Resources
Physical Activity
Fitting regular exercise into your daily schedule may seem difficult at first, but the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans are more flexible than ever, giving you the freedom to reach your physical activity goals through different types and amounts of activities each week.
Basic facts on creating environments that encourage physical activity, including policy development resources. Also includes a calculator for communities and businesses to calculate what costs are associated with physical inactivity in their community or business.
Healthy kids have higher attendance rates, higher test scores and behave better in class. The latest research on childhood health that has been combined with the most effective school policies to maximize impact and help make your school healthier.
America Walks is a national organization is leading the way in making America a great place to walk.
The American College of Sports Medicine advances and integrates scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine.
Provides online tips to increase physical activity and healthy recipes.
The CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health has released a new online version of the School Health Index: A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide (SHI). The SHI allows schools to assess their policies and programs in relation to physical activity and physical education, healthy eating, tobacco use prevention, and unintentional injury & violence prevention.
An evidence-based curriculum for after-school and community recreation settings that includes lessons and activities to motivate heart-healthy behavior in children in grades K-5.
Active Community Environments (ACEs) is a CDC-sponsored initiative to promote walking, bicycling, and the development of accessible recreation facilities.
Focuses on encouraging primary care physicians and other health care providers to include physical activity when designing treatment plans for patients. Includes a section specifically for communities.
Practical tips to help parents help their family find the right balance between eating well and being physically active to maintain a healthy weight.
In-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council and National Football League with additional support from U.S. Department of Agriculture. Focuses on empowering kids to make smart choices about their nutrition and physical activity.
Developed through a partnership with the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance and the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, Implementing Physical Activity Strategies profiles 42 physical activity programs that are helping people adopt more active and healthy lifestyles.
Let's Move! Active Schools offers a video library of ideas, lessons and best practices for meeting the needs of students with disabilities. These videos, reviewed by a panel of experts, were recently awarded prizes in the 2016 Let's Move! Active Schools Inclusive Physical Education and Physical Activity Video Contest and can be easily implemented at your school.
The JAM (Just-a-Minute) School Program is a free physical activity and health education resource that promotes activity in the classroom. JAM is designed to teach kids (adults too!) healthier lifestyle habits and get them moving. JAM resources offer a weekly one-minute exercise routine called JAMmin’ Minute®, a more extensive routine called JAM Blast®, and a monthly health newsletter called Health-E-tips.
A website devoted to the health of children and teens. Current information about growth, food, health, & fitness.
A comprehensive program to help parents and schools create active environments for students to reach their greatest potential. Tools and resources, activation grants and direct assistance and training is available to schools.
Let’s Move! Child Care is a nationwide call-to-action that empowers child care and early education providers to make positive health changes in children that could last a lifetime.
Local Government Complete Streets Toolkit
Local Advocates Complete Streets Toolkit
Get a personalized nutrition and physical activity plan. Track your foods and physical activities to see how they stack up. Get tips and support to help you make healthier choices and plan ahead.
A nationwide movement launched by the National Complete Streets Coalition in 2004, Complete Streets integrates people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of our transportation networks. The Coalition promotes the development and implementation of policies and professional practices that ensure streets are safe for people of all ages and abilities, balance the needs of different modes, and support local land uses, economies, cultures, and natural environments.
Offers tip sheets, posters, bookmarks, articles about exercise and physical activity, free copies of Exercise and Physical Activity: Your Everyday Guide, free copies of Go4Life exercise video to use in your waiting room.
The National Physical Activity Plan has a vision: One day, all Americans will be physically active and they will live, work, and play in environments that facilitate regular physical activity.
The Plan is a comprehensive set of policies, programs, and initiatives that aim to increase physical activity in all segments of the American population.
The Partnership for Active Transportation is a unique collaboration of organizations working at the intersection of transportation, public health and community vitality to promote greater investment in creating safe trail, walking and bicycling networks for all, and facilitating greater physical activity through active transportation.
The purpose of the Partnership is to build a diverse and influential movement to create healthy places for healthy people by supporting "active transportation" policies and practices. Active transportation -- human powered mobility such as walking and bicycling -- increases physical activity, provides balanced transportation choices, and fosters economically vibrant communities with a high quality of life.
A site for health & physical education teachers, parents and students with the goal to provide the latest information about developmentally appropriate physical education programs for children.
Provides information on community problems and solutions, community design, and bike-ability and walk-ability checklists
Coordinates and promotes opportunities in physical activity, fitness, and sports for all Americans.
Collaborative partnership between the South Dakota Departments of Education and Health. Through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they develop partnerships and coordinate programming to improve the health and educational outcomes of young people.
Fun activities for individuals, families or groups in South Dakota's state parks.
