Nutrition and Physical Activity
Making healthy food choices and getting active are at the heart of the Poe Center’s Nutrition & Physical Activity programs.
Students learn about the five food groups using our gigantic magnetic food plate. The interactive nutrition kiosk demonstrates how to read a food label and the nutritional differences between food choices. Engaging activities make learning fun and memorable.
As a proud recipient of the SNAP-Ed grant, the Poe Center is able to provide intensive nutrition and physical activity programming to many low-income populations in North Carolina.
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Food Friends
Schedule this program for: Preschool,
We need food from every food group every day. Preschoolers will learn when to eat and what to eat through age-appropriate songs, rhymes, and pretend play. With Healthy Harry’s help, children identify colorful fruits and veggies and use “Poe pretend-food” to plan and safely prepare a balanced meal. Poe encourages preschoolers to try at least “just one bite” of new foods.
Program Length: 30 minutesMeets the following North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development Health and Physical Development (HPD) Goals:- Goal HPD-1: Children develop healthy eating habits HPD-1r, HPD-1s, HPD-1u, HPD-1v, HPD-1w
- Goal HPD-2: Children engage in active physical play indoors and outdoors HPD-2l, HPD-2m, HPD-2p
- Goal HPD-3: Children develop healthy sleeping habits HPD-3k
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Grow It, Try It, Like It
Schedule this program for: Preschool, Kindergarten,
Grow It, Try It, Like It is a garden-themed nutrition education series for preschoolers. The 7-session series introduces children to three fruits (peaches, strawberries, and cantaloupe), and three vegetables (spinach, sweet potatoes, and crookneck squash). The 30-minute sessions include tasting fruits and vegetables while incorporating physical activity, literacy, songs and nutrition education activities that introduce MyPlate. Promote learning at home with fun parent/child activities and family-sized recipes that give tips for cooking with children.
Program Length: 7 sessions, 30 minutes each -
Fitness Is Fun
Schedule this program for: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade,
The emphasis is on fun as participants learn about the activity pyramid and why being active is so important. An interactive game teaches kids how to pack a tasty yet nutritious lunch.
Program Length: 45 minutesMeets Essential Standards: -
Healthy Habits
Schedule this program for: Kindergarten, 1st Grade,
Are you ready for an adventure? Discover the importance of healthy habits, check out what foods belong on “MyPlate” and visit the Poe Cafeteria. Learn about the importance of physical activity and heart health during your expedition, too!
Program Length: 45 minutesMeets Essential Standards:- Kindergarten: K.NPA.1.1, 1.2, 1.3; K.NPA.2: 2.1, 2.2
- Grade 1: 1.NPA.1.1, 1.2; 1.NPA.2: 2.1, 2.2; 1.NPA.3: 3.1, 3.2
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PoeMANIA!
Schedule this program for: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, Adults,
Are you ready to “come on down” to participate in a fun-filled game show? Join our wacky hosts for a nutrition and physical activity themed, interactive and educational program. This program is designed for all ages. Groups of up to 200 can participate and FAMILIES can compete TOGETHER to reach the “Million Dollar” question. Please Note: This program is designed for large groups consisting of both youth and adults.
Ages: 5 and Up
Program Length: 1 hour -
Growing Healthy Kids
Schedule this program for: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade,
Growing Healthy Kids is a research-based curriculum from Oregon State University. Students learn about gardening, health, and plant biology while creating a paper, garden mural to be displayed at your school. Growing Healthy Kids lessons are fun and include music, physical activity, and a snack each lesson. This program is easily adjustable to fit into your schedule and can be offered for special education classes or as an afterschool program. Program Goals Include:
- Increase the students’ exposure to vegetables and fruits.
- Increase the students’ consumption of vegetables and fruits and model healthy food and lifestyle choices.
Program Length: 8-12 sessions, 60 minutes each -
Fantastic Foods
Schedule this program for: 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade,
Meet the Food Super Heroes! The Nutrient Super Six help familiarize students with what nutrients do for our body. Participants will also enjoy the interactive Poe “vending machine”, figuring out food labels, and understanding what the best choices are for “MyPlate".
Program Length: 45 minutesMeets Essential Standards: -
Play Hard, Stay Fit
Schedule this program for: 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade,
Is “play” physical activity? You bet! This session will examine the questions of “What is exercise?” and “What does it mean to be healthy?” Participants experience the correlation between nutrition and physical activity. They will discover their personal fitness likes and dislikes and the risks associated with poor health behaviors while learning how physical activity benefits every aspect of their lives.
