group and on eating nutritious snacks. Today, we made easy pizza
snacks using whole wheat English muffins, pizza sauce, and cheese. Yum, yum!!
Young children need to eat 5 ounce equivalents of
food from the Grains Group daily. This will provide a good source of carbohydrates (starches),
which give us energy.
Children should choose several servings a day of
foods made from whole grains, like whole-grain
bread and whole-grain cereal. These include
bread, English muffins, rice, and pasta.
Choose low-fat, low-sugar products when you
can for children 2 years of age or older.
A one ounce equivalent is one slice of
bread, 1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta,
or 1 cup of dry cereal.
Please review the handouts that are brought home to reinforce the nutrition message. If you would like
more information on nutrition, please call the Holmes County Extension Service at (850) 547-1108.
Sincerely,
Niki Crawson
Niki Crawson,
Holmes County 4-H Youth Development
Extension Agent
Judy Corbus
Judy Corbus,
Family and Consumer Sciences
Extension Agent
“When we partner together, we all succeed!”
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research,
educational information, and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age,
handicap, or national origin. For information on obtaining other extension publication, contact your County Extension Service Office,
Florida Cooperative Extension Service/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences/University of Florida/Nick Place, Dean.
Blast Off Game
An interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rocket with
food and physical activity. “Fuel” tanks for each food group help students keep track of how
their choices fit into MyPyramid.
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/kids_game.html
Cheerios Playroom
Cheerios, the brand that parents have trusted for almost 60 years, is proud to bring you the
Cheerios Playroom, where you and your children can spend some quality time together playing
Internet games that are not only colorful and fun, but also educational.
http://www.cheerios.com/forFamilies/Cheeriosplayroom/cheeriosplayroom_home.aspx
Kansas Wheat—Amazing Wheat!
The site features recipes, games, quizzes and fact-based information about wheat and
other grains, enabling children to understand the grain life cycle from crop harvest to
health benefits.
http://www.wheatmania.com/general.asp?id=517
General Mills
This site features an entire community of cartoon characters, games, facts, and much
more, to help children learn healthy eating habits.
http://www.millsberry.com/
Adapted from the University of Vermont Extension Food, Fun, and Reading Curriculum, 5 th edition, 2006.
Revised by Niki Crawson, University of Florida IFAS Extension, 2012.
Dear Parent/Guardian:
Today’s Food, Fun, and Reading lesson was on the importance of eating fruits and vegetables with meals
and snacks. Our featured storybook was Green Beans, Potatoes, and Even Tomatoes: What is in the
Vegetables Group? by Brian P. Cleary.
Children should be eating 1 1/2 cups from the Fruit Group everyday. Fruits and fruit juices are important sources of Vitamins A, C, and potassium. They are low in fat and sodium.
Children should be eating 1 1/2 to 2 cups from the Vegetable Group each day. Vegetables provide
vitamins (such as Vitamins A and C), folate, and minerals.
When purchasing fruits and vegetables, select fresh fruit in season and check store specials. If using canned, drain off liquid and rinse under cold running water to remove sodium or sugar.
Children should eat citrus fruits, melons,
or berries everyday to get Vitamin C.
Choose dark-green vegetables such as broccoli
or spinach.
Children need to eat whole fruits often as they
higher in fiber than juice.
Choose starchy vegetables such as potatoes,
corn, and peas.
Try drinking 100% fruit juice to avoid added sugars. Teach children to read the
labels before choosing a drink.
Choose deep-yellow vegetables such
as carrots and sweet potatoes.
Please review the handouts that are brought home to reinforce the nutrition message. If you would like
more information on nutrition, please call the Holmes County Extension Service at (850) 547-1108.
Sincerely,
Niki Crawson
Judy Corbus
Niki Crawson,
Holmes County 4-H Youth Development
Extension Agent
Judy Corbus,
Family and Consumer Sciences
Extension Agent
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research,
educational information, and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age,
handicap, or national origin. For information on obtaining other extension publication, contact your County Extension Service Office,
Florida Cooperative Extension Service/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences/University of Florida/Nick Place, Dean.
Blast Off Game
An interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rocket with
food and physical activity. “Fuel” tanks for each food group help students keep track of how
their choices fit into MyPyramid.
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/kids_game.html
Nutrition Explorations
Whether you're grabbing breakfast before school or choosing a snack after sports
practice, make healthy choices with Nutrition Explorations!
http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids/activities-main.asp
Fresh For Kids
Welcome to the Fresh for Kids games page where you will find lots of Fruits
&Vegetables games!
http://www.freshforkids.com.au/games/games.html
Adapted from the University of Vermont Extension Food, Fun, and Reading Curriculum, 5 th edition, 2006.
Revised by Niki Crawson, University of Florida IFAS Extension, 2012.
Dear Parent/Guardian:
You can help your child try new foods and feel good about eating. Children form their eating
habits early in life. They need to learn to eat a variety of foods to grow and stay healthy.
During today’s nutrition lesson, students read Yogurt and Cheeses and Ice Cream That Pleases: What Is In The Milk Group? by Brian P. Cleary and learned about the Dairy Group. For a
science experiment and as a delicious treat, we made homemade ice cream in a bag, yummy!
Milk products are important because they provide protein, vitamins, and minerals. Milk, yogurt, and cheese are the best sources of calcium, which builds strong bones and teeth. Our
need for calcium never stops. Children should have 2 1/2 to 3 cups of milk per day.
Children should have 2 1/2 to 3 cups of milk
or milk products each day. For children two
years and older, milk and milk products should
be low fat or fat-free varieties.
If your child will not drink plain milk, chocolate milk is fine. It beats having them drink
soda, right?
Milk contains important
nutrients—calcium, protein, and Vitamin D.
