Presenter Notes for the Munch & Move Making it … · Presenter Notes for the Munch & Move Making...

Making it Happen Munch & Move staff development kit 2011

Presenter Notes for the Munch & Move Making it Happen Staff Development Kit

Slide 1: Making it Happen

Training Session 1 of 4

What to bring to the session:

o M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years o M&M Resource Manual - 3 to 5 years o M&M Resource Wallet o M&M Checklist and Action Plan

M&M Workshop – Attendee ‘Ideas’ Sheet/s – Completed by attendee/s during the

M&M Workshop. Use this sheet to generate discussion and inspire ideas for the

implementation of Munch and Move into the service.

Start off the session by sharing with your colleagues a little about the Munch and Move

training day you attended - for example, who presented the training, who attended, your

overall impression of the day.

Advise colleagues that during this session you will be sharing background information about

the Munch and Move program, as it is important that everyone at the service understands

why this program exists, why it is needed and why we need their assistance with its

implementation into the service.

Slide 2: What is Munch & Move

Using the above information, explain the background of Munch and Move – advising that

promoting healthy eating and active lifestyles, and preventing children from becoming

overweight, are high priorities for the NSW Government.

Munch and Move is not alone in promoting healthy eating and active play to children. Live

Life Well @ School (LLW@S) and Crunch and Sip are programs that are taking place in NSW

primary schools.

LLW@S is a two day professional development opportunity for teachers promoting a whole

of school approach to promoting healthy eating and physical activity to students from K-6.

Crunch and Sip is a fruit, vegetable and water break that happens in the classroom before

recess to model healthy snacking for children.


You can see from these programs that there is consistency in the messages that are being

promoted from early childhood through to upper primary school.

Slide 3: M&M supports key guidelines and standards

As highlighted in the training, Munch and Move supports and links to key early childhood

guidelines and standards. For example, Munch and Move reflects the following principles

from the Early Years Learning Framework:

A strong emphasis on play-based learning.

Recognises the importance of intentional teaching, where educators are deliberate,

purposeful and thoughtful in their decisions and actions to scaffold the children’s

existing knowledge and skills.

Supports EYLF learning outcomes 3 and 4 that include ‘children taking increasing

responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing’.

For more information refer to the Introduction of the M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3

years.

Slide 4: Why do we need M&M?

There has been a dramatic increase in childhood overweight and obesity over the past 20

years. Between 1985 and 2004 the percentage of children above the healthy weight range

doubled.

Research shows that young children in Australia are consuming excessive amounts of food

and drinks which are high in fat and added sugar, and are also spending increasing amounts

of time in sedentary small screen recreation. Nutrition and physical activity behaviours are

linked to the risk of obesity.

Highlight the current statistics relating to young children’s eating and activity habits as

shown on the slide.

Discussion

What is your reaction to these statistics?

What do you think are the factors contributing to these statistics?

Did you consider:

Working families - time poor.

Changes in parenting styles.

Limited spaces to play.

Concerns around neighbourhood safety.

Greater dependence on transportation by private car.


Prevalence and advancement in game consoles and computers.

Heavily marketed nutrient-poor foods.

We live in a fast-paced, complex world!

Slide 5: Early childhood has a role to play

The good news is the key risk factors for overweight and obesity are modifiable and the earlier we establish healthy lifestyle behaviours the better.

Early childhood services are ideal settings to promote appropriate healthy eating and physical activity habits to children, staff and families at a crucial stage in a child’s development.

We can make a difference!

Slide 6: Munch & Move

Munch and Move is based on positive, health promoting messages and strategies.

Munch and Move recognises that services are undertaking many positive practices to encourage healthy eating and physical activity in their settings. The Munch and Move program provides a framework to recognise, support and extend these current practices.

Slide 7: M&M key messages

The Munch and Move key messages are a result of research and statistics. They are also embedded within the ‘Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia’.

The key messages provide the perfect starting point for early childhood services to focus on when promoting children’s healthy eating and physical activity habits.

These key messages fit with the “Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings” reflected within the Commonwealth Government’s “Get Up & Grow” resources which are linked to the National Quality Framework.

Throughout the next two training sessions we will be exploring how these key messages can be fostered in the service.

Slide 8: Let’s explore the resources

NSW Health has developed a range of free resources that are given to all participating Munch and Move early childhood services. They include two resource manuals, a music CD and songbook, Fundamental Movement Skills lanyards and DVD, fact sheets for families, poster and related brochures.

All resources are based around the key messages and provide useful background information as well as practical ideas and learning experiences for integrating the key messages into the service.

Most of the resources can be ordered from the NSW Health Resource Distribution Unit – we were given an Order Form at the training. We can order bulk copies of the fact sheets to


give to our families. The four low-literacy versions of the fact sheets are also available in 10 different languages!

Locate

Allow time for staff to look through the resources shown on the slide. If possible, play a song from the music CD.

Slide 9: Getting the most out of M&M

There are four key areas we can focus on to get the most out of Munch and Move at our service and to ensure that changes we make are sustainable. They are listed on this slide and will be expanded on in the following slides.

Slide 10: Working together to plan and implement M&M

It is important that all staff play a part in ensuring the successful implementation of Munch and Move into the service. We need to work as a team and share the responsibility for making changes to our policies and practices in line with the Munch and Move key messages.

Slide 11: Integrating into curriculum

Munch and Move is not a program that sits out on its own – the idea is to integrate the Munch and Move key messages into the everyday curriculum so it becomes part of our everyday practices. Munch and Move provides lots of play-based learning experiences that relate to healthy eating and physical activity.