Program Length: 45 minutesMeets Essential Standards: -
Menus, Muscles and More
Schedule this program for: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade,
Participants review “MyPlate” and participate in a practical restaurant activity that addresses hidden sources of fat. They also ride the exer-cycle as a practical application of how calories provide our bodies with energy.
Program Length: 45 minutesMeets Essential Standards: -
Wholesome Routines
Schedule this program for: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade,
Wholesome Routines is a comprehensive nutrition and physical activity education series. This program consists of 6 lessons with an overall goal of promoting healthy eating and physical activity. Through classroom lessons, games, skits and activities, participating students will learn to be healthy and fit...in a fun way! Lessons include developing healthy habits, reviewing MyPlate and nutrients, importance of physical activity and good hydration, learning to read food labels, and how to maintain a healthy body. This is a three-year series, which starts with third grade students and continues with them through fifth grade.
Program Length: 6 sessions, 45 to 60 minutes each -
FITT for Life
Schedule this program for: 4th Grade, 5th Grade,
You’ll feel great after experiencing this interactive program as we introduce the importance of regular physical activity. Participants will experience the benefits of exercise while exploring the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. This program introduces the different levels of exercise as well as the components of a good athlete. We encourage participants to make a lifelong commitment to their health.
Program Length: 60 minutesMeets Essential Standards: -
Food for Thought
Schedule this program for: 4th Grade, 5th Grade,
Have your students ever asked… Why do we need food? What is “MyPlate”? What are the different food groups, and do I need to eat foods from all of them? How does media influence food choices? Are all body types the same? Is dieting healthy? If you said yes to any of these questions, don’t give it a second thought; sign up for this program today. The session will answer each of these questions and more.
Program Length: 60 minutesMeets Essential Standards: -
Media Mythbusters
Schedule this program for: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade,
Media Mythbusters is a nutrition program that guides students through the harms of fad-diets and helps them understand how the media can influence food choices. Students will learn the signs of inaccurate versus accurate nutrition information, as well as food marketing tactics. By the end of this program, students will be able to analyze and decipher the media to understand its messages and have a greater knowledge of nutrition.
Program Length: 60 minutes Program type: VirtualMeets Essential Standards: -
Mission Nutrition
Schedule this program for: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade,
Mission Nutrition is an interactive and conversational program that explores the challenge of balancing food and physical activity. Activities are designed to help participants discover the importance of food labels and the barriers to healthy eating and the risk associated with over- and under-eating. Participants are also helped to understand messages in the media targeting teens, and how they affect their food choices.
Program Length: 60 minutesMeets Essential Standards: -
Strong and Balanced (Online Only)
Schedule this program for: 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, Adults,
This program is geared specifically for teens and young adults to provide tips for staying physically and emotionally balanced during stressful times...like quarantine.
Program Length: 30 - 45 minutes -
Wellness Works
Schedule this program for: 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade,
Wellness Works builds on participants’ knowledge of basic nutrition and physical activity. This program uses USDA guidelines to demonstrate how to plan healthy meal patterns. Participants will examine healthy eating habits that enhance good nutrition, analyze food labels, learn about normal growth during puberty, identify media and peer pressures that result in unhealthy weight control, and chronic diseases that can occur due to lack of physical activity or unhealthy eating habits.
Program Length: 60 minutesMeets Essential Standards: -
Healthy POEtential
Schedule this program for: Adults,
Is fast food a cheaper alternative to healthful eating? No!! Explore the evolution of serving sizes in America and learn how to feed your family healthfully and inexpensively. Healthy POEtential is an adult education program emphasizing the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. This one-hour interactive program covers nutrition and physical activity basics, the “MyPlate” food guide, decoding the Nutrition Facts label, how to get the most out of your food budget, and other related topics based on the group’s needs.
Program Length: Single 60 minute session -
Healthy POEtential Series
Schedule this program for: Adults,
Healthy POEtential is four-session family education series which promotes healthy habits to adults and their families. This informative and interactive program covers:
- Nutrition and physical activity basics.
- In depth discussion around food groups, reading food labels and portion sizes.
- How to get the most out of your food budget.
- A virtual "Grocery Store Tour".
Program Length: Four 60 minute sessions
