My name is Anne Gross, and I will be teaching your sixth grade kids about nutrition and healthy eating habits starting this April in all PE classes. This program will be once a week for 6 sessions and is funded by Oregon State University Extension and SNAP-ED. I work for their office right here in Josephine County. If you have any questions you can reach me at: anne.gross@oregonstate.edu.

The curriculum I am using is called Exercise Your Options and it is designed to help middle school students make healthier food and physical-activity choices on a daily basis. This program is skills-based to help students apply problem-solving, reasoning and critical-thinking skills as it applies to personal responsibilities in their lives. We will be learning about the food groups, the importance of eating breakfast, external influences on food choices, food label reading and so much more.

It would be ideal if we could partner together to produce greater results. Some of the ways you could do this are by:

Asking your child what they learned about in Nutrition Ed

Exploring healthy food choices together in your kitchen or grocery store

Offering of healthy snacks/foods in your kitchens

Eating a variety of vegetables & fruits every day

Eating more whole grains, such as oatmeal, brown rice, & whole-grain bread

Limiting sugary drinks such as soda, sports drinks and fruit-flavored drinks

When you make healthy eating a family affair, everyone benefits. There are some great web sites available to help with information, tips and recipes. Some of these are: FoodHero.org; ChooseMyPlate.gov; eatright.org; and kidseatright.org.

Happy Eating!

Anne Gross
Nutrition Education Program Assistant

Extension Family and Community Health
Josephine County Extension

215 Ringuette Street, Grants Pass, OR 97527

Email: anne.gross@oregonstate.edu

Tel.: 541-476-6613 Fax: 541-955-9118