HAPPY FEET CLUB'S 10TH SESSION
Here we go again! The Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club has begun. With the help of parent volunteers it is in full swing. If you've followed the club over the years, you can see how it has evolved. But no matter the changes, the spirit still remains. Happy kids, fit kids, with club activities emphasizing FUN!
- Carol Goodrow
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WEEK 2
AFTER-SCHOOL CLUB
 For the teacher, it's a challenge. The club starts at the end of a busy school day. And with inclusion this year, the day is more fun but oh so busy. Parent volunteers are needed more than ever. When the children pile in, I'm still scrambling to get out crayons, folders, books, markers, colored pencils, and sometimes healthy snacks.
CROWD CONTROL
And with limited space, we get a lot of kids in a small area, so crowd control is needed. Ring a bell - hands raised! That's our call-to-attention signal. (Finally found a use for that 15-year-old "Teacher-of-the-Year Bell". It took a child-study meeting with a tip from a fellow teacher to come up with this strategy.) Then we are ready to start, talking about healthy habits, our running game and activity of the day, along with our goals for health and fitness. 
RUNNING GAME
The game the kids are playing is our Chipmunks and Squirrels running game from Kids Running: Have Fun, Get Faster & Go Farther, 2008. It's easy. Toss hundreds of Unifix Cubes (acorns) onto the field and kids run to find them to bring back to their team.
Rule #1: Carry only one acorn at a time.
Rule #2: You may steal from the other team if you want to take the time to run the distance to the other side.
It's fun, non-competitive, and keeps the kids moving.
GOALS
1. Quieting down quickly to complete the learning part of club.
2. Staying active.
3. Learning about healthy eating.
4. Having a ton of fun.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Being part of a club has many benefits both external and internal. Learning to be civically responsible is one that is often overlooked in young children's clubs. This year, as a fundraiser, we will be selling Happy Hands thermax kids' gloves to the families in our community. These will be made by the Stickman Glove company. We'll donate the profits to SEPTA, our school special education parent teacher association. More on this when we have the gloves to show! Happy Hands? All children, including wheelchair athletes inspired our idea to add "Happy Hands" gloves to the "Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club".
From Kids Running: Have Fun, Get Faster & Go Farther, Carol Goodrow
NEW CLUBS
This fall new Happy Feet clubs have been started in Michigan and Virginia. And I've been told that a lot of Happy Feet clubs are around. Since my lesson plans are shared online, I don't always know about the clubs unless people decide to notify me. I always appreciate it when they do!
SPONSORS
Thank you to nerac.com, cnc software, inc., and agora, our sponsors, for your continued support. And thank you to Runner's World, as well, for providing this Web space so that we may share our club.
Extra points for finding a REAL acorn!
LINKS
Happy Feet Archives on Kids Running
More about the Happy Feet Club on Carol's author site
Want to see what else is out there? Links to many outstanding youth programs. Something for everyone!
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