ShortStuff

Healthy Bodies and Minds

Did you know:

• Only 1 in 3 children get physical activity each day?

• About 15 million children have a mental, emotional, or behavioral health condition?

• Approximately 1 in 7 kids live with food insecurity?

Action for Healthy Kids helps kids thrive by bringing families and schools together to ensure kids have access to safe places to play and be active, nutritious foods, and healthy, supportive experiences. Visit actionforhealthykids.org to explore resources like bullying prevention, healthy snacking ideas, STEAM activities, family self-care plans, fitness ideas, and so much more!

Action for Healthy Kids also brings together district leaders, school staff, and families. Through FamilySchool partnerships, they identify barriers to family engagement and specific child health needs, then work together to develop, implement, and evaluate effective and equitable solutions. Family-School Partnerships incorporate academic and social education in two of the most impactful environments in a child’s life: school and home. When school staff, families, and community members work together to create healthy, safe, and supportive learning environments for their children, academic achievement and educational equity are improved immensely. Visit actionforhealthykids.org/learn-more-family-schoolpartnerships to learn how you can get involved.

Celebrate Earth Day

The Central Valley is a unique and special place to live. We’re blessed with amazing weather and beautiful nature that we can enjoy year-round. Whether it’s a local park, rivers and lakes, the Sierras, or nearby Yosemite, Valley residents are able to take advantage of our incredible environment with a variety of activities to keep us healthy and engaged with the outdoors.

Get outside and celebrate Earth Day with these simple ideas:

• Encourage your family to start recycling and composting after meals—get the kids involved!

• Head to Pinterest for some fun arts and crafts like earth paper plates, printable coloring sheets, and more!

• Use your time at home to start a garden. Have the kids take turns watering and weeding. Take a picture every day and see how fast your seeds grow!

• Go online and learn about your carbon footprint. Make monthly goals for the whole family to follow to see if you can reduce, reuse, and recycle!

Earth Day is on April 22nd. Visit earthday.org/earth-day-2023 to learn more.

Free National Helpline for Struggling Families

With the importance of mental health awareness continuing to grow, meet Parents Anonymous®. This nonprofit platform is dedicated to parents and families who are struggling and offers a multilingual national helpline, support groups, and mental health services—all for free.

Parents and caregivers can join a free weekly online support group to explore their underlying emotions and build resiliency to strengthen their family. Each Parents Anonymous® group has a trained group facilitator and parent group leader.

Parents Anonymous® believes that Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength®. They encourage parents, children, and youth to call, text, and live chat through the website to receive the emotional support they need and deserve, in any language from trained counselors. While the nonprofit is based in California, the helpline is a national service for parents and children all over the United States.

Visit caparentyouthhelpline.org or raisingfuture.org for help or to learn more.

Some Shorter Stuff

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Strong, nurturing communities that are supportive of families can get involved and play a role in preventing child abuse and neglect and promoting child and family well-being. Visit preventchildabuse.org for more information.

Calling All Poets! Join the Fresno County Public Library in celebrating the 24th Annual Poetry Contest! Poems will be judged by talented locals with categories: 3rd–5th Grade, 6th–8th Grade, 9th–12th Grade, and Adults 18+. Top three poems of each category will earn a prize! Enter at fresnolibrarypoetry.org by April 30th.

FREE Entrance Days at National Parks! Explore Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks free of charge as the National Park Service celebrates National Park Week. Entrancefree day is on April 22nd. Check nps.gov before planning a trip to review updated safety information.

Weekly Giveaways! Be sure to stay connected with Central California Parent at ccparent.com and all our social platforms for a chance to win cool prizes every week! Last month we gave away performance tickets, books, parenting products, toys, and more!

CCSPCA Bookmark/Video Contest: “Pets Need Love and…!” Elementary students are invited to illustrate a bookmark and middle and high school students are invited to make a video PSA— all going along with this year's theme. Deadline is May 8th! Learn more by calling 233-0115.

Meet our Cover Kid, Gage! Gage is a fun-loving 3-year-old from Reedley. He loves to play and watch sports, including baseball, hockey, and soccer. Gage also loves helping in the kitchen and being his mom's sou chef and spending time with his grandmas. Gage enjoys books, puzzles, and anything transportation—including race cars, monster trucks, airplanes, trains, and construction rigs! His two best friends are Shark (his blanket) and Jesus. He's hungry to learn just about anything and loves going to church and preschool.

Cultivate Green Thumbs by Planting Trees. Arbor Day is on April 28th this year. Visit arborday.org and learn how you can help plant trees or discover other great ways to connect your family with nature.

Always at ccparent.com! Visit us online to view the digital edition of this month’s issue, our calendar of family events any day of the week, local resources, and so much more!

Homework Resources from the Environmental Protection Agency Visit epa.gov/students for lots of resources! Students K–12 will find links to help with climate change, ecosystems, pollution, and energy assignments—to name a few. The site even has a variety of quizzes and games for kids to learn about the environment. Teacher resources include science-based and environmental lesson plans, guides, activities, and more!