Health education on wheels

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 578, 21 March 1995, Page 7

Health education on wheels

The Wanganui and District Life Education Community Trust mobile classroom was in Waiouru for the first time last week. Mobile teacher Jill Cooper, said the mobile classroom is a health education resource and its

aim is to make children of primary school age aware of their bodies and how special they are. There are a series of visual aids in the mobile classroom including

puppets, mannequins and computerised diagrams. These help Miss Cooper show children how the inside of their bodies work, their circulatory system, digestive system and respiratory system. Miss Cooper said that younger children get taught seven things their bodies need to stay healthy. These are sleep, exercise, healthy food, drink (milk and water), cleanliness, safety and breathing. For older children these subjects are broken in to three categories, food, water and oxygen. Miss Cooper then discusses with the children what we don't need to keep our bodies running and the effects of harmful substances. Since its launch in October of last year the mobile classroom has been around Wanganui schools and the surrounding districts are now getting their tum. Today the classroom will be moved to Taihape until the end of the month. There are 17 mobile units teaching health awareness in New Zealand.