It was emphasised in the training that we can intentionally teach these learning experiences in both a spontaneous way and also as part of a more planned approach. We were also encouraged to team up learning experiences with related discussion.

Discussion

Ask colleagues to explore how the key message “Choose water as a drink” can be integrated into both ‘spontaneous’ and ‘planned’ learning experiences.

For example:

Spontaneous learning experience.

The water trough and a variety of sponges have been safely set up in the outdoor environment for the children to explore floating and sinking. The educator moving towards the trough observes 4 children engaged with the experience and also notices that there is not much water left in the trough. Picking up on this ‘teachable’ moment, she asks the children what happened to the water? How did the water disappear out of the trough when there are no buckets or containers to scoop it out with? The educator leads the children in an intentional conversation about the sponges ‘drinking’ up the water, just like our bodies drink water and the water disappears into our bodies.


Planned learning experience.

Linking to “Choose water as a drink” a gardening experience has been intentionally planned to water the existing plants in the service’s outdoor environment. During this planned gardening experience, as the educator and the children water the plants, the educator discusses with the children that plants get thirsty and need water to grow. Intentional links are made between the plants needing water the same as our bodies need water – we both get thirsty. The experience concludes with the children having a drink of water.

Slide 12: Role modelling

We need to remember that children learn through role modelling and while they are in our care we are their role models for healthy eating and physical activity. It is important to reflect on our own behaviours and ensure that we send the right messages to children.

It is not just what we do that counts but what we say and the attitude we display. For example, if we sit with the children and eat broccoli but show from our facial expression or our words that we do not like it then children will pick up on this. Similarly, if we supervise an active game without getting involved in the physical activity, then the children are likely to be less enthusiastic about the experience.

Reflection

Take a few moments to reflect on whether you are an ‘active’ role model for the children.

Do you tick all the boxes on this slide?

Slide 13: Sharing info with families

As it says on this slide, services need to work closely with families so they understand what the service is trying to promote and achieve through Munch and Move.

We need to develop secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships, not only with the children in our care but also with their families. That way we can encourage families to model the same messages and behaviours at home.

As we go through each of the Munch and Move key messages we need to be mindful of how we can communicate with families, involve them as much as possible and support them to change behaviours and practices at home.

Slide 14: Safety is paramount

We were reminded at the training day of the importance of considering safety throughout the implementation of Munch and Move into services.

There are a number of aspects of safety that relate to food provision as listed on the slide. You will find information on each of these in the M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3 years - with reference to further sources of information where required.

Both manuals provide information on the safety aspects of physical activity for children - including tips on how to keep children safe during physical activity and how to manage risks.


Slide 15: Where to from here?

Hopefully this first session has given you a feel for the Munch and Move program - a sense of why we need it and how we can work together to incorporate the Munch and Move key messages into our service.

There are three more Munch and Move sessions I would like to facilitate for you. The next one focuses on the ‘Munch’ key messages, the one after that focuses on the ‘Move’ key messages and the final session will help us to take the next steps to ‘Making it Happen’.

As we go through each of the key messages we will be looking at different ways services can incorporate these messages into their everyday practice. This will mean reflecting on our current practices and thinking about what else we can do. Once we have identified a range of practices that we want to extend or introduce, we will need to prioritise them and assign timelines and responsibilities. We will use the “Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan” to help us do this.

Throughout this process we will need to work together both as a staff group and as a broader community informing and involving our families along the way.

Just a reminder that we have the Munch and Move resources available to support, guide and inspire us along the way!

If we require help throughout this process we can also involve our local Health Service Munch and Move key contact who is willing and able to help us in a variety of ways.

Any questions or comments?

End of this training session


Slide 16 MUNCH



M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years – Refer to pages 9 to 54 M&M Resource Manual - 3 to 5 years – Refer to pages 6 to 38 Blue Resource Wallet M&M Checklist and Action Plan – You may need multiple copies of this tool depending on

the size of your staff and how you wish to undertake this process. M&M Workshop – Attendee ‘Ideas’ Sheet/s – Completed by attendee/s during the M&M

Workshop. Use this sheet to generate discussion and inspire ideas for the implementation of Munch and Move into the service.

In this session we will explore the key Munch messages. I will highlight the main points that were made in the training in relation to each key message. I will not be able to go through everything in detail so I would encourage you to take some time to look through the Munch sections of the manuals and become familiar with the content.

Slide 17: Munch overview

The Munch section of the workshop took us through the key aspects of encouraging children’s healthy eating – as listed on this slide.

We will be exploring each of these areas throughout this session.

Slide 18: What should children be eating

Before we look at each key Munch message in detail, we should familiarise ourselves with the “Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia”. These are listed on page 10 of the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years. (Allow a few minutes for colleagues to read through these Dietary Guidelines). These guidelines provide the foundation for developing a healthy eating pattern.

If you look on the next page (page 11) you will see “The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating’’ (AGHE) often referred to as the ‘healthy plate model’. This model has incorporated the Dietary Guidelines into a practical tool that shows the proportions of foods that should be consumed from each of the basic food groups.

The AGHE applies to children from 4 years of age to adults. All the foods positioned on the plate are ‘everyday’ foods that should make up the majority of our food intake. The foods positioned outside the plate in the bottom right hand corner are regarded as ‘sometimes’ food – they are foods high in sugar, fat or salt that have limited nutritional value and should only be consumed sometimes and in small amounts.

The terms ‘sometimes’ and ‘everyday’ foods are useful ones to use with young children when educating them about the types of foods our bodies need to grow, play and be healthy.


