Childhood

Strategies for Childhood

Support the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies that promote nutrition and physical activity in Early Care and Education Systems.

Activity	Description
Empower Policy	Support Empower policy change at ECE, regional, and/or state levels.
Learning Collaborative	Participate in learning collaboratives, coalitions and councils to build communities of practice
Staff Development	Assist a program or facility to increase staff knowledge, abilities, skills, and improve practices.
ECE-Based Agriculture	Train partners to implement and sustain gardens and/or support local food procurement and implementation.
Nutrition & Feeding Practices	Support improvements in ECE nutrition practices & environments consistent with Empower Standards, including breastfeeding.
PA Environment	Support improvements in ECE PA environments & practices consistent with Empower Standards (e.g. painted playgrounds)
Community Coordination	Support ECEs to increase programs & resources that meet an identified need (e.g. food security resources - SNAP Outreach, backpack programs, food pantries)
Community Engagement	Engage residents in SNAP-Ed eligible communities in the process and planning using consulting, involving, and collaborating techniques.

School and Youth-Serving

Support the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies that promote nutrition and physical activity in schools and other youth-based systems.

Activity	Description
Policy Revision and Communication	Support written Local Wellness Policy (LWP) and/or Empower review, revision, dissemination & (two-way) communication with school stakeholders
Wellness Committees	Support District and School-Level school wellness committiees, including recruitment, formation and participation.
Staff Development	Provide school staff with Train the Trainer on evidence-based curricula and resources to support policy implementation and encourge students' healthy behaviors.
School/Youth-Based Agriculture	Train partners to impliment and sustain gardens and or support local food procurment and implimenation.
Nutrition Practices and Environment	Support improvements in nutrition practices and environments, including the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement (SLM), School Meal Programs and Out-of-School Time (OOST) consistant with Empower.
Physical Activity Practices and Environment	Support improvements in PA practices and environments by employing the tenents of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) eg: active transportation, active recess, adequate Physical Education opportunities, classroom brain breaks.)
Community Coordination	Support School and other youth-based programs and resources that meet an identified need eg: food security - SNAP Outreach, backpack programs and food pantries.
Community Engagement	Engage residents in SNAP-Ed eligible communities in the process and planning using consulting, involving and collaborating techniques.

Tools for Childhood

Displaying the most recent 10 of 60 total tools.
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Smarter Lunchrooms Movement (SLM) Tools and Resources

Posted on January 12, 2021

This intervention is designed to improve nutrition practices and environments in schools by creating lunchroom spaces that “nudge” students to make healthier meal choices through the use of behavioral economics. Included is the Smarter Lunchroom manual, promotional flyers and scorecard. You will also find a suite of Spanish language materials for your use. Please note that the files may need to be downloaded to your computer to be in a usable format.

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No Time to Train (NTTT)

Posted on January 12, 2021

No Time to Train (NTTT) is a Smarter Lunchrooms resource designed to train school nutrition staff on the use of behavioral economics to improve student choices in the cafeteria setting. Included is a set of training webinars, slide decks, and resources to use with school nutrition staff.

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Empower Self-Assessment Tool-ENG

Posted on April 18, 2019

This tool is used with sites participating in the Empower Program by Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Child Care Licensing and the Department of Economic Security contracted child care facilities (Family Child Care Homes).

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Empower Self-Assessment Tool-SPA

Posted on April 18, 2019

This tool is used with sites participating in the Empower Program by the Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Child Care Licensing and the Department of Economic Security contract child care facilities (Family Child Care Homes).

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Let's Play Arizona Recess Toolkit

Posted on August 22, 2018

When you think back to elementary school, recess is often a highlight of the day. Recess was a time to play with friends and socialize. Research shows that recess is more than just a break from classroom time — it helps students not only increase their daily physical activity promoting healthy growth and development, but also helps students practice social skills (e.g., cooperation, following rules, problem solving, negotiation, sharing, communication), positively engage in classroom activities (e.g., being on-task, not being disruptive), and enhance cognitive performance (e.g., attention, memory). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines the following benefits of recess for students:

• Increasing their level of physical activity.

• Improving their memory, attention, and concentration.

• Helping them stay on-task in the classroom.

• Reducing disruptive behavior in the classroom.

• Improving their social and emotional development (e.g.,

The evidence is clear - healthy, active students are ready to learn and contribute to a positive school climate.

Let's Play Arizona Recess Toolkit

Empower Basic Training Toolkit

Posted on April 30, 2018

This toolkit contains the materials necessary to plan and deliver an Empower Basic training. This toolkit should only be utilized after completion of an Empower Basic Train the Trainer session.

Note: Videos are included throughout the training presentation. Refer to the Facilitation Notes for indication when a video is meant to be played. Video files are included for download in the toolkit.

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Empower Advanced Training Toolkit

Posted on April 30, 2018

This toolkit contains the materials necessary to plan and deliver an Empower Advanced training. This toolkit should only be utilized after completion of an Empower AdvancedTrain the Trainer session.

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SLM Implementation Guide for Student Groups

Posted on April 17, 2018

This Guide (created by the AZ Health Zone Cooperative Extension - Nutritional Sciences) is meant to be used with student groups to give them an opportunity to provide schools with knowledge, motivation, and resources needed to build a lunchroom environment to make healthier choices.

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Empower Infographic

Posted on December 13, 2017

Use this infographic as a tool with providers, parents, and community partners to communicate how the Empower Standards may be implemented and how daily practices support each standard. Keep in mind that your work in the AzNN applies to the Empower Standards related to obesity prevention (1, 3, 4, 5, and 6).

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Strategies for Recess in Schools

Posted on December 13, 2017

This document, Strategies for Recess in Schools, describes strategies for planning and providing recess in schools to help increase participation in physical activity and improve academic achievement (e.g., performance, behavior, attention). The audiences for this document include state and school district leaders that provide technical assistance and professional development on recess

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