1
Health and Wellness Project and Paper
Julie Brookshire
Liberty University
Prof. Scarani
DUC 215-D05
December 02, 2024
2
Health and Wellness Project and Paper
PART A: parent newsletter
Healthy Kids, Happy Lives: A Parent’s Guide to Health and Wellness
Dear Parents,
Early childhood is important for developing healthy, lifelong habits among children! We're
excited to bring you this month's newsletter, which is packed with simple, fun ways to help your
child grow strong and happy. We hope these activities will provide you with insights for
establishing routines that promote health at home and school as partners in this journey.
Why Focus on Health Now?
Healthy habits formed during childhood set the stage for healthy bodies, happy minds, and good
behaviors as children age. This newsletter, based on the National Association for the Education
of Young Children (NAEYC) standards, proposes family-friendly ideas around nutrition, active
play, emotional wellness, and safety to support the growth and development of all young kids
(NAEYC, 2022). Let’s get started!
Healthy Eating for Growing Bodies
Good nutrition is essential for your child’s physical and mental growth. Balanced meals filled
with colorful fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains provide energy and help children
concentrate and learn. Here are some easy ways to make healthy eating fun for kids:
3
Try These at Home (Home Activities)
Colorful plate game: Make eating fun again by encouraging your child to choose colorful
fruits and vegetables. Discuss the benefits of each color ("Carrots help us see better!"),
then count the colors on their plate.
Snack preparation fun: Allow children to help prepare simple snacks, such as vegetable
sticks, fruit slices, or yogurt parfaits. This will familiarize them with choices while
instilling pride in making healthy foods.
In the Classroom
Food Groups Fun: Teachers can present food pyramids or colorful charts, explaining food
groups and varietals of foods that create the balance necessary for good health. Visual
aids make food learning interesting!
School Garden Project: Growing a small vegetable garden is hands-on instruction for
children about food sources. It's also environmental learning and teamwork skills!
Helpful Resources for You
ChooseMyPlate.gov – It offers great ideas for meal planning and family-friendly recipes.
Good Enough to Eat by Lizzy Rockwell - A kid-friendly book that gives food and
nutrition basics in a fun way!
Figure 1: Image of food groups fun
4
(Freepik, 2024).
Let’s Get Moving! Physical Activity Ideas
Physical exercise promotes children's growth, gives them energy, and enables them to
concentrate better. It also helps strengthen the muscles and bones, improves coordination, and
maintains a healthy weight. Fun activities such as running, jumping, or dancing help develop
lifelong habits of good health. Active play contributes to physical health and mood elevation,
social skills, and resilience, the foundation on which overall wellness rests.
Fun Family Activities
Family fun run: Take a light jog together at the park or set up a simple obstacle course. To
make it more exciting, you can use cones, ropes, or anything else on hand. The goal? To
enjoy active time together.
Rainy day dance party: Indoor games like “Freeze Dance” or “Simon Says” are perfect
for keeping kids moving when you can’t go outside.
5
At School
Playtime with purpose: Teachers can set up group activities like relay races or balance
games that develop children’s motor skills and teach teamwork.
Mindful moves: Simple yoga poses and stretches teach body awareness and help children
manage stress—a great way to start or end the day!
Figure 2. Image showing mindful games for children
(Merrithew, 2019)
Check Out These Resources
GoNoodle.com - Find engaging movement videos for kids, perfect for rainy days.
Local recreation centers - Many offer affordable classes for young children in swimming,
gymnastics, or dance.
Supporting Emotional Wellness
Young children are beginning to understand and learn how to express their feelings. There are
many reasons to be intentional about emotional development. This helps children build
resilience, self-esteem, and healthy relationships. Having conversations and openly sharing
feelings helps set a strong foundation.
6
At-Home Activities for Emotional Health
Feelings flashcards: Use flashcards with different faces or expressions. Ask your child
how they feel and let them know which card matches. It helps children have emotional
awareness, feel their mood, and learn words related to their feelings.
