Program Catalog

Human Sciences programs help Iowans become closer to family, raise healthy children, talk with their teens, improve relationships, enjoy a lifetime full of memories, save more money, live a healthy life, have access to trusted resources, and care for themselves and others.

Family

ELEVATE: TAKING YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Do you want to enrich the quality of your relationships? Whether you are part of a couple preparing for marriage, in a blended family, or expecting a child, this workshop is for you. Together you will learn and practice seven skills essential to maintain a healthy and stable relationship.

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP EDUCATION TRAINING
The research is clear — the quality of adult couple relationships and positive parenting practices are connected to healthy child outcomes. You will be prepared to teach couples and families relationship education skills that support strong and stable couple relationships for healthy and safe children and families.

A JOURNEY THROUGH PARKINSON’S DISEASE*
If you’re struggling with Parkinson’s disease or know someone who is, it’s helpful to know where to find support  on the journey. Learn about the causes and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and how treatments work, as well as therapeutic activities to do at home.

POWERFUL TOOLS FOR CAREGIVERS*
Feeling stretched in your role as a caregiver? Caregiving can be stressful — physically, emotionally, and financially. Whether you care for a loved one at home or in a care facility, nearby or far away, your role is important. You will learn ways to take care of yourself, reduce stress, improve your caregiving confidence, and establish balance in  your life as you care for others.

CAREGIVING RELATIONSHIPS: CONVERSATIONS ON AGING
Caring for a loved one can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be challenging. Learn to recognize how caregiving affects relationships among family members. You will gain skills in talking and listening to address changing needs in later life.

ESSENTIALS CHILD CARE PRESERVICE
This series provides helpful answers to many questions about creating a safe environment, preparing for an emergency, transporting children, preventing and controlling infectious diseases, handling and storing hazardous materials, giving medication, managing food allergies, creating a safe sleep environment for infants, preventing shaken baby syndrome, understanding child development, supporting cultural diversity, and understanding homelessness.

UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS
Learn ways to prevent the risk of infection in child care and how to protect yourself and others using Universal Precautions. Discover how to access, develop, and use an Exposure Control Plan, a requirement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

IOWA EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS 3RD EDITION ORIENTATION
Orientation provides a detailed overview of the new standards and how to use the standards to plan  developmentally appropriate activities and create lesson plans. This course uses actual scenarios and demonstrates how to use the standards to support child development.

FLORA, FAUNA, AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
Learn why connecting with nature is important and how to engage families with outdoor nature-based play experiences. Incorporate nature-based best practices to improve the quality of your child care program.

ENVIRONMENT RATING SCALE TRAINING
Interested in improving the quality of your child care program in a fun and interactive way? Learn how to use Environment Rating Scales to assess and improve the quality of child care programs. You’ll be guided step-by-step through helpful changes that make a difference in your work with children.

GROWING UP WILD
Wiggling worms and giggling children — that’s what you can expect with this wildlife education session! You’ll examine ways to build and nurture children’s sense of wonder about nature, wildlife, and the great  outdoors.

NATURE EXPLORE
Turn your child care play spaces into fun, joyful areas to explore nature. You’ll discover how to engage children in nature through music and the arts, how to develop observation skills, and much more.

STRENGTHENING FAMILIES PROGRAM: FOR PARENTS AND YOUTH 10-14*
Want to protect your children, but find it challenging? Wondering how to help your children resist peer pressure? Parents and youth will practice skills, play learning games, do family projects in highly interactive sessions to increase family bonding, build positive communication skills, and solve problems together.

RAISING SCHOOL READY READERS*
Learn fun ways to engage children in literacy play and turn everyday experiences into learning activities to help children be ready for school. Families participate together in hands-on activities that support early literacy skills in six areas.

OUCH! THAT STEREOTYPE HURTS
Have you sat silent in the face of stereotypes and bias because you didn’t know what to say? Were you worried about hurting someone’s feelings? Were you afraid to speak up? Enhance your skills for speaking up against stereotypes with useful, easy-to-learn phrases, as you communicate in a diverse world.

Finance

SMART CHOICE: HEALTH INSURANCE
Confused about which health insurance plan is best for your family? Would you like to maximize the value of your health insurance? You’ll learn how to be a smart health insurance consumer, whether choosing a policy or making wise use of the features of that policy.

HOMEBUYER EDUCATION: A PLACE OF YOUR OWN
The American Dream is to own a home. Purchasing a home is probably the biggest purchase you’ll ever make.  It’s an exciting experience and not a simple task. Lessons focus on preparing for home ownership, shopping for a home, securing a mortgage, closing the loan, and being a homeowner.

