Helping Students Build Strong Bones
Throw a Best Bones Forever! party!
Planning an event at your school? Make it a Best Bones Forever! themed party, and you can receive free materials (like our fun temporary tattoos, journals, magnets, and posters!), media support, editorial and design assistance, even Best Bones Forever! playing cards for special events! Try one of these ideas to get you started, or brainstorm one of your own!
- Pep rally—Get students excited about eating right and exercising with a special event in the gym! Some ideas for a successful pep rally (the campaign launched with a fun pep rally at a middle school in North Las Vegas, Nevada) include:
- Three-legged race with students (and their BFFs)
- Smoothie demonstrations
- Basketball or soccer skills workshop
- Jump roping contest
- Tattoo application station (and use our tattoo application station talking points)
- Writing contest—Have students submit poems, songs, stories, or other creative writing samples about bone health. Compile the winning submissions in a book and hold a book signing party so the winners can autograph their submissions. Email bestbonesforever@hhs.gov for information about a successful writing contest and book signing party held at a middle school in Dallas, Texas.
- Hold a health fair/field day—Include typical field day activities such as the 50-yard dash and wheelbarrow races, as well as other physical activities, from soccer to softball to cheerleading. Invite local nutritionists and pediatricians to talk to students about bone health. Hold taste tests or food demonstrations as well.
- Milk mustache and taste test—Have students try regular milk, soymilk, and lactose-reduced milk to determine their favorite. Take pictures with their “milk mustaches.”
- Hold a fifth grade sleepover—Prepare girls for middle school with a sleepover. Serve bone-healthy foods, hold a dance contest, and have girls from the middle school come and talk to them about the upcoming experience. You can do the same thing with eighth-grade girls to prepare them for high school.
If you are holding an event at your school or program, we want to know about it! We can help you prepare for the event with free materials and presentations, promotions, etc. Contact bestbonesforever@hhs.gov 3-4 weeks prior to your event to ensure materials arrive on time.
Content last updated August 2010
