Hort Innovation Launches Good Mood Food Special
With the upheavel so many have kids have faced over the past 12 months, it’s never been more important that our future leaders are given the right tools to foster a positive mindset.
That’s the view of Australian horticultural outfit Hort Innovation, whose Phenomenom project recently launched a free online toolkit for schools and families, The Good Mood Food Special.
Dr Alison Anderson of Hort Innovation says the initiative is the result of years of research and development that utilised more than 60 creatives and specialists. “We found that four in five teachers use digital resources more than once per week, and nine in ten teachers would like to see more food and nutrition teaching resources available, which is where The Good Mood Food Special comes in.”
Dr Anderson adds: “The digital resources, with Australian curriculum-aligned lesson plans across numeracy, literacy, humanities, and health, make it easy for teachers to engage kids in learning through videos, podcasts and activities, whether in the classroom or in a remote learning environment.”
The interactive toolkit – which includes fully-animated “webisodes” voiced by comedian Matt Okine and Little Lunch star Madison Lu, audio podcasts, PDF resources for teachers and Kahoot quizzes – aims to help educators and parents teach kids about how their mood can be impacted by food, as well as highlighting other wellbeing-boosting activities such as spending time in green spaces and gardening.
“Contemporary research is highlighting how important it is to honour all of our kids’ feelings, not just the good ones, and we’re trying to give them the tools to learn to put themselves in a positive mindset, despite whatever obstacles might come their way,” says Phenomenom creator Alice Zaslavsky.
“The Good Mood Food Special is a natural progression which considers the changing nature of schooling, giving parents and teachers actionable resources to make teaching easy and enjoyable, all while helping build better relationships with food.”