YOUR MONEY, YOUR GOALS
Talking about money and goals may be difficult for you while you are helping clients address other complex issues. You’ll discover how to have money conversations with the people you assist to help them achieve their financial goals. You will learn how to help others set goals, save money, manage credit, get organized, and more.

FINANCES OF CAREGIVING
When you understand possible financial solutions for care of a loved one, you and your family can make the best decisions for their care. As your family plans together, be sure to look at financial solutions that protect the financial future of the caregiver. We’ll guide you through the steps of finding and collecting needed information and share tools to help you in your decisions.

WRITING YOUR RETIREMENT PAYCHECK
It’s not too soon to take steps to make your resources last a lifetime. You can “write” your own retirement paycheck as you learn to make informed decisions about your retirement savings and withdrawals. You’ll learn how health insurance, inflation, required minimum distributions, and taxes will impact your retirement paycheck.

YOUR MONEY, YOUR FUTURE: MAKING ENDS MEET
You’ve worked for your money. Now make your money work for you. You’ll learn how to manage expenses, stretch limited dollars, and set goals for the future.

CHILD CARE PROVIDER FINANCE TRAININGS

  • Cent$ible: Getting What You Want
    It’s simple math — if you spend less than your income, you’ll have savings. If not, you’ll have debt. In this session, you’ll learn how to get what you want by setting financial goals and then creating a plan for your spending and saving.
  • Cent$ible: Retirement First Steps
    Time is money and the sooner you begin saving for retirement, the better. You’ll identify reasons that early planning is important and examine ways you can begin saving for retirement.
  • Cent$ible: Retirement Next Steps
    Step by step, as you follow your saving and spending plan, you’ll be headed in the right direction for your destination: retirement! You’ll consider how to invest for your retirement  years.
  • Preschoolers and Pennies: Read, Talk, Learn, and Play
    Children love to pretend they run a grocery store or a restaurant. Build on that interest with activities for preschoolers that practice money and literacy skills. You’ll explore ways to introduce and reinforce money- related words and concepts throughout the day as children learn and play.

Food

SERVSAFE® CERTIFIED FOOD PROTECTION MANAGER COURSE
Whether you are a food service manager or an employee, using current best practices in safe food handling is essential to keep your food establishment in compliance and protect the health of both customers and staff. You’ll have the opportunity to take an exam to be certified as a Food Protection  Manager.

SAFEFOOD
Foodborne illness does happen — and not always to someone else. Be safe, not sorry when you learn and follow the four simple steps to food safety: Clean. Separate. Cook. Chill. You’ll learn best practices to ensure you prepare and serve food safely.

PRESERVE THE TASTE OF SUMMER
Preserving your own foods can be a lot quicker and easier than you might think. It’s a great way to have delicious, local food all year long. Four hands-on workshops offer you the opportunity to learn safe food preservation techniques.

  • Salsa Making
  • Jam Making and Dehydrating
  • Pickle Making and Pickled Products
  • Pressure Canning and Freezing

FOOD PRESERVATION 101
Love that fresh garden produce but have more than you can eat? Preserve it! It’s not difficult, but you do need to follow safe methods. You’ll learn how to can, freeze, and dry foods safely at home.

LATINOS LIVING WELL
¡Bienvenidos! You are invited to learn how to improve your health and stay fit to reduce diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Discover the foods that keep your body healthy, make and taste foods in class, learn how to shop smarter, and practice ways to be more physically active. You can do it! Make changes today for a healthier tomorrow!

HEALTHY AND HOMEMADE
It is possible to save time and money and still prepare foods at home that are healthy and tasty. Whether you cook for one or for a few, you will learn and practice strategies for using time, money, and skills wisely when you eat at home.

  • Cook Now, Enjoy Later
    Discover how planning ahead can reduce stress and save money as you provide your family with nutritious, home-cooked meals.
  • Cooking for One or Two
    Learn strategies to make the most out of cooking for a household of one or  two.
  • Healthy Choices: Aisle by Aisle
    A virtual grocery tour will help you identify and purchase the most nutritious items with your food dollars.
  • Slow Cooker Meals
    Explore the benefits of the slow cooker and learn food safety tips and meal  ideas.
  • Veg Out!
    Examine the benefits of vegetables, sample recipe ideas, and learn how to increase fruit and veggies in your diet.

STAY INDEPENDENT: A HEALTHY AGING SERIES
It’s never too early — or too late — to set realistic goals for eating well and moving more. Learn the health benefits of eating well and how to strengthen your muscles to stay independent for life. Sample healthy, tasty, and low-  cost food and trade tips with peers.