Slide 19: Healthy Eating guidelines

The 10 Healthy Eating Guidelines shown over this slide and the next slide were developed by child health professionals and early childhood professionals in collaboration with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. They are evidence-based and consistent with current thinking on early childhood development and the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Slide 20: Healthy Eating guidelines(cont)

These Guidelines are embedded within the “Get Up & Grow” resources which were produced in 2009. All of these guidelines fit well with the material covered in the Munch and Move resource manuals.

Slide 21: Keeping mealtimes positive

There are a number of ways that early childhood services can foster happy, positive and relaxed mealtimes that reduce stress levels (of children and staff) and help children to develop good eating habits.

Locate

Page 14 of the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years for more details on the above points.

Slide 22: Reinforce good eating habits

Meal and snack times provide a great opportunity to reinforce good eating habits with the children. One simple, yet effective way is to use positive language when discussing healthy food with children. As we know, actions speak louder than words, so do not forget to role model healthy eating and show children how you enjoy eating a wide variety of healthy food.

It is also important to avoid giving ‘sometimes’ food as rewards – this will only make these foods seem more desirable and special. The same is true for special occasions such as parties – try to avoid just having ‘sometimes’ food as the party food. Mix it up – children will enjoy fruit kebabs and mini fruit muffins as part of the party spread.

We also want to avoid sending the message to children that the dessert or second course is more desirable than the first course. Dessert for children in care should be healthy and based on fruit and/or dairy food – if we withhold dessert from a child who does not eat all of his first course, we are not allowing him to eat to his appetite. We are sending the message that the dessert is more desirable than the first course.

Reflection


Do our practices support children’s good eating habits and provide a positive mealtime environment?

Slide 23: The Munch key messages

Let’s remind ourselves of the four key Munch messages before looking at each of these in detail. (Messages shown on the slide)

Slide 24: Encourage and support breastfeeding

Please refer to the related section of the M&M Resource Manual for support information:

M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years – Locate this Key Message on Pages 23 to 33

The first key message we will look at is Encourage and support breastfeeding. This key message acknowledges that breastfeeding provides immediate and long term health benefits for mother and baby.

Locate

Take a few moments to read through the list of breastfeeding benefits listed on pages 23 to 24 of the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years.

Discussion

Are there any breastfeeding benefits that surprised you or that you were not aware of?

Slide 25: Early childhood’s role in supporting breastfeeding

Early childhood services play an important role in encouraging and supporting mothers who wish to continue breastfeeding when their babies come into our care. We firstly need to make sure mothers know they can combine work, childcare and breastfeeding. To do this, mothers need to know that the service:

is a “breastfeeding friendly” environment - providing a quiet suitable place for mums to breastfeed at the service.

has safe and appropriate procedures in place to handle EBM.

Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan

There are a number of ways a service can demonstrate that it encourages and supports breastfeeding. As a whole group (or in small groups) complete the checklist part of the Breastfeeding section of the Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan.

Allow adequate time for this process.


Slide 26: Infant formula

Although this is not the focus of the key message, it is important that services support families who are providing infant formula for their babies. The “Caring for Infants” booklet and the “Get Up & Grow: Staff and Carer Book” were recommended as reliable sources of information.

Slide 27: Introducing sloids

Under the breastfeeding key message we also covered information on the introduction of solids, as this is a very important transitional stage in a baby’s eating development.

Most babies are ready for solids at about six months of age. There are a number of reasons for introducing solids at about this time related to developmental milestones.

Locate

Turn to page 30 of the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years – read through the reasons for introducing solids to babies at approximately six months of age.

On the next page of the manual (page 31), you will see a list of “Hints when introducing solids” followed by advice on the first foods to try. Over the page there is a helpful guide on the type and consistency of food to introduce from around six months of age. This would be a useful table to photocopy and place on display in our service and as supportive information for families.

For families, there is a “Starting Family Foods” brochure that can be ordered in bulk from the Better Health Centre. A sample of this brochure is in the Blue Resource Wallet – circulate this brochure among colleagues.

Slide 28: Choose water as a drink

Please refer to the related sections of the M&M Resource Manuals for support information:

M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years - Locate this Key Message on Pages 34 to 38

M&M Resource Manual - 3 to 5 years – Locate this Key Message on Pages 12 to 22

The next key message is Choose water as a drink. While it is the obvious thirst quencher for children (and adults alike) water has to compete with a broad range of sweetened drinks that can tempt us away from drinking water. If children develop a ‘sweet palate’ early on they will always want juice or other sweetened drinks instead of water.

It is important that early childhood services make ‘drinking water’ the ‘norm’ – by having it readily available, involving children in learning experiences around water, encouraging families to pack a water bottle instead of juice and role modelling.


The service also needs to promote this message to families, and encourage and support families to make drinking water the norm when they are at home and out and about.

We know that toddlers require about 1 litre of fluid a day and preschoolers around 1.2 litres a day (more in hot weather). Babies and young children can quickly become dehydrated especially since they tend to get too busy to notice that they are thirsty or mistake thirst for hunger.

Slide 29: Milk

For young children, water and milk are the best fluid choices.

Milk and milk products are an important source of nutrients such as protein, calcium and vitamin D.

It is recommended that children have at least 6 ‘child-sized’ serves of dairy each day. For example, one serve = 100ml milk (a little less than ½ cup) or 100g yoghurt. For services that provide food to children it is recommended that children receive 3 ‘child-sized’ serves of dairy during 8 hours of care. A good way to help meet this requirement is to provide a small cup of milk for morning and afternoon tea and an additional serve of dairy during the day.

