HAPPY FEET, HEALTHY FOOD KIDS' CLUB Autumn Session 4 Healthy eating is an important part of our club Sing while you run It was our first rainy day, the perfect weather for playing an indoor game in the gym. After our snacking, leaf tracing, and reading, we would be heading to the gym with bins of happy feet activity cards. OUR READING "Cycling" was today's topic. We chose the reader of the day to read the FUN FEET section of our HAPPY FEET, HEALTHY FOOD books aloud. The child read, "You can cycle on the trails to a frog pond." Then we all read the same sentence together. Next, "Teach your dog to fetch," and the class read it, too. Then, "You can cycle on the road to the park." And "You can cycle on the path to a blackberry patch." The children gave examples of places they rode their bikes: -in the yard -on the trails -on the road with their parents And they talked about the kinds of bikes they had. Later, on returning to the classroom, the children would draw their bicycles in the WRITER & ARTIST'S CORNER of their books. OUR ACTIVITY We divided the gym into "traffic-light sections" to match our color-coded activity cards (see link below to print activity cards). The outer lane was the GREEN LIGHT section. The faster moving activities would happen here. With 50 children in each club session this was a must. We have a small gym and the space problem was solved by using different areas. We designated a lane inside the outer lane to be the YELLOW LIGHT section. Skipping and speedwalking were yellow light activities. The center of our gym was the RED LIGHT section. Here the children did jumping jacks, stretches, crunches, push-ups or dancing. We used our cards from last year, but added a few new ones. Last year the "Boston Marathon" was the super-challenge (Jog 3 laps). This year we had an "ultramarathon card". This quickly became the most popular card to select. Each child would select a card, put it on his/her wrist, perform the activity, then return the card, and then draw again! They had many turns and could select from any bin they wanted, but were asked to do activities from each color category. Some cards involved doing an activity with a buddy. The rule was, If anyone asks you to be a buddy, you must say, "YES!" EVEN IF A GIRL ASKED A BOY OR A BOY ASKED A GIRL! This game is just plain lots of fun. After we played, we sat in the center of gym. We were the audience while the children had an exercise recital. All of the children who ran the "ultramarathon" got up and ran one more lap and we clapped. Another child chose a buddy and skipped for us. We cheered. Two children ran together and sang "Silent Night". Again, we applauded. A child who didn't do an activity with a buddy chose one now and ran a lap for us. It was fun to watch the children do their activities. BACK IN THE CLASSROOM We returned to the classroom and the children got right to work. They colored in their leaves and added their footprints. If they had brought a healthy snack, they were given a sticker for their folder. When it came time for journal writing many of the children used the cards to help them with their spelling. They wrote their entries, filled in the 10-minute blocks (4 to be exact) for the amount of time they exercised today, drew a healthy food, and then worked on their bicycle sketches. PACK-A-SNACK Our featured snack of the week was the peach. Three years ago I camped out at Hyland Orchards with a peach survey. I questioned many children about ways that they would prefer to eat peaches. It was almost unanimous that they would choose a whole fresh peach. So it only made sense to have "Eat a whole fresh peach," be my first snack suggestion in my book. The others include, "Slice and sprinkle with cinnamon. Eat with yogurt. AND If you do bake a pie, go easy on(or eliminate) the sugar, and make a healthy crust." You just have to try all of these. My favorite, without a doubt is to bake a peach pie with no sugar at all. I make a healthy crust (page 56, Happy Feet, Healthy Food), fill it with sliced peaches, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake. It's nutritious, delicious, and completely healthy - one of my favorite deserts. Why not try it? "LEAN & FIT KIDS cycle by the peach shortcake and choose a fresh peach instead."        -Carol Goodrow For more information please e-mail goodrow@infionline.net. THE TEXT/JOURNAL: HAPPY FEET, HEALTHY FOOD, Your Child's First Journal of Exercise and Healthy Eating LINKS TO THIS YEAR'S AUTUMN CLUB Back to Club Overview Leaf Cutout Printable for Week 1 Game Card Printable 1 for Week 4 | Game Card Printable 2 | Game Card Printable 3 | Game Card Printable 4 Week 2 at Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club Week 3 at Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club Week 4 at Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club LINKS TO LAST YEAR'S SPRING CLUB First Week at Miles of Math Second Week at Miles of Math Third Week at Miles of Math Fourth Week at Miles of Math Fifth Week at Miles of Math Sixth Week at Miles of Math Seventh Week at Miles of Math Eighth Week at Miles of Math Ninth Week at Miles of Math Tenth Week at Miles of Math goodrow@infionline.net