Day one, the kids find out that we will be running, writing about running, learning our curriculum through running, setting goals, and training for a mile fun run. We'll be earning green KR/RW ribbons, and will get 'gold' medals at the end of the year. I give them this...the gift of being a runner and I teach them what I know about running. In return the kids give me the gift of being able to be around youth, and they teach me about what motivates them to keep running.

They enjoy the Web site, love fast sprints, and like to be successful. They thrive on challenges and new experiences, are crazy about running games, but they come to life when asked to use their IMAGINATIONS.

They are kids with creative minds full of wonder and ideas.

So with this in mind I designed our latest but perhaps most successful running session of all. It was last Friday. We were 'snowed' in. Oh, BTW, we do still go outside to run in the winter, but last Friday, it was either too icy or too wet, so we opted for the gym.

We did our warm-up laps (slow running, no passing). I was in the lead, that is until I needed to calm a child who has trouble with the slow pacing. I took his hand and ran with him in the back of the pack for the last warm-up laps.

We stretched and then we talked about our running for the day.

We would use our imaginations while we ran laps. We could run fast but we weren't to race. We could pass if we could pass safely and not touch anyone in the passing. We should use our normal stride and form, but in our minds we were to pretend that it was spring and be a spring animal, plant or even some gentle rain.

The kids ran, and I watched. Sure, I'd rather run with them, but I wanted to keep an eye on the first lap just to make sure that they were being careful. It's not often that I let the whole class run together as a group and allow them to pass each other in our small gym.

Besides a little yelling on my part, "No racing! Slow down," to a few of the kids in the front, it went well. We got back in a circle in the center of the gym and the kids were excited to share all about their run. Then we ran a lap for fall and shared, and summer, then winter. After the long weekend we put our ideas on paper.

SPRING
Elizabeth: I pretended that there was a lot of new baby animals that came and ran with me. Then I picked some flowers. Then there was a sprinkle. It was beautiful. Soom I started to leap and run.

Ryan: I pretended that it was raining and I was growing and the flowers were growing too. I couldn't see because they were growing and growing and growing. I never knew that I passed the finish line and I kept running and running. I passed the finish line 5 times!

SUMMER
Victoria: I was running and I passed an apple tree. I jumped up. I got an apple. I kept running. It was hot.

Bintou: I was the sun. I shined brightly. I shined on everybody. I'm high.

Kristin: I pretended that I was in a rainbow running around and around. Then I saw a pot of gold.

FALL
Connor: I ran with the apples and had lots and lots of fun! I ate the apples after.

Jaylen: I was a bat. Then leaves fell on me. Some leaves landed on my head.

Dylan: I pretended that i was a leaf. I fell out of a tree. I landed in a pool. The pool was cold. I gotthrown out.

WINTER
Matt: I was running in the snow. Snow fell on me. My hair had snow on it. I went home.

Ashley: I pretended that I ran in the winter. It was fun. It was in a snowstorm and my sister ran with me and my dad ran with me too and my mom ran with me too.

Matt: I was a squirrel. I ran and ran until I ran out of breath. I took a rest. Then I got back up and I ran down a hill.

Raymond: I was a bird. I see a worm. I can fly. It is fun. I see a cat. It ate me.

Tyler: I was ice. I always slipped as I ran.

Lindsey: I was running in the snow. Then I took a break and ate some snow. It was mighty good.

It was kids' play, kids' imaginations, and kids' expressions.

They all wanted turns to tell, and many wanted more than one. Their running looked normal, but their imaginations carried them through their laps.

It was one of our most successful activities..and I wouldn't have predicted the response that I got from the kids. When I'm back in school, I'll have them make some pictures to send in of their seasonal imaginations. Check back to see how they can describe in art what they were pretending and in the meantime, why not go for your own run, throw your imagination, change the season, and let us know about your experience.