PROGRAM OVERVIEW: HAPPY FEET, HEALTHY FOOD KIDS' CLUB Fitness, Outdoor Fun, Healthy Eating, and Literacy MISSION Happy Feet, Healthy Food is an after-school kids' club. Its mission is to help children develop the love of everyday habits of physical exercise and healthy eating. During each 10-week session (fall and spring), children keep track of their own progress through a journal "log-book" and also work to reach group running and healthy-snacking goals. FUNDING This club is best funded locally, either by your own school system, your PTO, or by a town business. This is also a good time to write for a grant which emphasizes health and fitness for our youth. MATERIALS You can plan your budget around the following materials. Your club's budget will be dependent on the number of children attending and your wants and needs. - T-shirt for each club member - if you are starting a Happy Feet club, I offer the design free of charge. I send your print shop the design. You pay for printing costs. goodrow@infionline.net - Happy Feet, Healthy Food book for each member. - School supplies: pencils, colored pencils, magic markers, file folders, glue sticks, file folders, paper, and vellum. - Incentives for finishing fun run. RIBBONS Happy Feet, Healthy Food ribbons, for successful completion of club, will be funded by Runner's World and available from the KidsRunning.Com Web site. We have an "Official Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kid" ribbon. Children earn these by running, eating healthy snacks, eating "Happy Feet" lunches and more. See kidsrunning.com/krpublish.html for more information. Our club has the goal of 5 miles of running and walking within the 10-week club session. You can adapt this to meet your needs (increase the distance required for your club). If you have created your own Happy Feet club, then you can define your own rules for kids earning a ribbon. Please email carolgoodrow@verizon.net if you would like ribbons or your club. We provide these free of charge and only ask that you pay postage. ROUTINE UPON ARRIVAL 1. Children arrive at club, get their folders, find a seat, color in a "jewel" on a huge treasure chest if they brought a healthy snack. They then eat their healthy snack, and take this time to update their folders. SONG, FOOTPRINTS, DIRECTIONS, READING HAPPY FEET BOOK 2. When everyone arrives, we sing the club song, go over footprint folders to make sure kids' properly colored in footprints, go over day's schedule, and then children read an information page from Happy Feet, Healthy Food. The information pages highlight a specific physical activity and a specific healthy food. Reading can be done chorally, independently, or one child can be chosen to read. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 3. Kids head outside (weather permitting - if not to the gym) for walking, hiking, and or running. WRITE IN HAPPY FEET BOOK 4. Everyone returns to the classroom for a quick drink of water, and then journaling. Journaling in Happy Feet, Healthy Food includes: -Writing about the physical activity (one word, phrase, sentence, or many sentences - depending on the child's level). -Filling in a "time tracker" to record the amount of time spent exercising, both in the club and during other activities of the day. -Recording healthy foods eaten at the club, in school, and at home. -Making a quick sketch of an everyday healthy habit. COMPLETE AND TURN IN FOOTPRINT FOLDERS 5. Kids use footprint folders to group goals. These include club attendance, bringing journal to club, journaling at home, having a parent volunteer, bringing a healthy snack, bringing in a "happy feet lunch slip", doing an event or fun run, and doing something special with family related to health and fitness. If they didn't have time to update their folders before club, they do so now and then turn them in. PARENT PICK UP 6. Kids stay in the room until parents arrive. They take their Happy Feet books home with them to journal at home. They also take home extra Happy Feet Lunch Blanks and any handouts about local fun runs and events. OTHER CLUB COMPONENTS Happy Feet Lunch Blanks (pictured above) Pre-post club parent survey THE TEXT: HAPPY FEET, HEALTHY FOOD, Your Child's First Journal of Exercise and Healthy Eating BONUS: Have a HAPPY FEET LUNCH CONTEST at your school. Click the link for more information. ABOUT THE CLUB - LITERATURE CONNECTIONS The Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club was founded by Carol Goodrow. Carol had been running with her schoolchildren for ten years when she wrote and illustrated her first book "Happy Feet, Healthy Food. (2004). Happy Feet, Healthy Food is a combination journal and information book. See "Happy Feet, Healthy Food". This book has become a staple at her after-school club. Children read about exercise and healthy food. They write short journal entries after each exercise period. They also track their time exercised and record some of their healthy foods they've eaten. This year, (2006), Carol has written and illustrated her first children's chapter book, "The Treasure of Health and Happiness". This is a 96-page work of fiction with full-color illustrations. The main character, Hannah, is a discouraged junk-food fed 9-year old who shuns healthy eating and exercise until she embarks on an adventure with her dog in search of the Treasure of Health and Happiness. During her journey she finds that the real treasures are not gems and jewels, but healthy foods like shimmering strawberries and the fun run she has never had the courage to enter. But Hannah's adventure is a dream and only the readers of the book will know if Hannah emerges with confidence to try things once again. AUTUMN 2005 STORY 1: FOCUS ON HEALTH AND FITNESS STORY 2: THE NEW FOOD PYRAMID FROM MYPYRAMID.GOV STORY 3: HAPPY FEET LUNCHES - SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM SPRING 2005 New: THE SPRING CLUB - FOOTPRINTS TO HEALTH WEEK 1 GOAL 10 HEALTHY SNACKS AND JOURNAL AT HOME WEEK 4 DREAM COME TRUE WEEK 5 FIDDLEHEADS AND SKUNK CABBAGE WEEK 7 ART WEEK 10 MEMORIES AUTUMN THE AUTUMN CLUB TEE WEEK 1 ADDING COLOR TO THE FALL CLUB WEEK 2 AUTUMN CLUB LESSON AND RUNNING WEEK 3 AUTUMN CLUB LESSON AND RUNNING WEEK 4 AUTUMN CLUB LESSON AND RUNNING WEEK 8 HAPPY FEET FAMILY FUN RUN THE RIBBON SPRING TRACKING MILEAGE AND HEALTHY EATING TEN-WEEK SPRING SCHEDULE AUTUMN AND SPRING TIPS FOR LEADING A SUCCESSFUL CLUB An after-school program is a great place to encourage your students to eat healthy snacks and embrace physical exercise. If you start when they are young, they will be more apt to make healthy habits a part of their daily routine. PLEASE take the time to visit the links on this page and then e-mail me< with any questions you may have. LINKS TO FALL CLUB 2004 THE AUTUMN CLUB TEE WEEK 1 ADDING COLOR TO THE FALL CLUB WEEK 2 AUTUMN CLUB LESSON AND RUNNING WEEK 3 AUTUMN CLUB LESSON AND RUNNING WEEK 4 AUTUMN CLUB LESSON AND RUNNING WEEK 8 HAPPY FEET FAMILY FUN RUN LINKS TO SPRING CLUB 2003 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 Note about this club: The founding of the Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club would not have been possible without the support of Amby Burfoot - Runner's World magazine, Mark Summers - CNC Software, Inc., Kevin Bouley - nerac.com, Garth Battista - Breakaway Books, Matthew Linde, and Lori Adams - Runner's World magazine. It also would have not been possible without the support of the Tolland, CT School System: faculty, administration, parents, and students.