Quick Guide to Plant-Based Proteins
Despite the common misconception, you don’t need to rely on meat, dairy, eggs, or other animal products to reach your daily protein goals. Beans, lentils, tofu, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and meat alternatives all contain protein, and these ingredients can often be used in place of chicken, beef, pork, or fish in recipes. Eating a combination of these plant-based ingredients ensures a balanced intake of protein, fiber, and other essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
Autism Acceptance Month
April is Autism Acceptance Month! Our partners at Sesame Street in Communities have created new bilingual (English and Spanish) resources to help foster autistic children’s sense of creativity as well as support parents and providers in helping discover and support children’s unique perspective and personality.
Promoting Healthy Sleep Habits
As early childhood experts, you understand that sleep is not just rest—it’s foundational for healthy development in young children, and it affects everything from brain growth to emotional regulation and physical health. Well-rested children are better able to learn, concentrate, and manage their emotions which are all important for school readiness. Our partners at Child Care Aware of America have some tips to make sure those in your care are well-rested. Plus, find resources from our partners at AAP and Sesame Street in Communities!
Earth Day Toolkit
Earth Day is on April 22nd! Celebrating Earth Day is a fun way to connect participants to their food and the environment, while encouraging them to try new things and get the nutrients their bodies need! There are a variety of ways to increase education and engagement and the Humane World for Animals has drawn up a list of suggestions for festivities surrounding Earth Day/Week/Month.
CACFP Outreach
If you are a child care operator currently participating in the CACFP, congratulations! Your commitment to serving nutritious meals and snacks is crucial in fostering healthy behaviors in young children. This Mealtime Memo from our partners at the Institute of Child Nutrition highlights the benefits of the CACFP for operators, children, and families.
Leap into Learning: Read Aloud Challenge
How often do you read aloud to the children in your care? Reading aloud to young children, particularly in an engaging manner, promotes emerging literacy and language development and supports the relationship between child and parent/caregiver.
Movement for Healthy Bodies
Physical skills and healthy bodies can be built through everyday activities and movement. As a caring grown-up in a child’s life, you can facilitate movement and learning, and our partners at Sesame Street are here to help. Their worksheet provides fun ideas to get kids moving. Remember, there’s always an opportunity to move!
Nutrition Basics: Fiber
You may know that fiber is important, but do you understand why or how much you need? This Mealtime Memo from our partners at the Institute of Child Nutrition covers fiber sources, health benefits, and strategies to increase fiber intake.
American Heart Month
February is American Heart Month! Did you know that each year more than 350,000 people, including 23,000 children, in the U.S. experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital. CPR can double or even triple a person’s change of survival. During American Heart Month, our partners at the American Heart Association are challenging people across the country to learn CPR.
Parental Addiction
Our partners at Sesame Workshop have partnered with the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts to create new resources to support caring adults supporting children impacted by parental addiction. Building on the library of parental addiction resources on Sesame.org, the new resources include a curated professional development course for providers.