The Dietary Guidelines recommend that children over 2 years of age are provided with reduced-fat milk – which is between 1.4 -2% fat, (often labelled as ‘lite’ milk) whereas full cream milk is around 3.4% fat. Reduced-fat milk still contains all the protein, calcium and other vitamins found in full fat milk just with less fat and kilojoules.

For children under 2 years of age, reduced-fat milk is not recommended as they need the extra energy/kilojoules that is provided by the fat in regular full fat milk.

Slide 30:

We know that many young children are drinking too much juice and sweetened drinks and not developing the habit of drinking water to quench their thirst.

Fruit juice is not recommended as a regular part of children’s fluid intake for the following reasons:

A piece of fruit is a healthier choice than fruit juice as it provides fibre, is more filling and the chewing involved helps maintain oral health.

Drinking too much fruit juice, with or without added sugar, may cause diarrhoea and contribute to tooth decay.

Drinking fruit juice throughout the day can reduce the appetite for other foods leading to poor overall dietary balance or if consumed in addition to other foods can lead to inappropriate weight gain.

While fruit juice can be a significant source of vitamin C, this vitamin is found in a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, eg tomato, capsicum, strawberries and rockmelon.


If fruit juice is provided, choose 100% fruit juice, limit to only 1 child-sized serve (100ml) per day in a cup and dilute 1:1.

Locate

Locate and review the “Appropriate drinks for babies and young children” table on page 37 of the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years.

Slide 31: Eat more fruit and vegetables



M&M Resource Manual - 3 to 5 years – Locate this Key Message on Page 29 to 38

We all know that fruit and vegetables are good for us and an essential part of healthy eating. They contain a range of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre as well as important antioxidants.

Children generally enjoy eating fruit because of its natural sweetness and most young children consume the minimum recommended 2 child-sized serves of fruit per day.

However, when it comes to vegetables it is a different story! Many young children are falling short of the recommended 4 child-sized serves of vegetables per day. We know that children need encouragement and plenty of opportunities to eat more vegetables. This means being creative with vegetables, mixing them into a range of meals and snacks and serving them both raw and cooked.

It is important to note that children in care for 8 hours per day need to receive at least 1 child-sized serve of fruit and 2 child-sized serves of vegetables. Page 42 of the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years gives examples of what a child-sized serve of fruit and vegetables equal.

Slide 32: How to increase vegetable consumption

Can vegetables be substituted with fruit? This is not the case - vegetables contain a different set of nutrients to fruit! So we need to encourage our children to eat their vegetables!

There is a range of vegetable snack and meal ideas on pages 44 and 45 of the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years that can be incorporated into the service menu where food is provided by the service.

Alternatively, these ‘vegetable’ ideas can be shared with families. Be creative! Make up simple recipe cards, plan informal cooking sessions using these recipes, use motivating visuals to inspire vegetable snacks and meals and encourage families to grow a vegetable garden to motivate children to eat vegetables!


Again, involving older children in food preparation and vegetable and fruit tastings is a great way to generate interest and excitement about fruit and vegetables.

Slide 33: Choose healthier snacks




Healthy snacks are important for children because they have small stomachs and cannot eat large amounts at meal times. Snacks need to provide enough energy (kilojoules) to keep children going until the next meal, but they also need to provide a range of nutrients to ensure that children receive their requirement of all essential nutrients over the day.

Many commercial snacks have lots of energy but are low in nutrients (eg, sweet biscuits, cakes, desserts, pastries, soft drinks, lollies etc). These foods should not be provided as ‘everyday’ snacks for children but rather as ‘sometimes’ foods.

The best snacks are those based on healthy, filling foods such as fruit and vegetables, dairy products (full-fat dairy for under 2 years of age and reduced-fat dairy for over 2 years of age) and wholegrain (wholemeal) breads and cereals.

For services that provide food - It is important that services plan snacks on the menu to complement what is served at mealtimes. To ensure that snacks are substantial enough to meet the energy and nutrient needs of children it is recommended that services use the “Nutrition Checklist for Long Day Care Menu Planning” found in the “Caring for Children” booklet. The snacks are based on a bread/cereal-based food plus a fruit/vegetable–based snack and a small glass of milk.

Snacks do not have to be complex and time-consuming to make. Often the ‘simple’ snacks are the most popular with children. It is a good idea to vary the snacks to avoid monotony.

Services can also let families know about healthy snacks provided at the service that are popular with children – they might like to try them at home.

Slide 34: Healthy snack photos

Inspiration for healthy snack choices – simple, satisfying, varied and appetising!

Families often need help and suggestions for healthy snacks to give children between meals. There are two M&M fact sheets available (a simpler and a more detailed version) that can be given to families to inform and assist them in selecting healthier snacks for children.

Alternately a healthy snack idea can be regularly included in the service newsletter.


Another great way to encourage children and families to explore healthy snacks is to involve children in food preparation/cooking sessions at the service. There are lots of simple snacks that older children can be safely involved in preparing. Children are more likely to be willing to taste food they have been involved in preparing. Families could be invited to assist with the session or be shown photos of the experience when they come to pick up their child.

Locate

For more ‘snack’ ideas go to:

Pages 39 and 40 of the M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3 years.

Search the internet – the Sydney Markets’ Fresh for Kids website is a great starting place: www.freshforkids.com.au

Slide 35: Integrating Munch into curriculum

It is important that discussions with young children about food focus on the positive and avoid describing and categorising food or specific nutrients (eg, sugar, fat) as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. At this young age we are aiming for children to develop a positive and relaxed attitude towards food and eating rather than creating too many rules and taboos around food.

