Keystone Color Me Healthy

Rose Gioia-Fine, Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11

Keystone Color Me Healthy is a nutrition and physical activity program for limited-resource children ages 4 and 5. It is designed to stimulate all the senses of young children: touch, smell, sight, sound and, of course, taste. Keystone Color Me Healthy uses color, music and exploration of the senses to teach children that healthy eating and physical activity are fun. The program also exposes children to fruits and vegetables in an enjoyable and interactive way so that children will learn to accept and prefer them over non-nutritious snacks. Originally developed and evaluated by a multi-agency partnership in North Carolina, Keystone Color Me Healthy is currently in its third implementation year in Pennsylvania.

The training team, made up of a Pennsylvania Family Literacy trainer and a Penn State Cooperative Extension educator, delivers three Color Me Healthy training workshops in each of the targeted counties (click here to view map). Training is provided for Head Start, Childcare and Family Literacy providers in each county. Training participants receive Keystone Color Me Healthy materials and resources which include circle time, small group and food experience activities. In addition, the kits include music, posters, picture cards and parent newsletters. Several of the kit components are also available in Spanish.

The training portion of this collaborative venture has been successfully managed by the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 (TIU 11). TIU 11 manages the training component of the project, with direction and support from the Pennsylvania Departments of Education, Health and Public Welfare; Penn State Cooperative Extension; the Head Start State Collaboration Project; and Pennsylvania Family Literacy. Collaborative partners are involved in providing leadership, making decisions and implementing the project.

Several enhancements have been added for 2006. The Keystone Color Me Healthy leadership team seeks to enhance the project by piloting stronger parent involvement components in nine sites during the spring. Additional parts of the expansion include the development of a Keystone Color Me Healthy Web site and an incentive program to encourage the return of six-month follow-up surveys by childcare providers and teachers who attended a Keystone Color Me Healthy training session. A recent development for the program includes a grant award from the Heinz Foundation to continue the implementation of Keystone Color Me Healthy across all sixty-seven Pennsylvania Counties. For more information, contact Rose Gioia-Fine, Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 at gioiafine@comcast.net or 724-317-8730.