Safe Routes to School is a national program that aims to encourage walking/biking to school and to make it safer and more appealing.
Fun-filled activities to help incorporate physical activity into everyday moments for children ages 2 to 5 in the preschool setting.
Offers educational programs, activities, and resources that can help your family get started camping, hunting, fishing, and countless other forms of outdoor recreation.
Evidence-based programs designed to promote physical activity in youth from K-12, and ages 5-14, respectively. They include curricula, training, equipment, and follow-up support components
The Community Guide is a credible resource with many uses because it is based on a scientific systematic review process and answers questions critical to almost everyone interested in community health and well-being such as:
- What interventions have and have not worked?
- In which populations and settings has the intervention worked or not worked?
- What might the intervention cost? What should I expect for my investment?
- Does the intervention lead to any other benefits or harms?
- What interventions need more research before we know if they work or not?
A 30-minute documentary film that's guaranteed to get you walking, The Walking Revolution explores the tremendous changes a regular walking routine can make in your life and community.
An educational and participatory site to help people balance the calories they eat with the calories they burn each day by making active living and healthy eating choices.
Provides information to help communities of all sizes become more walkable and pedestrian friendly. Provides information on workshops, training, and presentations.
Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition is a national movement designed to give parents, caregivers, and entire communities a way to help children 8 to 13 years old stay at a healthy weight.
Healthy Eating
Published every 5 years by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each edition of the Dietary Guidelines reflects the current body of nutrition science. These recommendations help Americans make healthy food and beverage choices and serve as the foundation for vital nutrition policies and programs across the United States.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Academy is committed to improving the nation's health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.
Coalition of many national organizations trying to improve the school nutrition environment. The group also includes a South Dakota state team.
Healthy kids have higher attendance rates, higher test scores and behave better in class. The latest research on childhood health that has been combined with the most effective school policies to maximize impact and help make your school healthier.
The CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health has released a new online version of the School Health Index: A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide (SHI). The SHI allows schools to assess their policies and programs in relation to physical activity and physical education, healthy eating, tobacco use prevention, and unintentional injury & violence prevention.
An evidence-based curriculum for after-school and community recreation settings that includes lessons and activities to motivate heart-healthy behavior in children in grades K-5.
Information on health topics in the area of nutrition.
Turn any joyous occasion into a celebration of taste and good health. Ideas to blend learning about letters, numbers, and color with healthful choices.
Provides cash reimbursements for meals served in child day care centers and family and group day care homes.
ChooseMyPlate.gov provides practical information to individuals, health professionals, nutrition educators, and the food industry to help consumers build healthier diets with resources and tools for dietary assessment, nutrition education, and other user-friendly nutrition information.
The Ten Tips Nutrition Education Series provides consumers and professionals with high quality, easy-to-follow tips in a convenient, printable format.
Fun cooking magazine for kids and families to promote healthy cooking and eating.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest suggests rewarding students in the classroom need not involve pizza parties, candy and other foods that undermine children's diets and health and reinforce unhealthy eating habits. This site provides some suggestions for alternative rewards.
Helping adults and children be joyful and confident with eating.
Practical tips to help parents help their family find the right balance between eating well and being physically active to maintain a healthy weight.
The Fresh for Kids program aims to help school aged children achieve a healthy lifestyle by encouraging them to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and by participating in physical activity.
Fruits & Veggies - More Matters is a health initiative focused on helping Americans increase fruit and vegetable consumption for better health. The program is spearheaded by the Produce for Better Heath Foundation that has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help spread the word about the health benefits of adding MORE fruits and veggies to your diet.
In-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council and National Football League with additional support from U.S. Department of Agriculture. Focuses on empowering kids to make smart choices about their nutrition and physical activity.
10 tips for making healthy foods more fun for children.
Help your child grow healthy with science-based health and nutrition information, backed by the expertise of nutrition professionals.
A website devoted to the health of children and teens. Current information about growth, food, health, & fitness.
Provides information on healthy eating, disease management and weight management. Also has online recipes.
Offers information for child care providers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, focused on good nutrition for young children.
Research-based materials for health professionals and free educational materials.
The Munch Code is a color coded labeling program reminding us that snacks in the GREEN category are the healthiest and we can "Eat a bunch!". YELLOW foods may have added sugar, fat or calories and we should be careful to have "Just a little!". Foods falling into the RED category are on the "Not so much!" list and should be avoided. Snack healthier, eat healthier!
Get a personalized nutrition and physical activity plan. Track your foods and physical activities to see how they stack up. Get tips and support to help you make healthier choices and plan ahead.
Provides information on topics related to dairy products, nutrition, diet and health.