Remember it is the adult’s responsibility to provide children with appropriate amounts of healthy and nutritious food and the child’s responsibility to decide what to eat and how much.

It is also worth noting that nutrition is a complex science and many nutrition concepts are abstract and difficult for young children to understand (eg, food groupings based on the nutrients they contain, energy balance, nutrients within food that cannot be seen, etc). Many of these concepts do not need to be taught to children until middle to upper primary school. The early years are a time to explore and enjoy the wide variety of delicious healthy food available.

Slide 36: Munch learning experiences

Learning experiences where children are engaged in play are good opportunities to educate young children about the Munch key messages:

Choose water as a drink

Eat more fruit and vegetables

Choose healthier snacks

When planning Munch learning experiences it is important to consider the children’s identity, interests and abilities and to scaffold their learning from the ‘known’ to the ‘unknown’.

Locate


The Munch and Move manuals include a range of ‘Munch’ learning experiences that can be incorporated into the curriculum. A selection of ideas to promote children’s exploration, awareness and enjoyment of healthy eating and drinking from a young age can be found in the:

M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3 years – pages 51 to 54

M&M Resource Manual – 3 to 5 years – on the blue pages within the “Munch” section.

Give colleagues a few minutes to explore these suggested ideas.

All ideas should be adapted to meet the needs of individual children and services. They can even be used as a springboard to other ideas!

Remember, to use real food as much as possible in learning activities to give children exposure to a broad range of healthy food

Slide 37: Reflecting on our practices

Now that we have explored the key Munch messages it is time to reflect on our current practices and consider what we can expand or improve on. To help us do this with will use the “Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan”.


By reflecting upon what is currently happening at our service in relation to:

Choose water as a drink

Eat more fruit and vegetables, and

Choose healthier snacks

We will have a solid starting point to keep striving forward with the Munch key messages. As a whole group (or in small groups) complete the “checklist” section of the Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan for the above key Munch messages.




Slide 38: MOVE



M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years – Refer to pages 55 to 123

M&M Resource Manual - 3 to 5 years – Refer to pages 39 to 133

FMS Lanyards (located in Blue Resource Wallet)

“Fun Moves” DVD

M&M Checklist and Action Plan (working document)

M&M Workshop – Attendee ‘Ideas’ Sheet/s – Completed by attendee/s during the M&M Workshop. Use this sheet to generate discussion and inspire ideas for the implementation of Munch and Move into the service.

We will now be exploring the key Move and Monitor messages. I will talk about some of the main points that were made in the training in relation to these messages. I will not be able to go through everything in detail so I would encourage you to take some time to look through the Munch and Move manuals and become familiar with the content.

Slide 39: Move overview

The Move section of the workshop took us through the key aspects of physical activity for children – as listed above.

We will be exploring each of these key areas throughout this session.

Slide 40: What is physical activity?

As we can see physical activity is very broad!

When supporting young children’s physical activity in the early childhood setting, it is important that we meet children’s natural pattern of physical activity – short intense bursts of activity intermixed with periods of rest.

Of course, we also need to ensure physical activity is always fun!

Slide 41: Why is it important for young children

As you can see from the above lists being physically active has multiple benefits for children. Some of the benefits you will be aware of and others you may not.


Discussion

Are our service families aware of all these important benefits of physical activity for their children?

How can we share this information with families?

Slide 42: PA recommendations – birth to 5 years

The Commonwealth Government has developed “Physical Activity Recommendations” in recognition of how important physical activity is for young children. These are listed on the slide.

Ask colleagues to read through these recommendations. Emphasise that the recommendation for toddlers and preschoolers to be physically active for at least three hours per day is cumulative.

Consider children who attend the service for the majority of their daylight hours (especially during winter) and children who attend the service five days a week – the main opportunity for these children to be physically active will be while they are at the service.

Discussion

How do we feel about these recommendations?

Are they reasonable?

What implications do they have for our service?

Slide 43: Maximising opportunities for PA in early childhood

Reflecting upon the “Physical Activity Recommendations” we need to consider all possible opportunities for increasing physical activity within our early childhood setting.

There are a number of ways services can maximise the opportunities for children to be active. Some of these are listed on this slide.

We will have time to reflect more closely on our practices when we complete the “Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan” at the end of this session.

Slide 44: Get active each day





Physical activity is important right from birth. Babies learn movement through touching, moving, looking and listening. Movement provides sensory messages to the brain that stimulate brain development. Did you know that stimulating the fluid in the inner ear (vestibular stimulation) of babies accelerates their motor skills development.

We know that babies spend a lot of time sleeping and involved in care routines. Therefore it is important that we optimise the opportunities for play and movement when the baby is awake (including during care routines).

‘Tummy time’ is a major part of physical activity and gross motor development for babies. From birth, babies should be provided with the opportunity to play on their tummy every day for short periods of supervised time, increasing with age and ability (10 seconds to 10 minutes), to help develop their movement skills.

Why is ‘tummy time’ so important? Look at all the benefits:

Babies learn to lift their head and take weight through their arms.

Strengthens neck and back muscles.

Develops spatial awareness and balance.

Allows babies to develop the skills required to push up onto their hands and knees and start to crawl.

Tummy time provides opportunities for babies to develop the necessary skills required for future movement.

For babies to receive the optimum benefits from tummy time, it is important that educators:

Interact with babies on the floor – talk calmly to reassure them, encourage movement and assist with language development.

Use a variety of appropriate and interesting baby toys that encourage babies to lift their heads, look and track.

Find a suitable time, when babies are not tired or hungry.

