BBP @ Thousand Oaks Elementary

This past Friday, Xammy, Emily, and Chigozie went out to a 3rd grade class at Thousand Oaks Elementary and gave a nutrition + bone health workshop as part of BHI’s new Bone Builders Program (BBP).  Because this was BHI’s first time giving a BBP workshop, our peer educators had no idea what to expect.  They found, however, that the kids were extremely enthusiastic and more than ready to participate in the activities that were hosted.

BBP is a project aiming to raise awareness for bone health in youth because ages 15-25 is when the most bone density that a given person will have is built.  Therefore, it is especially important for children and young adults to practice lifestyles that will promote good bone health and prevent osteoporosis in the future.  BBP is sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Public Service Center and provides either exercise or nutrition (pertaining to bone health) workshops to elementary schools in the Bay Area.  The nutrition workshop that was given at Thousand Oaks taught the kids the basics of bones and eating healthy and had them create food pyramid posters and nutrition fact cards for their classroom.

“This was a completely new experience.  It was super different from working with seniors and was a lot of fun,” described Emily, who worked with Xammy and Buddhika on developing the BBP curriculum this past summer.  BHI is looking forward to working with more elementary schools and hopefully making a difference in how Bay Area kids look at their bones.