According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 13.2 percent of Kentucky youth eat fruits and vegetables five or more times a day. The national average is 21.4 percent.  In order to combat this the Grant County Extension Office planned to teach monthly lessons to 250 Head Start and preschool children for the 2019-2020 School Year.  

The Literacy, Eating, and Activity for Preschool (LEAP) program was developed specifically to target preschool age children to teach them the importance of nutrition, physical activity, and other health related topics through story telling.  Lessons included topics such as dental hygiene, trying new nutritious foods, and focusing on the importance of being physically active.  

During each lesson, the preschoolers were read a story about that month’s topic and then participated in an activity. The accompanying lessons often featured a tasting of an uncommon healthy food or physical activity related to the story. Throughout the course of the year, students tried turnips, kiwi, and carrots.  Once completing the program over 95% of the students tasted the healthy snacks and 100% learned the importance of hand washing and oral hygiene.

To encourage continued education, students also went home with parent newsletters that featured nutrition information and recipes with new foods for the students to try at home with their families.  By sharing newsletters such as these it helps encourage not only the students to maintain healthy habits, it also shows the importance of health to parents!