Bedtime reflection: Ask your child what and how they feel about today. Ask what makes
them happy. Did anything happen that upset them? Ask them a few simple questions. It
will build up the child's ability to communicate and responsiveness towards the kid's
feelings.
Figure 3: Image displaying bedtime reflection
(StockCake, 2024).
In the Classroom
Feelings corner: This is a calm and cozy spot for children to process their feelings. Keep
the corner with soft toys, small storybooks, strips of paper, and drawing materials so they
can readily let go of their feelings.
Circle time sharing: All children get one chance every day to talk about their feelings in a
safe environment. They'll have the power to console each other and learn more about
different feelings.
7
Figure 4. Image showing a cozy feelings corner
(Day, 2019)
Resources for Parents
The Feelings Book' by Todd Parr - A fun-filled book that helps young children understand
emotions.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - A resource for family mental health support and
tips.
Safety and Hygiene – Small Habits, Big Impact!
Hygiene and safety knowledge learned by the children during their early years thus formed a
foundation for lifelong healthy behaviors. Simple routines like washing hands and essential
safety awareness significantly contribute to a child's wellbeing. The practice, therefore, enables
the kids to look after themselves by keeping them healthy.
At-Home Ideas
Handwashing Song: Sing a favorite song or make up a tune while washing hands. This
makes hand-washing fun; kids will wash for at least 20 seconds to scrub those germs
away!
8
Clean-Up Time: Give your child simple cleaning tasks to help them maintain tidiness within
their space. It can be as simple as picking up toys or wiping a small table to instill some sense
of responsibility and hygiene practices.
School Safety
Sanitizing Stations: In addition, hand sanitizer and tissues should be kept out of
inaccessible locations, allowing children to maintain cleanliness all day.
Safety Drills: These are mock drills for fire or any other emergency; they allow children
to learn how to keep themselves safe and composed in any situation.
Extra Resources
CDC’s Healthy Schools Program - Tips and resources for keeping kids safe and healthy at
school.
“Germs Are Not for Sharing” by Elizabeth Verdick - A kid-friendly book on hygiene.
Figure 5: Image exhibiting hygiene practices
(Verdick, 2020).
Why Home and School Partnership Matters
9
When families and schools work in partnership, then children are likely to experience
consistency in routines and messages about health and wellness. Since we integrate these
activities and resources within homes and classrooms, we provide children with opportunities to
develop and learn within conducive, nurturing environments. Through this approach, NAEYC
Standard 5 incorporates health and wellness into children's daily life routines.
Thank you for being an engaged participant in your child's health. These small steps are building
blocks to a lifelong, healthy tomorrow. Let's continue in unison as we build on this bedrock of
wellness for all our little learners!
10
References
Day, N. (2019, September 23). How to Make the Ultimate Calming Corner - Self-Regulation. Raising an
Extraordinary Person. https://hes-extraordinary.com/calm-down-corner
Freepik. (2024). Food Groups Images - Free Download on Freepik. Freepik.
https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/food-groups
Merrithew. (2019). Mindful Movement Programming for Kids: 4 ways to incorporate play to
teach kids to move mindfully. Life Balance Pilates Dublin.
https://www.lifebalance.ie/mindful-movement-programming-for-kids-4-ways-to-
incorporate-play-to-teach-kids-to-move-mindfully
NAEYC. (2022). The 10 NAEYC Program Standards. National Association for the Education of
Young Children. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-naeyc-
program-standards
StockCake. (2024). Free Bedtime Reflection Images | Stockcake.com;
https://stockcake.com/s/bedtime-reflection
Verdick, E. (2020). Google Books. Google.co.ke.
https://www.google.co.ke/books/edition/Germs_Are_Not_for_Sharing/foxtiXwIq_QC?
hl=en&gbpv=0
11
PART B
Health and Wellness Project and Paper
Age Group
The target children in this project are between 3 and 5 years old, an age bracket when
critical development factors such as physical, cognitive, social, and emotional features are most
pronounced. Children in this age group tend to be impressionable; thus, it is considered very
crucial to instill in them patterns of behavior that would last a lifetime. Promoting health and
wellness in early childhood lays the foundation for determining future behaviors and academic
success (McLean et al., 2023). It is during these formative years that the basis for influencing the
later capabilities of children to learn, interact socially, and regulate their emotions is laid.