Resource for fun nutrition games for kids, interactive nutrition tools, and tips for parents and health educators to use to promote healthy living for the whole family.
An educational initiative designed to open a meaningful conversation about food in school and communities.
CDC website that includes basic concepts to keep in mind when sorting through nutrition research and dietary advice.
Nutrition education resources for schools.
Collaborative partnership between the South Dakota Departments of Education and Health. Through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they develop partnerships and coordinate programming to improve the health and educational outcomes of young people.
Simply enter the product information, answer a few questions, and determine whether your beverage, snack, side or entrée item meets the new USDA Smart Snacks in School Guidelines.
Child and Adult Care Food Program provides cash reimbursements for meals served in child day care centers, family and group day care homes, and adult day care centers.
Team Nutrition is an initiative of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to support the Child Nutrition Programs through training and technical assistance for foodservice, nutrition education for children and their caregivers, and school and community support for healthy eating and physical activity.
The Community Guide is a credible resource with many uses because it is based on a scientific systematic review process and answers questions critical to almost everyone interested in community health and well-being such as:
- What interventions have and have not worked?
- In which populations and settings has the intervention worked or not worked?
- What might the intervention cost? What should I expect for my investment?
- Does the intervention lead to any other benefits or harms?
- What interventions need more research before we know if they work or not?
From USDA's ChooseMyPlate.gov
This educational storybook, available in English and in Spanish, was developed to introduce MyPlate to young children.
An educational and participatory site to help people balance the calories they eat with the calories they burn each day by making active living and healthy eating choices.
Links to current, reliable nutrition information including dietary supplements, Food Guide Pyramid, and food safety.
Find nutrient information on over 8,000 foods using this new and improved search feature.
USDA’s Team Nutrition is a free program that offers nutrition educational materials for schools that use any of the Child Nutrition Programs (school lunch or breakfast, after school meals, summer feeding program, and CACFP). Some resources are available to order in hard copy and others are a free download. Use the Resource Library to choose from curriculum on nutrition or gardening, posters from elementary to middle school, training for food service staff, e-newsletters and much more.
Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition is a national movement designed to give parents, caregivers, and entire communities a way to help children 8 to 13 years old stay at a healthy weight.
Health & Wellness
Encourage children to get outside wherever they can, as often as possible, and start building their own memories. Learn 50 ideas to help kids reconnect with the outdoors.
(Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and Environmental Change) develop and implement population-based strategies to help prevent or manage risk factors for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, obesity and arthritis.
Supports health, prevention, and wellness programs that help older adults remain as healthy and independent as possible in their homes and communities.
Ideas on ways you and your child can get heart healthy together.
Programs for classrooms and gyms
The CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health has released a new online version of the School Health Index: A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide (SHI). The SHI allows schools to assess their policies and programs in relation to physical activity and physical education, healthy eating, tobacco use prevention, and unintentional injury & violence prevention.
A program designed to help parents and caregivers of teens and preteens improve family eating and activity habits.
Helping mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education. Includes professional section.
State-by-state data for health professionals, legislators, employers, business owners, community advocates and family members to work together to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. Measures support in key community settings and offers current data on Healthy People 2020 breastfeeding goals.
An evidence-based curriculum for after-school and community recreation settings that includes lessons and activities to motivate heart-healthy behavior in children in grades K-5.
CDC offers a variety of widgets for use on websites and blogs that supply health information directly to your page. CDC provides updates on an ongoing basis.
Growth charts consist of a series of percentile curves that illustrate the distribution of selected body measurements in children.
Provides information on health and lifestyle.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest suggests rewarding students in the classroom need not involve pizza parties, candy and other foods that undermine children's diets and health and reinforce unhealthy eating habits. This site provides some suggestions for alternative rewards.
Region 1, Rapid City: Early Childhood Enrichment Programs
Early Childhood Connections is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation established in the summer of 1995 to offer a variety of services that provide support and education to child care providers, teachers and parents involved in the care of children.
Early Childhood Connections
Early Childhood Training Network
C.H.I.L.D. Services
Family Resource Network
C.H.I.L.D. Services
This fact sheet provides general information on the break time requirement for nursing mothers in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which took effect when signed into law on March 23, 2010. This law amended Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
A resource of games that can be used for birthday parties, rainy day get-togethers, or anytime you find yourself with a bunch of energetic preschoolers on your hands.
A resource of simple and group games for toddlers.
A resource of games that are great for any outdoor event and rainy days too.
