Camp Verde Community Library hosts a series of health education courses aimed at teaching young children healthy eating and exercise habits.

This class will be held every Thursday at 10:00am through March 2nd at storytime each week. The target age is 2 to 5 years old, but anyone can use it for free.

“The goal is to research a variety of healthy foods and identify opportunities to increase physical activity during non-school hours,” said Giovani Donaldson, community outreach assistant at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in Yavapai County. I’m here. The course also emphasizes learning proper hand washing.

The course plan incorporates learning through sensory stimulation. A week of lessons gives children the opportunity to eat different colored fruits and vegetables and associate them with colors and music. The aim is to show children the variety of healthy foods available and encourage them to make those food choices at an early age.

Teaching is very tactile, so it calls for children’s tactile senses. One lesson includes healthy food hidden in a brown paper bag. Children feel it and try to guess what it is.

The program also gives parents greater access to these resources. Fresh produce is expensive and often difficult to find in rural areas.

Children are taught the importance of physical activity and are encouraged to use stethoscopes to listen to their own heartbeats. “The first time you hear a heartbeat with a stethoscope, just looking at their faces is worth a million dollars,” Donaldson said. He excites children and makes them ask questions.

Donaldson stressed that good eating and exercise habits all start at home. “It’s very important to make wise choices at that age, because that’s when they explore and discern,” Donaldson said. Through this program, I want to share my experiences with my family so they can encourage healthy habits at home.”

For class details, please contact Geovani Donaldson at 928-554-8993 or gdonaldson1@arizona.edu.