  • Three Meals a Day
  • Feast on Fruits and Vegetables
  • Power Up with Protein
  • Exercise Your Independence
  • Brain Health

IS IT WHOLE GRAIN?
This is a good question to ask as you make food choices. Learn how to identify whole grain foods and ways to add them to your meals. Discover the three steps to three servings of whole grains and experience tasting whole grain foods.

CHILD CARE PROVIDER NUTRITION TRAININGS

Learn about healthy, affordable food choices and physical activities you can offer for children in your care. Classes are designed for different segments of the early childhood field:

  • Actions Speak Louder Than Words
    Children are great imitators. They observe and imitate adults’ nutrition and physical activity practices. Explore ways you can be a positive role model for children in your care. Write an action plan for helping children develop healthy eating habits for life.
  • Color Me Healthy – Food Colors and Health
    You can’t actually “eat the rainbow,” but you can eat foods the colors of the rainbow for better health. You’ll learn the health benefits of fruit and vegetable color groups and fun activities to increase children’s recognition and acceptance of fruits and  vegetables.
  • Don’t Give Kids a Tummy Ache
    Is it the flu or a foodborne illness? How does food become unsafe? How can I protect the children I care for from foodborne illnesses? Find answers while learning the basics of preventing foodborne illnesses as you play “Fight BAC” bingo.
  • Gardening with Children
    Can digging in the dirt be good for children? Yes, when it encourages children to taste new vegetables that they’ve helped to grow. Gardening with children promotes a healthy lifestyle, early learning experiences, social development, and environmental stewardship. You’ll engage in experiential-learning gardening activities through crafts, literacy, container gardening, and taste  testing.
  • I Only Want a Peanut Butter Sandwich!
    Worried about the child who only wants to eat one food? Is this healthy? It can be frustrating when all a child wants to eat is a peanut butter sandwich. You’ll learn about eating habits that are normal for young children, strategies that promote healthy eating habits, and how to foster pleasant mealtime experiences — all while taste testing new foods.
  • Infant Feeding 101
    Whether babies are breast fed or formula fed, their health and wellbeing depends on your support of their mothers and families. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn the best practices for food safety and infant feeding regulations, along with important ways to support both moms and babies.
  • Just a Bite—Managing  Food Allergies in Child Care
    Just a bite may be all it takes to cause a severe reaction to a food allergen. You’ll learn the common food allergens for children and the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction. Join us to learn strategies and practical skills to provide an allergen-safe and healthy environment for the children in your care.
  • Linking Literacy with Food: Read, Learn, Eat!
    Mix books with food experiences to introduce literacy to children. Early reading and language development help children be “school ready,” which increases their opportunities for academic success. You’ll experience new ways to connect with children as you incorporate food-related activities in lessons with well-loved children’s books.
  • Meal Planning Magic
    If only we could wave a wand and nutritious, convenient meals would suddenly appear! Since that won’t happen, instead you’ll learn best practices for planning and serving meals, physical activity, and health and safety for children under your care. Meal and snack planning will be discussed and demonstrated, and you’ll enjoy samples.
  • Move for Thought
    On your mark, get set … move! Did you know movement activities can help children improve thinking skills? You’ll practice activities in the Move for Thought Pre-K kit, which describes physical activities integrated with pre-academic concepts, self-regulation skills, books, and music for use in early childhood classrooms.
  • MyPlate in My Child Care: Four Easy Steps
    With four easy steps you will be on your way to help lay the foundation for lifelong dietary habits in children. We’ll explain four specific MyPlate recommendations you can implement as you plan meals and snacks in your childcare setting. You’ll practice revising menus to follow these four steps.
  • Spend Smart and Eat Smart in the Child Care Business
    Good nutrition does not have to be expensive. Children in your care can “eat smart” when you practice strategies to save money while incorporating new ideas into menu planning and food  shopping.
  • Who Leads, Who Follows: Feeding and Physical Activity Division of Responsibility in Child Care
    Who leads and who follows? That is the question! You’ll find the answers in this workshop as you identify who is responsible for what, when, where, and whether a child eats and is physically active. Learn which responsibilities belong to the provider and which belong to the child.

Focus

WHAT ABOUT ME? MY WELLBEING
Engage in hands-on learning to enhance your wellbeing and quality of life in ways that are personally meaningful to you. Learn strategies for taking time for yourself, building relationships, and improving physical and financial health.

*Training to be certified as program facilitator available.