Say what?? A cow must drink 2 gallons of water
to produce just 1 gallon of milk!!
Your teeth need calcium to grow and stay healthy. Young children
only have 20 teeth and adults have a full-set of 32!
Please review the handouts that are brought home to reinforce the nutrition message. If you would like
more information on nutrition, please call the Holmes County Extension Service at (850) 547-1108.
Sincerely,
Niki Crawson
Judy Corbus
Niki Crawson,
Holmes County 4-H Youth Development
Extension Agent
Judy Corbus,
Family and Consumer Sciences
Extension Agent
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research,
educational information, and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age,
handicap, or national origin. For information on obtaining other extension publication, contact your County Extension Service Office,
Florida Cooperative Extension Service/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences/University of Florida/Nick Place, Dean.
Blast Off Game
An interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rocket with
food and physical activity. “Fuel” tanks for each food group help students keep track of how
their choices fit into MyPyramid.
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/kids_game.html
Welcome to MooMilk.com, a fun and educational website about cows and milk
with facts, contests, games and recipes. Join the herd!
http://www.moomilk.com/
On this website, you can be a milk baby, drive a milk truck, or fill the milk glass. You choose
which fun game you want to try first!
http://www.gotmilk.com/fun/games.html
Here's the NEW, cool, interactive Fueled for Fun online game that reinforces the importance of choosing nutrientrich foods and beverages, like dairy foods, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Choosing from two delightful characters, Sophia or Billy, students mouse click on foods and beverages as their character hurries to get to school for a big
track event. The more nutrient-rich choices students make, the more fuel they earn and the faster their character will run
in the event.
http://www.familyfoodzone.com/sfs/fueledforfun.asp
Adapted from the University of Vermont Extension Food, Fun, and Reading Curriculum, 5 th edition, 2006.
Revised by Niki Crawson, University of Florida IFAS Extension, 2012.
Dear Parent/Guardian:
Today’s Food, Fun, and Reading lesson focused on the Protein Foods Group. Our featured storybook was On Top of Spaghetti by Paul Brett Johnson. This food group is important for protein, iron, and zinc, which promote growth. Children need to have 5 ounces of protein
foods (or the equivalent) daily.
All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of
this food group. It is a good idea to choose lean meats and poultry. Fish, nuts, and seeds contain
healthy oils, so choose these foods frequently.
Children should have 5 ounces
from the Protein Foods Group
each day.
Check the lunchmeat that you use for
your child’s sandwiches. Processed
lunchmeat such as ham and frankfurters
has added sodium. Too much salt intake is
unhealthy.
Sunflower seeds, almonds,
and hazelnuts are the richest sources of Vitamin E in
this food group.
Salmon, trout, and herring are
fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids,
essential for healthy nutrition.
Please review the handouts that are brought home to reinforce the nutrition message. If you would like
more information on nutrition, please call the Holmes County Extension Service at (850) 547-1108.
Sincerely,
Niki Crawson,
Niki Crawson,
Holmes County 4-H Youth Development
Extension Agent
Judy Corbus
Judy Corbus,
Family and Consumer Sciences
Extension Agent
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research,
educational information, and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age,
handicap, or national origin. For information on obtaining other extension publication, contact your County Extension Service Office,
Florida Cooperative Extension Service/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences/University of Florida/Nick Place, Dean.
Blast Off Game
An interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rocket with
food and physical activity. “Fuel” tanks for each food group help students keep track of how
their choices fit into MyPyramid.
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/kids_game.html
Find out how to take care of your body, eat healthy, and stay fit!
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/index.html
Adapted from the University of Vermont Extension Food, Fun, and Reading Curriculum, 5 th edition, 2006.
Revised by Niki Crawson, University of Florida IFAS Extension, 2012.
Dear Parent/Guardian:
Today’s Food, Fun, and Reading lesson was on the importance of physical exercise, encouraging children to get up and
move around. Our featured storybook was Get Up and Go! by Nancy Carlson. Being physically active helps children
build strong muscles and bones, have energy, maintain a healthy weight, and just feel good about themselves.
We would like to encourage your child to participate in fun, play activities that include physical exercise. Activities like
playing ball outside, going to the local park, jump roping, dancing to music, and bike riding are all good for the body.
Use fun physical activities as a reward for good behavior, like playing miniature golf or bowling.
Your child has now completed the entire series of Food, Fun, and Reading, a program including five nutrition/healthy
lifestyle and literacy lessons. We hope that you and your child have benefited from this program.
Children spend more than 3 hours a
day watching television.
Children and adolescents should get at
least 60 minutes of physical activity every day of the week.
Physical exercise helps your blood circulate in the body and
makes your heart and other organs strong.
Be sure to drink lots of water while you exercise and
after you are finished, especially in hot weather.
We hope you enjoyed this program brought to you by Holmes County 4-H and Holmes County Family and Consumer
Sciences. If you would like more information on nutrition or 4-H programming, please call the Holmes County Extension Service at (850) 547-1108.
Sincerely,
Niki Crawson
Judy Corbus
Niki Crawson,
Holmes County 4-H Youth Development
Extension Agent
Judy Corbus,
Family and Consumer Sciences
Extension Agent
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research,
educational information, and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age,
handicap, or national origin. For information on obtaining other extension publication, contact your County Extension Service Office,
Florida Cooperative Extension Service/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences/University of Florida/Nick Place, Dean.
Blast Off Game
An interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rocket with
food and physical activity. “Fuel” tanks for each food group help students keep track of how
their choices fit into MyPyramid.
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/kids_game.html
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Here's where you'll find games and activities to help you explore your health and the
human body.
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/closet/
Adapted from the University of Vermont Extension Food, Fun, and Reading Curriculum, 5 th edition, 2006.
Revised by Niki Crawson, University of Florida IFAS Extension, 2012.