Healthy Lifestyle Resources

Healthy, sustainable schools create an environment where students can become active participants in their school, at home and in the community. These schools help students achieve their full academic potential as well as support them in developing lifelong healthy behaviors. A healthy lifestyle not only includes proper eating and exercise habits, it also includes spending time outdoors and in the community. This section will help you evaluate your school’s physical activity, nutrition and outdoor education programs, as well as other environmental initiatives, and start you thinking about how these programs could adapt to make your school a model for the entire community.

Action and Implementation

Schools qualifying to be a Green & Healthy School must meet the following requirements:

• School provides healthy food options to students and promotes active lifestyles
• Students spend time outdoors everyday, either through recess, PE class, classroom activities or extracurricular activities
• Health, nutrition and physical activity are a part of the curriculum in all grades
• Students set personal healthy lifestyle goals

The resources below can provide you with ideas on how to meet these requirements.

Health and Nutrition

These resources can help teachers, students and school staff learn about the importance of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. There are a variety of activities that can be conducted at the personal or school-wide level.

• Adventure to Fitness [exit DNR]
• CHANGE Curriculum [exit DNR]
• First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Campaign [exit DNR]
• Food Pyramid Resources [exit DNR]
• Getting Students Active through Safe Routes to School [exit DNR]
• Governor’s School Health Award [exit DNR]
• Movin’ and Munchin’ Schools (DPI) [exit DNR]
• National Action for Healthy Kids [exit DNR]
• REAP Farm to School Programs and Resources [exit DNR]
• School Nutrition Association [exit DNR]
• WI Team Nutrition (DPI) [exit DNR]
• Wisconsin Action for Healthy Kids [exit DNR]

Connecting Children with Nature

Over the past few years the idea of “Nature Deficit Disorder” and connecting children with the outdoors has come to the forefront. These websites can help you learn more about this topic and offer ideas for helping children connect to the natural world.

• Children & Nature Network [exit DNR]
• Get Outdoors Wisconsin
• Nature Net [exit DNR]
• Nature Rocks: Let’s Go Explore [exit DNR]
• National Wildlife Federation: Be Out There/Green Hour [exit DNR]
• No Child Left Inside [exit DNR]
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Let’s Go Outside! [exit DNR]
• Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition [exit DNR]

Nature in the Classroom

The following sites can help give you ideas for incorporating a variety of nature-based activities into your classroom.

• EEK! Environmental Education for Kids
• Food, Land & People (Science & Social Studies Curriculum) [exit DNR]
• LEAF Program [exit DNR]
• Toward a Sustainable Agriculture Curriculum [exit DNR]
• WI Project Learning Tree (PLT)
• WI Project WET
• WI Project WILD

Outdoor Activities

Getting outdoors is important for student of all ages. These websites will help give you ideas for outdoor activities, and they could also be molded into a community involvement activity.

• Cornell Garden-Based Learning [exit DNR]
• Gardening at School [exit DNR]
• Got Dirt? Gardening Initiative [exit DNR]
• Kid’s Gardening [exit DNR]
• Natural Classrooms & Playgrounds – Nature Explore [exit DNR]
• Outdoor Classrooms [exit DNR]