HEAL Resources for Childcare Providers

Healthy Eating

General

• Healthy Eating Booklist
• Food Allergies
• Nutrition Checklist
  • English
  • Spanish
• Colorado Fact Sheet on Fruits & Vegetables

Nutrition Activities for Children

• Grow it, try it, like it curriculum
• Food & Drink to Grow On
• Healthy Food Drive List
• Child Care Provider’s Guide to Helping Kids Eat Right & Stay Active

Feeding Behaviors

• Positive Child Feeding Messages
• Mealtime Comments to Encourage Preschoolers
• Making Mealtime Count
• Division of Responsibility in Feeding
  • English
  • Spanish
• Be a Healthy Role Model for Children
  • English
  • Spanish
• Alternatives to Food Rewards
• Ideas for Food-free Celebrations

Dietary Guidelines

• Health.gov dietary guidelines

Food Safety

• Food Safety Basics
• Dishwashers in Child Care

Breastfeeding

• Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Training Materials

Healthy Menus

• Fruits & Veggies for Better Health
• Cook’s Circle Cookbook
• Healthy Menu Planning
• Snack Ideas
• 15 Take-Along Preschool Lunches
• Parent-Provided Classroom Snacks
• Team nutrition order form

Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

• CACFP – State of Colorado
• USDA Nutrition & Wellness
• Team Nutrition

Active Living/Movement

Movement Ideas for Your Program

Activity Ideas

• Activities for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers (English)
• Actividades para los infantes, ninos pequenos, y preescolar (Spanish)
• Sesame Street We Have the Moves (English)
• Sesame Street A moverse! (Spanish)
• Active for Life Lesson Plans for Preschoolers (English only)
• 24 Easy to Use Activity Cards for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers (English only)

Outdoor Play and Nature Connection

• Young Children Benefit from Time Spent Outdoors
• Outdoor Play Guides
  • Guide to Outdoor Play for Infants and Toddlers (English)
  • Guia de Juego al aire libre con bebés y niños pequeños (Spanish)
• How to play outdoors in any weather
  • 15 Ways to Keep Kids Cool in the Summer
  • 15 Winter Outdoor Activities for Children

Screentime

• Screen Aware Early Childhood Action Kit in the Classroom

Policy

• Healthy Eating Sample Policy
• Colorado Child Care Model Breastfeeding Policy
• HEAL Policy for Child Care
• Let’s Go! Action Planning Toolkit for Child Care Programs
• Sample Parent Communication about Healthy Food & Beverage Policy

5210 General

• 5210 Provider Toolkit
  • Let’s Go Early Care & Education Tools
• HEAL in Child Care: Self-Assessment
• Let’s Go! Action Plan – Child Care
• CO HEAL in Child Care Toolkit
• Resources for Free Promotional Materials
• Food & Drink to Grow On
• Overweight & Obesity in Colorado
• Hidden Sugar Toolkit

Posters

• 5210 Make Every Day Count!
  • English
  • Spanish
• 5210 Every Day!

Training Opportunities Online

Maine Health – Let’s Go

• Eat Right, Grow Strong: Nutrition for Young Children
  Overview of what specific foods should be offered to young children along with how and why these foods should be offered. The goal of this module is to educate childcare providers on how they are helping to shape children’s eating behaviors, and how they can create an environment that promotes and supports healthy eating. (1 hour)
• Moving Children to Good Health: Physical Activity for Young Children
  Basics of physical activity for young children and the role body movement has in proper development. The goal of this module is to educate childcare providers on the gross motor recommendations for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, as well as the important role child care programs and their staff plays in helping children develop active lifestyles. (1 hour)

Courses are free. Complete post-lesson quiz for certificate.

Institute of Child Nutrition

• CARE Connection ‐ Serving Nutritious Foods in Child Care
  This course features key information for serving nutritious foods while in child care settings. (2 hours)
• CARE Connection ‐ Planning Cycle Menus in Child Care
  This course is designed to provide the end user with key practices for planning cycle menus for child care settings. (2 hours)\CARE Connection ‐ Step‐by‐step Menu Planning in Child Care – based on the Grab and Go Lesson: Step-by-Step Menu Planning from the CARE Connection resource for child care providers. Menu planning is an essential task child care providers can adopt to ensure children receive healthful meals that look and taste great. (4 hours)
• Nutrition 101 4th Ed.
  Basic foundation in nutrition, current dietary guidance, the importance of physical activity in health, and awareness of personal taste preferences and healthful food choices. (8 hours)

Create a user account and log in to register. Interactive online format with pre- and post-course quizzes. Download certificates after completing courses. Free courses.

Penn State Extension

• Better Kid Care On Demand Modules
  Offering over sixty 1 and 2-hour courses in a variety of topics, including: Childhood Obesity Prevention, Healthy Foods, Healthy Beverages, Physical Activity, Children Can Cook, Food Allergies, Food Safety, Outdoor Play, Family-Style Dining, Picky Eaters, Snack Time, etc. Options for Family Child Care. Some courses available in Spanish. (2 hours)

Course content is open. Course fee of $5/class required to take post assessment and receive certificate.

Child Care Aware

• From Food to Physical Activity
  Explore the importance of healthy eating, proper nutrition and physical activity in the early childhood setting. The strategies for minimizing the development of childhood obesity issues will be identified. In addition, the topics of responding to and accommodating food allergies in young children will be addressed. (4 hours)

Create a user account and log in to register. Course fee $35.