NEW GOAL MILES OF MATH WEEK 9 Sponsored by CNC Software, Inc. and Nerac.com New Goal - 100 healthy snacks Goal Simplicity works with kids. Our new healthy-snack charts and bulletin board are simply one-hundred charts waiting to be covered with healthy fruit and vegetable symbols. The symbols represent healthy snacks brought to club during the last two weeks. It's easy as pie. Just create your charts and bulletin board. Let the kids know they can add a sticker if they bring in a healthy snack, and VOILA. Next week you won't believe your eyes. May31 , 2004 NEARING THE END Week 9 has gone by. We're almost at the end of our 10-week session. The kids can cover a mile and they've gotten the healthy snack message. This week, I let them go during running. Their challenge was to complete 4 or more laps and to pace themselves as they wished. Of course, the suggested method was to start out easy and then pick up the pace during the last couple of laps, but this was only "suggested". They were to be responsible and count their own laps, be careful when passing, and take walking breaks if they needed them. All this would ready them for our next week's 1-K fun runs. SNACK CHARTS As of Thursday, we were at 49 healthy snacks for the two club sessions. With only one week to go, it will be tough to meet our goal (now of 100 healthy snacks), that is unless many of the children bring in a healthy snack. It's often hard to define healthy snacks for the kids. Fresh fruits and vegetables are easy. It's harder to define the "carbs" and packaged snacks like granola bars. This first week, I was lenient with the "stickers" for our bulletin board chart, but next week I'll be a little stricter on what to count as a healthy snack. NOSTALGIA We still have one week left of club, but I'm already starting to look back over the weeks with a bit of nostalgia. We've come a long way, both farther and further than the 500 miles we've traveled. The children can space and pace themselves. The healthy eating is beginning to catch on and while a few kids have dropped out of the club, by far the vast majority return each week and will be ready to earn their yellow ribbons at the last club session. We also have two after-club fun runs planned. Rain is in the forecast so it will be only the hardy, I suppose, who join us at our fun runs. NEXT YEAR With just one week left, I'm planning and anticipating next year's club - thinking about what should remain the same and what should change, but while there will be some changes, these things will remain: healthy snacks, simple tracking charts for mileage and healthy eating, my book (Happy Feet, Healthy Food) for the club reader and journal, running and walking, fun runs, and as many children as we can accommodate. Changes? - more parent involvement, more home-school communication, and goals of healthy eating and mileage to start at day one. LINKS CLUB TEXT Happy Feet, Healthy Food, Your Child's First Journal of Exercise and Healthy Eating CLUB SESSIONS 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