Success StoryStuffed Characters Teach Nutrition to a Pre-K Class



Stuffed Characters Teach Nutrition to a Pre-K Class

Author: Susan Grimmett

Planning Unit: Boyd County CES

Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

Stuffed Characters Teach Nutrition to a Pre-K Class

According to the KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, Kentucky’s childhood obesity rate is 35.3%, the 6th highest in the nation.

The teacher for a Pre-K classroom at Christ’s Kids Learning Center contacted the Boyd County Nutrition Education Program Assistant and requested a series of lessons using the Organ Annie and The Organ Wise Guys program. The goal was to teach students about how eating healthy foods affects the organs in their bodies and how their bodies work.  Each week the organ characters would be shown to the students as a reinforcement to their learning.  By the end of the lesson series, 71% of the students could name all the organs and how they helped their bodies.  

Since the series was held in the fall, for the week of Halloween the character of Peter Pancreas stressed the importance of not eating a lot of Halloween candy which would make him work harder.  During the next lesson, two students commented they did not trick or treat as much as usual so that they wouldn’t make Peter Pancreas work harder.

Another seasonal activity included having students glue cotton swabs onto paper skeletons representing the bones in their bodies.  Several of the students asked for 206 cotton swabs to glue on their skeletons because Calci M. Bone had taught them that they have 206 bones in their bodies.






Stories by Susan Grimmett


Recipe 4 Recovery

about 4 years ago by Susan Grimmett

Recipe 4 RecoveryAccording to the US Department of Health and Human Services through the Health Reso... Read More


"Lettuce Eat Healthy"

about 4 years ago by Susan Grimmett

“Lettuce” Eat HealthyAccording to the Center for Disease Control, childhood obesity has more than tr... Read More


Stories by Boyd County CES


#Growyourown Garden Packets

#Growyourown Garden Packets

about 4 years ago by Lori Bowling

In February the Boyd County Master Gardeners made up 850 grab bags of garden seed that had been dona... Read More


Stories Songs and Stretches

Stories Songs and Stretches

about 5 years ago by Eugenia Wilson

Stories, Songs, and Stretches!® is a startup dedicated to enhancing early learning through embodied ... Read More