Slide 45: How can we ensure babies receive PA experiences?

By around 5 months of age babies are showing an increased interest in the world around them. Some babies may have learnt to creep on their tummy for mobility. Their neck and back strength has increased from practicing tummy time and babies may now be able to hold themselves in the sitting position with support. As babies’ sitting balance and strength improve, less support will be required.

By 7 months of age babies are starting to improve their sitting balance and can maintain this position for a short period of time. Once sitting balance is more established (by 8 months of age) babies will learn to push up from their tummy into sitting.

Between 7 and 12 months of age, babies develop their movement skills quite quickly as they master the ability to move from both their tummy and sitting into and out of the crawling position. They learn to crawl for mobility, pull to stand, stand at furniture to play, cruise along furniture, start to balance in standing and take their first steps.


As educators it is important to have a thorough understanding of children’s gross motor development to be able to appropriately support their physical activity. We know that physical care routines are a perfect opportunity to support physical activity (especially for younger babies) and that we need to plan for physically active experiences to ensure they occur and so babies get the opportunity to revisit and practice new physical skills.

We also need to consider the environmental set-up and the resources on offer to ensure movement is appropriately supported. Last but not least, closely interacting with babies during physically active experiences is vitally important for scaffolding babies’ physical development, as well as other areas of development.

Facilitator Note: Details about the “Move Learning Activities” are provided on the next page.

Slide 46: Move learning experiences

The blue Move activity pages in the M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3 years have been designed to provide early childhood educators with a range of physically active learning experiences for babies (and toddlers) that can easily be incorporated into the service program and routine.

The suggested learning experiences sequentially support children’s gross motor development through active play. Each activity clearly outlines the key information that is required to undertake each experience. Including the:

Aim

Fundamental Movement Skills (which will be focussed on later in this session)

Age range that the activity is suitable for

Resources required

Area required

How to conduct the activity

Extension

Key Points

Experiences can easily be adapted to meet children’s identity, interests and abilities – however, we need to ensure safety is maintained at all times.

We will be referring back to these “Move Learning Activities” over the next 2 slides as we explore movement for toddlers.

Locate

The Move Learning Activities relating to Babies in the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years (Activities 1 to 15 - pages 86 to 103). Allow colleagues time to explore these suggested learning experiences.


Slide 47: Physical activity for toddlers – 12 to 24 months

This is a new and exciting time for toddlers - they will spend a lot of time exploring and perfecting this new ‘walking’ skill. The main assistance required now is a supportive physical and social environment and opportunities to practice ‘walking’. You can see that the two children in the above photos are at different stages of developing their walking!

Toddlers will experiment with moving up from the floor to standing and back down again, moving from sitting on a chair to standing and back again, walking and then squatting to pick up a toy from the ground or remain squatting to play for a short time. All of these activities help to strengthen muscles and develop necessary balance skills. Toddlers will also experiment with walking in different directions, on different surfaces and carrying large toys while walking. Once children have developed independent walking they will be eager to practice this skill all the time.

During this time, educators should provide a variety of resources and experiences that support the development of independent walking and challenge toddlers’ balance while walking. Resources such as low, stable obstacles to walk around (eg table, foam shapes), pushing/pulling toys (eg trolley, toy pram), large toys to carry (eg ball, teddy bear) and obstacle courses to walk over (eg cushions, low foam blocks). Remember to be an ‘active role model’!

Locate

Refer to the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years for information on:

How early childhood services can promote physical activity for this age group – including further ideas for supporting beginning walkers – pages 66 to 67.

Resources to promote movement and support gross motor development for this age group – page 67

Related blue Move activity pages - pages 104 to 107.

Slide 48: Physical activity for toddlers – 24 to 36 months

Two year olds can jump on the spot, attempt to run (initially using a fast walking pattern), go up and down stairs using two feet per step with support and use their feet to propel and control a toddler bike. They are able to climb on low playground equipment and maintain their balance in sitting to come down a slide. They are beginning to understand how to catch a ball, walk into a ball to kick it and can throw very short distances.

One way educators can support physical activity for this age group is to provide a range of physically active experiences using a variety of appropriate equipment – including:

Tunnels, boxes, foam wedges, shapes and mats, wide balance beams, and wobble boards for climbing through/over and balancing.

Low trestles, ladders and slides for climbing up and down.

Hoops, shapes marked with tape or chalk and large boxes for stepping in and out of.


Variety of objects for stepping and jumping over (eg chalked or masking taped lines, small blocks, and flat ladders).

Large, soft balls for catching and kicking; bean bags for catching; small soft balls or bean bags that children can hold in one hand for throwing.

Balls and hoops for chasing.

Repertoire of rhymes, children’s songs and music (eg instrumental, classical, pop) and simple percussion instruments to promote movement.

Props to move with (eg scarves, streamers).

Children’s picture books, puppets, animal toys (eg dinosaurs) and dress-ups to inspire movement.

Remember to be active role models – interacting with the toddlers during physical activity and scaffolding their physical development.

Locate

Refer to the related blue Move activity pages in the M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years (pages 110 to 123) for further ideas for supporting physical activity for this age group and to bring to life the suggested resources listed above.

Slide 49: Physical activity for preschoolers: 3-5 years

During the preschool years children are now refining their gross motor skills. Their strength, agility, flexibility, balance and coordination all improve - this is demonstrated in the above photos.

Educators need to consider how they are challenging the gross motors skills of preschool children – especially the older preschoolers. Remember to involve preschoolers in the planning of movement experiences - linking movement to the children’s interests is very meaningful for their participation.