Are you looking for FREE, standardized lesson plans, games and activities for a variety of subject areas and for grade levels kindergarten through 12th grade? Do you want to ensure a rewarding and guaranteed career for your students? South Dakota’s health care industry is projected to need nearly 13,000 jobs by 2014 – an increase of nearly 30% from 2004 to 2014. The South Dakota Departments of Education, Health, Labor and the Board of Regents have been working collaboratively to address the critical need for healthcare workers in the state. Health Occupations for Today and Tomorrow (HOTT) was created to increase students’ awareness of the wide variety of health careers available to them. Find valuable information as well as a wide variety of prepared, standardized lesson plans and activities. Check out this example of one on nutrition and physical activity.
HealthyChildren.org is a parenting website backed by 64,000 pediatricians committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. You'll find information regarding the American Academy of Pediatrics many programs and activities, policies and guidelines, publications and other child health resources.
Healthy People provides objectives for improving the health of all Americans by 2020.
The Baby- Friendly Hospital Initiative describes Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding that have been shown to increase breastfeeding rates by providing support to mothers.
KidsHealth and Nemours share Sesame Workshop's commitment to helping young children establish healthy habits. The kit helps incorporate healthy physical activity and nutrition habits into the everyday routine. The familiar Sesame Street characters will help you achieve your goals by keeping your students' interest and attention as they learn!
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed a ready-to-go communication toolkit designed to engage school staff and parents in school wellness. The toolkit includes flyers, presentations, newsletter articles and social media posts for sharing news about a local school wellness policy. The materials can be personalized to make them specific to local school wellness policy activities.
Each local educational agency that participates in the National School Lunch Program or other federal Child Nutrition programs is required by federal law to establish a local school wellness policy for all schools under its jurisdiction.
Hospital routines can help or hinder new mothers and babies while they’re learning to breastfeed. Each state receives an mPINC report that identifies opportunities for states to better protect, promote and support breastfeeding mothers and infants. mPINC is administered every two years to monitor and examine changes in maternity practices over time at all hospitals and birth centers.
An interactive after-school program designed to teach young people ages 11 to 13 about the complex media world around them and how it can affect their health
Get a personalized nutrition and physical activity plan. Track your foods and physical activities to see how they stack up. Get tips and support to help you make healthier choices and plan ahead.
The Centers for Disease Control has worked with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, and the National School Boards Association to develop comprehensive guidance and resources for food allergy and anaphylaxis management in the school setting.
Provides a variety of resources for school administration related to policy development.
Designed to assist employers in implementing prevention and wellness strategies that will lead to specific, measureable health outcomes to reduce chronic disease rates.
Leads a national program of research on the biomedical, social, and behavioral aspects of the aging process; the prevention of age-related diseases and disabilities; and the promotion of a better quality of life for all older Americans.
Helps school policymakers and educators make informed decisions about health issues affecting the academic achievement and healthy development of students and the effective operation of schools.
Contains age-related health information that is easy to access. The senior-friendly website features large print, short, easy-to-read segments of information and simple navigation.
The Obesity Maps depict self-reported obesity prevalence among U.S. adults. This section offers obesity data maps by state and territory, Powerpoint slides and information about the data methodology and previous years.
Collaborative partnership between the South Dakota Departments of Education and Health. Through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they develop partnerships and coordinate programming to improve the health and educational outcomes of young people.
Tracks childhood obesity in SD via voluntary data collected from kindergarten, elementary, and high school students. Full reports and summaries are available.
Over the next 20 years, the number of adults over the age of 65 will increase dramatically. Gerontology is the study of the biological, psychological and social components of aging. SDSU Extension Gerontology Field Specialists are devoted to providing programming and information to equip SD communities to meet the opportunities and challenges of an aging population.
Adult Services and Aging (ASA) provides information on services and assistance for disabled adults and older South Dakotans to live independent, meaningful and dignified lives.
The Division of Child Care Services provides assistance to low income families who need help with child care costs while parents work or attend school. They also provide oversight, technical assistance and support in promoting safe, healthy and caring environments for children through licensing, registration and quality improvement activities.
The South Dakota Department of Health and the Department of Education ask schools to submit student height and weight data for kindergarten, elementary and high school students. The voluntary program to track childhood obesity in South Dakota has been underway since 1998. Data reports from previous years surveillance along with information about submitting data for the current school year.
The Community Guide is a credible resource with many uses because it is based on a scientific systematic review process and answers questions critical to almost everyone interested in community health and well-being such as:
- What interventions have and have not worked?
- In which populations and settings has the intervention worked or not worked?
- What might the intervention cost? What should I expect for my investment?
- Does the intervention lead to any other benefits or harms?
- What interventions need more research before we know if they work or not?
Site offers variety of information for childcare.
Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition is a national movement designed to give parents, caregivers, and entire communities a way to help children 8 to 13 years old stay at a healthy weight.
Publications that highlight how social and economic factors impact our health.