For YOUR Health Sake

I had a work training today titled, "I am Moving, I am Learning," how to incorporate more movement and activities in the classroom to help youngsters develop a love for being active. The childhood obesity rate has skyrocketed over the last 20 years and more so in the past few years. Anywho, I am an advocate of getting up and moving with my students. To demonstrate the decrease in child activity and movement I have a sad yet funny story. The other day during class it was outdoor time and it was RAINING...it really wasn't a surprise, but the capital letters makes it seem more outlandish...anywho, I decided to do an obstacle course in the classroom. I turned off the lights, for effect. Put the chairs on top of the tables and all of us formed a line. We started off marching around the room and midway we turned into snakes slithering on the floor under the tables and then ended up as crustaceans crab walking around the shelves. We did several varieties of exercises like these, rolling, skipping, crawling, etc. We followed this pattern for a total of 10 minutes. By the end of it I had a few kids come to me and my assistant and asked us what was pounding in their chest so hard. No joke. They came to us frightened and scared that something terminal was wrong with them because they FELT THEIR HEARTBEAT!! Is that insane? How sad is that? Of course we had a small discussion on our hearts and the why they beat, etc. But main point...many kids are getting very little if any exercise these days. So as parents, adults, teachers, we are the role models and if WE do it and find it important, so will our kids and students. Another conversation I just remembered today highlighted Portion Control, which is a severe problem for me and probably many of us who will admit it. :) My friend was telling me that when she went through her grandmother's china she asked, "Why aren't there any dinner plates and only dessert plates?" Well, come to find out, the dessert plates were the dinner plates. That is how small they used to be..but today are portions have been so distorted and super sized that what used to be a normal size plate is now a normal size dessert....Scary! Russell and I have been trying to use our salad plates and dessert bowls for everyday use instead of our rather large plates and bowls-in essence we kind of trick ourselves. We still fill up the plates and bowls, but in reality there is just a lot less on our plates, and ergo, less in our bellies...this is just something to chew on.

This is just an idea to give you a visual...

So here is a list of activities we were challenged to do daily to get moving. SO I pass the challenge on to you.
* Get outside and take a brisk walk during lunch
* Check your posture while sitting-sit up straight
* Try to eat at least 3 colors of fruits and vegetables during the day
* Take a moment and focus of 10 full breaths. Close your eyes and inhale and exhale slowly and comfortably 10 times. Do it twice a day
* Have at least 1 good belly laugh!!
* Try to follow the serving size charts during snacks and meals
* Try to eat 5 servings of veggies and/or fruits a day
* Stretch your face muscles by making a fish face! Repeat 10 times
* Drink at least one extra glass of water than you normally drink
* Give someone a compliment
* Make a healthy choice during lunch, share it with friends, or take a portion home for the next day

Also, here are some great websites and ideas to help you eat right, get moving, and get educated about health.
www.mypyramid.gov
www.thedailypate.com
www.americanonthemove.org
www.smallstep.gov
PS-sorry you can't just click on the website, technical difficulties. I will post the link in my "Places to Wander" section so you can just click and go.