Showing the effect poor vision can have on a child’s academic success may not be the best way to get a child’s attention.  But use of a fun sport like baseball or soccer to illustrate that message, and chances are you’ll score!

Get Focused Sports Events, part of VSP’s national Get Focus eyecare awareness campaign, will help children and parents understand how good vision affects athletics and academic performance.  Get Focused events will be held across the country throughout the year and are part of a larger VSP effort to educate the public about the need for regular eye exams from an eyecare professional.

At each of the events, professional athletes will supervise children participating in various sporting drills like batting, pitching and kicking while wearing special goggles that blur their vision, allowing children to experience how poor vision hinders their ability to succeed.  In addition, volunteer doctors from local optometric colleges or the VSP network will provide children with eye exams.  The local sports club will help distribute eyecare information to game attendees, who are mostly families.

“Get Focused events are a fun way to educate parents and the community about the importance of proper eyecare for young children,” said VSP Board Chairman Catherine Amos, O.D., F.A.A.O. “Parents who understand the need for eyecare are more likely to have their children receive regular exams.”

VSP’s curriculum, a component of VSP’s national Get Focused campaign, is a start at reaching the goal of every family in your community understanding the importance of children receiving regular eye exams.  In the few months since the curriculum has been available, teachers across the country are clamoring to receive the educator’s kit so they can teach their students about eye health safety.

VSP, along with the Explorit Science Center and the National Eye Institute, has developed an eyecare curriculum for grades K-6 delivered to teachers in an eye-catching and colorful “tool kit.”  To date, more than 9,000 copies of the curriculum have been downloaded from the Get Focused Website.

“The kit uses math, art and science creatively to educate children about the structure and function of the eyes, vision disorders and eyecare health and safety,” said Julia Edwards, O.D., Chairman of VSP’s Patient and Provider Relations Committee.  “The lessons are fun and easy to integrate into the teacher’s existing curriculum.

The kit includes the curriculum, games, optical illusion cards and book, lenses, a Braille guide, an eye chart and other resources to help teachers conduct activities suggested in the curriculum.  Quantities are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis to teachers with 25 students or more in their classroom.

The kit also engages parents in the education process through homework assignments such as putting together a family tree and identifying how man members wear or wore glasses.

“The direct benefit is that the kit helps educate children and teachers about eyecare,” Edwards added.  “Based on the demand this product has generated, it’s clear that the message is being heard and teachers have a method that’s appealing to them.

To view the eyecare curriculum, visit getfocusedamerica.org.  The curriculum can be downloaded at no cost, or teachers may request a hard copy.