Once again it is vital that educators interact with the children during physically active experiences – adult participation in any activity increases the participation of children and being an active role model provides the perfect opportunity to scaffold the children’s physical development.

Slide 50: Get active each day cards

On these blue cards in the M&M Resource Manual – 3 to 5 years there are many ideas to encourage and inspire preschool children to “Get Active Each Day” . These simple ideas can easily be incorporated into the service program and routine.

Locate

Give colleagues time to explore the Get Active Each Day cards in the M&M Resource Manual – 3 to 5 years (pages 42 to 46).


Slide 51: Fundamental Movement Skills

Share with colleagues what Fundamental Movement Skills are and why they are so important for children’s future participation in physical activity.

The earlier Fundamental Movement Skills are introduced and practiced the more competent and confident children will become in these skills. Failure to master a basic set of Fundamental Movement Skills can be a significant barrier to participation in physical activities generally and to achieving the amount of physical activity recommended for the maintenance of good health.

As children do not naturally learn these skills as part of their normal growth and development, it is important that early childhood educators guide and support children in the development of Fundamental Movement Skills.

Of course ‘mastery’ of Fundamental Movement Skills is not expected in the early years – in fact, proficiency in each Fundamental Movement Skill is not expected until the end of primary school! In the early years Fundamental Movement Skills is all about exposure, exploration, opportunity, guidance, familiarity and fun!

Slide 52: Let’s practice FMS

Understanding how important Fundamental Movement Skills are to children’s ongoing physical activity, early childhood educators need to know how to correctly form Fundamental Movement Skills to be able to best support young children’s Fundamental Movement Skills development.

Fundamental Movement Skills are categorised into 3 groups:

Stability skills – movements where the body remains in place but moves around its horizontal and vertical axis - stretching, bending, twisting and balancing. These skills are needed to develop locomotor and manipulative skills.

Locomotor skills – moving the body from one location to another – crawling, walking, running, jumping, leaping, galloping, hopping, side-sliding.

Manipulative skills – giving or receiving force to or from an object – throwing, catching, kicking, underarm rolling, stationary dribbling, striking a stationary ball.

Locate

View the “Fun Moves” DVD and explore the “FMS Lanyards”.

- Advise colleagues that the “Fun Moves” DVD will now be played. This DVD is only 10 minutes’ duration and provides an informative visual demonstration of the 6 locomotor FMS and the 6 manipulative FMS with preschool children.

- The FMS Lanyards are a practical visual tool for educators to use in the service as they support the children’s FMS development.


- If time allows, or it could even be scheduled for another day, create a safe space and practice the Fundamental Movement Skills using the FMS Lanyards as a guide. Remember to have fun and to have a drink of water to rehydrate!

Refer to both M&M Manuals for information on the Fundamental Movement Skills:

- M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years - pages 71 to 78.

- M&M Resource Manual - 3 to 5 years - pages 48 to 54.

Slide 53: Learning FMS

Once again, acknowledging how important Fundamental Movement Skills are to children’s future health and wellbeing, it is essential that services plan daily Intentional FMS Experiences to ensure all children attending the service have the opportunity to develop these skills.

This simply means planning experiences that focus on Fundamental Movement Skills. The best thing about Intentional FMS Experiences is not only are FMS being promoted, but gross motor development and of course, physical activity, is also being supported.

The length of Intentional FMS Experiences will depend on the age and interests of the children - ie, toddlers will have smaller groups and a shorter timeframe.

Remember, we need to also be aware of the ‘teachable’ moment and be ready to intentionally support FMS during ‘Spontaneous Play.

Locate

For a range of practical ideas for Intentional FMS Experiences:

Refer to M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3 years:

- On pages 79 to 82 there is detailed information on Intentional FMS Experiences for babies and toddlers. These pages include easy-to-follow tables which identify ‘movements’ that promote FMS development. Intentional FMS Experiences can be based around these ‘movements’.

- The blue “Move Learning Activities” section on pages 85 to 123. All suggested experiences in this section identify the FMS they are supporting. By planning experiences based on these ideas you will be promoting FMS.

Refer to M&M Resource Manual – 3 to 5 years:

- On pages 66 to 125 there are blue Activity cards. Each experience on these cards clearly identifies the FMS focus. Again, by planning experiences based on these ideas you will be planning Intentional FMS Experiences.


Slide 54: Intentional FMS session for older toddlers and preschoolers

The idea behind this type of “Intentional FMS Experience” for older toddlers and preschoolers is to introduce these children to ‘warm-ups’ and ‘cool-downs’ – role modelling and forming good habits for their future participation in physical activity.

When planning this type of Intentional FMS Experience it is important that all three parts are included (ie, Warm-up, FMS Move Game, Cool-down).

Locate

For a range of ideas for this specific type of “Intentional FMS Experience” – including ‘warm-ups’ and ‘cool-downs’ - refer to:

M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3 years – “Move Learning Activities” section on blue pages 108 to 121.

Slide 55: Integrating Move into everyday curriculum

As educators we must be pro-active in planning ‘movement’ for babies, toddlers and preschoolers in our care, recognising that:

Physical activity provides many important benefits for children

National Physical Activity Recommendations for children birth to 5 years now exist and early childhood services are expected to support these recommendations

The development of Fundamental Movement Skills will provide the building blocks for more complex and specialised skills required by children throughout their lives to competently participate in games, sports and recreational activities.

As educators, it is always important to remember that we are constant role models to the children in our care and their families. We need to consider how we can be positive role models of “Get Active Each Day”– ensuring that we ‘practice what we preach’ and get involved with children’s physical activity!

