A special educational training event was recently held for elementary physical education teachers from the Moore County school system.

At the session, sponsored by the Moore County Farm Bureau, educators took part in an orientation session related to the use of a new teaching kit titled "The Farmer Grows a Rainbow." The kit includes multiple classroom lessons and accompanying physical activities for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade that address nutrition and fitness education integrated with core curricula.

The kit was developed by North Carolina Farm Bureau's educational program, Ag in the Classroom. According to Louise Lamm, Ag in the Classroom director, the lessons were developed to create awareness of the latest nutritional guidelines set forth by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, MyPyramid.gov, and to help students develop an understanding and appreciation for the source of all nutrition, the farmer.

Development the kit was made possible through a grant from USDA and kits are being made available to schools throughout the United States.

Participating educators spent time investigating the general lesson for all elementary students which helps to familiarize them with "MyPyramid.gov" and then studied lessons for specific grade levels.

They were able to study printed lesson plans, view video clips of lessons being taught, and participate in selected activities as their students will do.

Moore County Farm Bureau County liaison, Ann Douglas, was on hand to greet the group and pledged the support of Farm Bureau as teachers work to provide top quality and relevant lessons for their students. The group was informed that Moore County Farm Bureau was donating one kit to each elementary school in the county. Lunch for participants was also provided by the Moore County Farm Bureau.

Farm Bureau is a private, nonprofit grassroots organization that has been actively promoting farm and rural issues in North Carolina since 1936 through governmental relations, marketing, field representation, agricultural education, member services and other programs.