Topic
This project targets the health and wellness of children in their early ages. It focuses on
nutrition, physical activity, and emotional well-being. Such provisions are to ensure that the
children grow up with a balanced approach toward general child development in accordance with
NAEYC Standard 5. This work involves the promotion of children's health and nutrition while
providing a safe environment for learning, as described below. NAEYC, 2022. The paper offers
insights to enable families to foster healthy lifestyles in the best interests of children's well-being.
Explanation of Activities
This is a curriculum project for early childhood education in nutrition, physical activity,
and emotional well-being. The final project is a parent newsletter entitled "Healthy Kids, Happy
Lives: A Parent's Guide to Health and Wellness." Several activities are included to inspire and
engage the parent or caregiver in the health and wellness of their child. It first provides nutrition
12
tips. The newsletter is used to relay information on the planning of healthy meals and snacks,
ensuring that the diet taken by young children is well-balanced, as stated by Marotz (2023). For
example, simple recipes with all the necessary nutrients required by the body can be given out to
the parents in order for the children to get enough nutrition.
The newsletter also envelopes ideas about physical activity. Participating in regular
physical activity is essential for children's health and development. The newsletter gives ideas of
fun, age-appropriate exercises, and games parents can do with their children to encourage active
lifestyles (McLean et al., 2023). Research supports that physical activity has a positive influence
on the cognitive and emotional development of children.
Another item included in the newsletter is emotional awareness-based activities. The
newsletter also provides effective strategies to enhance emotional intelligence through
mindfulness and activities that can encourage emotional expression, as cited by McLean et al.
(2023). These activities will help children learn how to recognize and manage their feelings for
social and emotional competence.
The newsletter also includes health and hygiene practices. Hygiene information, like
washing hands, is mentioned as an enabler of hygiene. This is related because NAEYC requires
the protection of children from ailments for a safe learning atmosphere.
Application of NAEYC Standards
The activities outlined in the newsletter directly relate to NAEYC Standard 5, which
advocates for the health and nutrition of children while engaging families (NAEYC, 2022). It
acts as a connector between home and institutions for better collaboration and communication in
their relations and relations at large through the offer of ideas and tips to parents, Banghart et al.
(2021). Focus on nutrition, physical activity, and emotional well-being is congruent with the
13
NAEYC's dedication to the development of healthy environments and safety, considering respect
for diversity in needs.
The proposed Health and Wellness Project, in general, focuses on empowering families to
facilitate health and wellness among their children (Prusinski et al., 2023). Besides, the
newsletter will contribute to the comprehensive development of children aged 3 to 5 in terms of
nutrition, physical activity, and emotional awareness, and it will aim to help instill lifelong
healthy habits.
14
References
Banghart, P., Hill, Z., Guerra, G., Covington, D., & Tout, K. (2021). Supporting Families' Access
to Child Care and Early Education: A Descriptive Profile of States' Consumer Education
Websites. OPRE Research Report 2021-161. Administration for Children & Families.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED616310.pdf
Marotz, L. R. (2023). Health, Safety, and Nutrition for the Young Child (11th ed.). Cengage
Learning.
McLean, C., McIsaac, J. L. D., Mooney, O., Morris, S. B., & Turner, J. (2023). A scoping review
of quality in publicly funded programs in early childhood. Early Childhood Education
Journal, 51(7), 1267–1278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01372-9
NAEYC. (2022). The 10 NAEYC Program Standards. National Association for the Education of
Young Children. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-naeyc-
program-standards
Prusinski, E., Mahler, P. P., Collins, M., & Couch, H. (2023). Strengthening early childhood
education and care in a “Childcare Desert.”TEarly Childhood Education Journal,T51(7),
1317-1333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01375-6
