Kiwi Kids go Online for Good Kai and Good Fun
Collaborative social media sites like Facebook are the inspiration behind a ground breaking interactive, teaching programme encouraging Kiwi kids to eat well and enjoy an active lifestyle.
The ‘Be Healthy, Be Active – Kia Ora, Kia Korikori ‘ teaching resource was launched on Wednesday, 2 November at Wellington’s Evans Bay Intermediate.
The programme includes specially designed online games and interactive resources. These resources allow kids to have fun as they work in groups, and on their own, to learn about new foods, experiment with menu plans and consider how different types of exercise can put them on track for a lifetime of healthy choices. .
“Students in the 21st century are multitasking, digital natives who will naturally gravitate to digital media. In order to engage them, we have to develop material that has some kind of digital competent", Learning Media educational consultant Bill Gaynor says.
The programme’s resources include an interactive food plate called the 'Fuel Up Challenge', a Teachers' Resource book, Read and Respond cards to promote inquiry and discussion, a ‘Useful Tips’ booklet for students to take home, and a personalised online journal for each student.
The online component leverages popular aspects of social media. Pupils can chose different skins on their site, and post messages on the wall
Bill Gaynor says the online journal is a particularly groundbreaking aspect of ‘Be Healthy, Be Active – Kia Ora, Kia Korikori ‘.
“The journal includes templates, activities and other forms of guidance for each individual student. They have their own password which they can access from home as well as school and the only other person to see it is their teacher who can look at students’ work in real time, post comments and give rewards,” he says.
The programme has been developed specifically for New Zealand children by Learning Media on behalf of the Millennium Institute of Sport & Health, The New Zealand Nutrition Foundation and Nestlé New Zealand. It will be distributed free of charge throughout the country, to all teachers of year 7 and 8 children.
The ‘Be Healthy, Be Active – Kia Ora, Kia Korikori ‘resource, has been funded by Nestlé NZ as part of its Global Healthy Kids Programme. It supports levels 3 and 4 of the New Zealand Curriculum Health and Physical Education learning area.
“Investing in the health and well- being of our young people is important to Nestlé and is part of our on-going commitment to New Zealand “ says Nestle NZ’s Manager, Corporate Services, Maurice Gunnell.
Chief Executive of the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation, Sue Pollard, says New Zealand parents want their children to enjoy healthy food choices, but with the huge variety of food choices available and conflicting nutrition messages from various sources, achieving this can be problematic.
“Helping children to understand these choices and arming them with the knowledge and skills to make good decisions – making the healthy food choice the ‘cool’ choice - has never been more important,” she says.
Mike Stanley, CEO of the Millennium Institute of Sport & Health, says that today’s top athletes would not perform at their best without making good choices in what they eat and drink.
“We want the kids of today to know that whether you‘re a serious athlete or just exercising for your well-being, what you eat can make a big difference to your performance and enjoyment of sport.”