Kids Running - Ask Carol

BACK-TO-SCHOOL, 2007 by CAROL GOODROW
The summer breezed by, the countdown is on, and school will be starting before we can say, "Ready, set, GO!"

FOR SNACKING
Back-to-school means back to healthy eating and snacking. Here's a new treat from Today's Farm. It's 100% Natural Freeze-Dried Snacks. They come in strawberry and Apple Cinnamon. They are preservative free, are a product of the USA, have the same nutritional value as fresh fruit, and two features that your kids will love: they are candy red and yummy.

Best snack suggestions: fresh fruit, something crunchy, small veggie pack, whole-grain carb. Either alternate on a daily basis or send more than one each day. Don't fall into the only-crunchy-grain pattern.

A pack of these is a combination of the tanginess of fruit and the crunch of a comforting snack. Here's the data from a .5 oz. strawberry pack.
Calories 45, Fat 0 g, Fiber 4 g, Vitamin C 160%
More from justusfoods.com

FOR EVERYONE
kids

Photos by JOhn, Courtesy of the Lehigh Valley Road Runners

Fall is a beautiful time to run. The weather turns mild and the colors turn vibrant. Do you have a fun run, or running event circled on your calendar? If you do, then best of luck! If you don't, then get busy. Check the kids' calendar, google "your town" plus "fun runs" to start your search. Look for something for the whole family. Celebrate fitness and the seasons. Nothing in your neighborhood? Then it's a great opportunity to travel or better yet, take charge and work with your community to design a fall fun run.

Weekend physical activity in family form belongs foremost on any back-to-school list. I have my fall race/fun run picked out. Send an e-mail and let me know where you are running!

FOR KIDS
shoe

1. Add 2 pair of sports shoes to your back-to-school list. Make one a running shoe and another a general sports shoe. Your shoes should have a snug fit. Be sure to break in your shoes a bit before you wear them to school or running club.

Do some of your back-to-school school shopping at a running store. Find out what kind of running shoes are best for your foot type. shoe

Can you tie? If not, practice. For the younger children try Loop Laces. See looplace.com. These new laces make tying easy.

2. Make sure that you wear comfortable clothes to school. Clothes that you can exercise in. AND if you are wearing fashionable shoes, pack a pair of well-fitting sports-running shoes in your backpack so you have them for recess.

3. Be good to your body. Pack fruit and veggies for a daily snack. If you're running a lot (and we hope you are) add a whole-grain snack too.

4. Figure out when it's best for you to do your homework. Before exercise so that you can get it out of the way? After exercise so that you can focus on it.

5. Choose a hairstyle that doesn't mind the weather: a new cut, a ponytail, braids, or hat if allowed will help. Save the fancy stuff for the weekends or one school day each week. Don't let style keep you from being healthy. And for the girls the BLUSH you get from exercise will be more attractive than any make up.

6. Set goals, both learning and exercise. Do the best you can in your school and home environment to reach both. Discuss your needs with your teachers and parents. Send us a short goal for one of our speedy sneakers to help us decorate the Web site. Email your motto to carolgoodrow@verizon.net and I will create your one-of-a-kind speedy sneaker and place it somewhere on this Web site. It's a way you can help the site stay VIBRANT and FUN!

FOR TEACHERS

Is your room set up? Your first week lesson plans made? Your groups organized? If so, sit back and think of how you will help influence your children to develop healthy habits.

NUTRITION
Design a healthy snack program. Think: How will you encourage your children to bring a healthy snack to school? And how will you help them define just WHAT a healthy snack is? What about portion size? Will measuring and reading the Nutrition Info on packages fit into your curriculum or will a bulletin board with visuals better meet your needs?
- Junie B. Jones and Healthy Snacks in School
- A Healthy Eating UltraMarathon
- Something Fun!!

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR KIDS
Create a running or walking club.What are your children's days like? Do they have P.E. classes on a regular basis? Does your school have a recess mileage club or an after-school exercise program? Would you like to integrate running into your classroom curriculum? Start planning now.
- An After-School Club - The Happy Feet Club!
- Lots of Model Kids Running Programs
- School Running Games | And MORE School Running Games
- A Mileage Program with Toe-Tokens And where to buy? Toe-Tokens Scroll down and look for Feelin' Good Mileage Club, Fitness Finders
- Kid Tips

PHYSICAL WELL BEING FOR YOURSELF
Examine your schedule. When and how are you going to get your needed exercise. Can you run before school, during a lunch break or after school before you head for home? Or do you do better to head home and stop at a health club before supper? And then there's always the treadmill later at night when your work is complete. This beats hitting the road with a headlamp and reflective clothing (although this is a possibility). But whatever you do, make sure to build in time for yourself. It will keep you vibrant and fit, full of needed enthusiasm for your classroom.
- Teacher's Desk

FOR PARENTS
The fall is great time to spice up your home fitness and nutrition family goals. Get involved. Find a family event. Sign up, put it on your calendar and do some easy training. Sign up for a local running event that has something for every one: a fun run, a run/walk, or a run/walk 5-K. If your town doesn't have a fall event, then work with the school or town rec department to create one.
- School-Sponsored Fun Run
- Cider Mill Races
- Fun Runs

In the ABCs of a Healthy School Year, Lisa Hark, PhD, RD,PhD, RD, Director of the Nutrition Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine advises, "Learning to enjoy nutritious foods and be physically active in fun ways are life lessons that parents can teach their children to help them develop healthy habits they will carry through their school years and on into adulthood." For full article visit newswise.com.

As a parent, you are perhaps the greatest influence and player in your child's developing years. Is your day organized to do all you need to do and still have time for fitness, healthy eating for yourself and your children.

AND MORE
According to a recent poll, 1 in 4 adults read NO books this past year. If you haven't been reading, then it's a good time to start. Visit your public library to find books for your family. Interested in running, health, and fitness? Visit our Resource Page. Can't afford to buy? Request a book through the library. Even if they don't have it, they will find one for you through interlibrary loan. Through books, you will learn and be entertained.

carolgoodrow@verizon.net