Ideas for Health and Wellness Night

[MHDNURSE]

I work in a school with K and 1st graders. Last Spring I hosted a Health and Wellness Night for our school. I had three different tables/displays set up. One was all about sugar and calories in various drinks, one was all about choosing healthy snacks, and one was about sugar content in typical snacks that kids eat. All of the snacks and drinks I discussed were ones which kids frequently brought into school. We also hosted a Zumba class and there were tables set up for the kids to do coloring pages, etc. The families LOVED the event and are asking me to do another one this coming Spring. I would like to still do the booths from last year, but also add three more this year. I definitely want one to focus on dental health, but am looking for ideas on the other two. If demographics help, my school is made up of the following:

250 K and 1st graders

75% Latino, 20% AA, 5% "other"

75% at or below Poverty Level

Urban school

Thanks for any ideas :)

[amoLucia]

Food allergies? Sensitivities?

I don't have allergies but I think about the times I use peanut oil for deep frying. I ASSUME that it could cause the same reactions as regular peanut allergies esp for extremely sensitive individuals.

Guess I need to do some research for my own edification

[shark_nurse14, BSN, RN]

Sunscreen!

[Eleven011]

Would one table be near a sink to do a handwashing demo?

[KeeperOfTheIceRN, ADN]

Illness prevention. This could go hand in hand with Dakota's suggestion of hand washing.

[BeckyESRN]

Hand washing is great idea! Maybe see if you local health department would join you for this event? If not, set up a booth about service offered through your health department or local rec. center? I've done a "when to stay home from school" board and one on vaccination schedule and where to obtain vaccines.

The healthy food/drink boards are a great idea and there's no doubt that you're making a difference!!!

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

Since you have a little time, you can collaborate with another resource such as poison control and they will often send you tons of free hand outs and information (at least my local one did the last time i contacted them :)) and it's often age appropriate

I have also worked with my local supermarket. We are lucky enough to have a dietician that is willing to come out to various events and work with civic groups like the scouts to do lessons. You could do something like simple healthy snacks to make with your child. You could probably even do that without the help of a store dietician (but i would probably go to pinterest or something for easy recipes then to the store to ask for donations)

You can reach out to your local FD or office of emergency management to collaborate on emergency preparedness. Not necessarily for the kids, but definitely for the parents.

[amoLucia]

Would one table be near a sink to do a handwashing demo?

Hey! What about those black light infection control 'germ' projects?

[MHDNURSE]

Awesome ideas! Keep 'em coming

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

What about a booth about "Staying Safe" in their neighborhoods? Kidshealth.org has some great ideas: Staying Safe

[KeeperOfTheIceRN, ADN]

Out of curiosity, is this something you decided to do on your own or did your admin ask you to do it? It actually sounds like fun! Now I kind of want to approach my admin about doing one at our school!

[halohg, RN]

Dental hygiene