“The mission of the ‘Hop Home to Friendship’ campaign and the mission of Healthy Kids Challenge are so similar that it made perfect sense for the two of us to team up to promote a healthy diet and increased outdoor activity among children.”
HEALTHY CLASSROOM IDEAS
(The “3-a-Day of Dairy” Message)

Imagine a body without bones! Did you know your body has 206 bones that are alive and growing? The calcium found in most dairy foods helps build strong bones. Most dairy products also provide protein to help build fit bodies!

Here are a few bare bones facts:

  • Calcium builds healthy bones!
  • 99% of total body calcium is found in your bones.
  • Bones grow rapidly during the teen years and are at their strongest around age 30. A gradual loss of bone strength occurs as we age.
  • Activity that causes our bones to bear weight (like running or hopping) increases the amount of calcium our bones absorb.
 

You can also have fun by integrating healthy eating
messages and physical activity with other subjects!

 
Activity 1 – SPELLING SKILLS
Ask kids to:
1. Fill in the blank to discover foods high in calcium:
            _ _ l k                 c _ t _ a _ e c h _ e _ e
          c _ e _ s _          calcium fortified _ r a _ g _ j u _ c_ _
          y _ _ u _ t           b _ o c _ o l _
  (answers: milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, calcium fortified orange juice, broccoli)
2. Identify the food groups in which the foods are found.
3. Practice spelling the words and simultaneously do a physical activity:
  • Pass out alphabet flashcards, using the letters of the high calcium foods. Make sure all kids have at least 1 letter. (It’s okay if some kids have the same letter)
  •  Call out a letter and have kids holding that letter stand up and do a little movement (like a hop). Then have ALL the kids stand up—call out the letter and repeat the physical movement. After all the letters in the word have been called out, have the all the kids stand up and spell the word.
  
Activity 2 – MATH SKILLS

Question: How many gallons of water does a cow need to drink to produce a gallon of milk?
Fact: A cow needs 2 gallons of water for each gallon of milk produced.
Question: How many gallons of milk does an average cow produce each day?
Fact: A cow produces about 8 gallons of milk every day.
Given the first two facts, ask kids to do the math:
  • How many gallons of water must a cow drink each day to produce 8 gallons of milk?
  • If there are 128 ounces in a gallon, how many 8 ounce glasses of milk are in one gallon and how many 8 ounce servings does an average cow produce each day?


Have parents join in the fun by taking the “3-a-Day Challenge”!

A combination of good calcium intake and weight bearing physical activities like walking, running, hopping or push-ups, (or sports that include running or walking like basketball, tennis, or soccer) help kids and adults build and maintain strong bones.

 
Try the following to check your calcium intake and activity levels and see how you are moooovin’ up to reach your calcium and healthy bone goals.
  1. For 3 days, record the number of servings of high calcium foods you eat. Also record how many minutes you spend each day engaged in physical activity.
  2. At the end of 3 days, check to see if you are meeting your healthy bone goals below. If you are not, create a plan to get there!
Use the following guidelines to determine your healthy goals:
  • Before age 9: 2 to 3 daily servings from the Milk and Dairy Group (or calcium equivalents) and at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity
  • Age 9-18: 4 daily servings from the Milk and Dairy Group (or calcium equivalents) and at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity

 

Day My Intake of Higher Calcium Foods
Total
Servings
 Total Minutes of Physical Activity
Day 1 1 c. milk ____servings                             1 c. yogurt ___servings
1 ½ oz. cheese ___servings                     3 c. broccoli___servings
1 c. calcium fortified juice ___ servings
Other higher calcium foods and beverages ___servings 		   
Day 2 1 c. milk ____servings                             1 c. yogurt ___servings
1 ½ oz. cheese ___servings                     3 c. broccoli___servings
1 c. calcium fortified juice ___ servings
Other higher calcium foods and beverages ___servings 		   
Day 3 1 c. milk ____servings                             1 c. yogurt ___servings
1 ½ oz. cheese ___servings                     3 c. broccoli___servings
1 c. calcium fortified juice ___ servings
Other higher calcium foods and beverages ___servings 		   

Ideas I can think of to add more calcium to my daily diet:
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Write your calcium and physical activity goals below.
Write the goals that work best for you. Two goal ideas you might think about are: I will try one new high calcium food or beverage this week and I will have 20 more minutes of activity by dribbling and shooting basketballs at least 2 days this week.
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