Slide 56: Reflecting on our practice


By reflecting on what is currently happening at our service in relation to:

Get Active Each Day

We will have a solid starting point to keep striving forward with this “Move” key message.

As a whole group (or in small groups) complete the “checklist” section of the Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan for the above key Move message.



Slide 57: MONITOR




Also bring to the session a copy of the fact sheet entitled:

“Reducing young children’s television time”

The “Monitor” section of the Munch and Move program is relatively short compared to the other sections - but by no means any less important. The reason it is shorter is because it is closely related to the “Move” section.

Slide 58: Turn off the tv and get active

Small screens can play a role in children’s development, however they involve time spent sitting still and can displace time available for children to be physically active.

We can see from the above research that unfortunately some negative behaviours are being formed around small screen time. Services have the perfect opportunity to encourage and guide children to form positive small screen habits for now and even more important, for the future.

Slide 59: National PA recommendations for screen time

Recognising how important it is for children to develop positive small screen habits, the Commonwealth Government has included recommendations for “Small Screen Time” as part of their “Physical Activity Recommendations” - as listed above.

Small screen use is not recommended for babies and toddlers less than 2 years of age because:

it reduces the time they have for active play and social contact with others

reduces the opportunities for language development

can impact on the development of the full range of eye movement and the length of time they can remain focussed.

Some suggestions for integrating this key message into the service include:

Have a clear policy on limiting small screen time within the early childhood service.

On wet days, encourage Move experiences rather than small screen activities.

Select only screen time activities that encourage children to move around and be active.

Promote other activities for ‘down time’ rather than screen-based activities.


Help children understand the key message “Turn off the television or computer and get active”.

Role modelling.

Are families aware of these recommendations and the research on Small Screen Time? Hand around a copy of the fact sheet entitled “Reducing young children’s television time”. This fact sheet will provide supportive information to share with our families? Further copies can be ordered free of charge from the NSW Resource Distribution Unit.

Locate

For further suggestions on how to integrate this key message into the service refer to:

M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years - Page 126

M&M Resource Manual - 3 to 5 years – Pages 135 to 139


To reflect upon our current practices, as a whole group (or in small groups) complete the “checklist” section of the Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan for the Monitor key message.




Slide 60: MAKING IT HAPPEN



M&M Resource Manual - Birth to 3 years

M&M Resource Manual - 3 to 5 years – “Making it Happen” on Pages 140 to 150

M&M Checklist and Action Plan (working document)

M&M Workshop – Attendee ‘Ideas’ Sheet/s – Completed by attendee/s during the M&M Workshop. Use this sheet to generate discussion and inspire ideas for the implementation of Munch and Move into the service.

www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au – Munch and Move link

Slide 61: Policies

Having policies and procedures that support the Munch and Move program will not only ensure the Munch and Move key messages are reflected throughout the service, but also ensure both staff and families are aware of current practices. It will also promote consistency and continuity when there are staff changes.

Policy Review Process

To assist us to review our current policies or develop new ones, there are sample Nutrition and Physical Activity policies on pages 142 to 148 of the M&M Resource Manual – 3 to 5 years. Allow time to view these sample policies.

Alternatively, we can access a ‘word’ version of the sample policies online at the Healthy kids website (follow the Munch and Move links) – web address is on the slide. These sample policies can be easily modified to reflect our service’s specific practices.

Discuss and decide on a process for reviewing current policies or developing new policies – this may be best done after finalising the service’s Munch and Move Action Plan.

Remember to consult all stakeholders in policy development!

Slide 62: Developing the Munch & Move action plan



Either as a whole group or in small groups (the checklist and action plan could be broken up into key messages) work through the Munch and Move Checklist and Action Plan – now focussing on the “Action Plan” section.

Look at the areas that were identified in the “Checklist” section as needing to be extended or introduced. Incorporate these into the Action Plan.

Discuss and decide on the ‘what, ‘when’ and ‘who’ of each part of the plan and also give an order of priority for implementation.

If help is required with the Action Planning process, or to provide further ideas or resources, your local Health Service Munch and Move key contact is willing and able to help!

Allow adequate time for discussion and decision-making in relation to the Action Plan.

Include “Munch and Move Action Plan Update” as a regular item in staff meetings to keep things moving along.

Make sure the Action Plan is reflected in the service’s Nutrition and Physical Activity policies.

To assist and inspire with the Action Plan, direct your colleagues to the related areas in the Munch and Move resources:

Both the M&M resource manuals.

Fact Sheets – do you need to order copies of the related fact sheets for distribution to families?

M&M CD – play related songs.

M&M Poster – in the back of the M&M Resource Manual – 3 to 5 years.

Use the “M&M Workshop – Attendee ‘Ideas’ Sheet/s” – completed by attendee/s during the M&M Workshop.

Explore the “For more information relating to Munch” section of the M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3 years – pages 47 to 49.

Explore the “For more information relating to Move” section of the M&M Resource Manual – Birth to 3 years – pages 83 to 84.

Explore the M&M link on the www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au website.

Also, some ideas to help promote Munch and Move with families could include using:

M&M Fact Sheets.

M&M Newsletter Snippets – available via www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au

Healthy lunchbox suggestions.

Healthy snack options.

Recipe cards.

http://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/


Food tastings.

Physical activity ideas.

Promotional displays.

Media stories.

Information sessions.

Slide 63: Final slide Congratulations – you have completed your “Munch and Move: Making it Happen Kit”. It is now time to put your “Munch and Move Action Plan” into action and start the successful implementation of “Munch and Move” into your service. Remember: “It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backwards.” Old Chinese Proverb

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