Getting fit with fun Fun, physical games help lure kids into exercising
Jackson Burnette, a 10-yearold Westview Elementary School student, isn't wild about basketball. But he has flipped over advanced boys gymnastics at The Little Gym in East Brainerd.
"Cartwheels, flips, tummy rolls and pullovers are good exercise," Jackson said, "and they're fun."
Today's children are more sedentary than ever, according to a American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement released this month. Twice as many girls as boys are inactive -- 14 percent of girls compared to 7 percent of boys.
Electronic games and parents' safety fears play a role, experts believe.
Physical activities must be fun, non-competitive, teach basic motor skills and look like "games" to lure children to participate, the academy advised.
Jamie Harvey, an instructor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's health and human performance department, agreed. Intense competition, she added, sometimes sidelines otherwise talented children. That's because winning and losing is often not fun for them.
"When a child is no longer having fun," Ms. Harvey said, "they quit, they cry, they don't want to do it. When the fun's gone, they check out."
Two local programs say their experience bears out the academy's research.
"There are a lot of kids out there that don't fit into that sports mold," said Charlene Crawford, Hamilton Family YMCA youth fitness director. "They're not interested in it, they don't excel, so we want to expose them to other ways to be fit."
Classes for 2 to 5 year olds, she said, are 30 minutes of free play plus 30 minutes of structured games. For ages 6 to 12, wellrounded games and fun exercises are taught.
"Children may be doing pushups, but they'll be moving a tennis ball from place to place," she said. "To them that's a game, but they're building shoulder and abdominal strength."
Jumping rope is popular with both boys and girls, Ms. Crawford said. Playing in water, she added, is fun for kids and a great workout.
At The Little Gym, classes are non-competitive with a focus on safety, skills and fun, said owner Keith Moreland. "We focus not on doing a perfect skill," he said, "but on giving kids confidence and opportunities to be successful." [read full article]
Teens gain experience, cash Rangers help organize games, activities for children
Seventeen-year-old Brenton Emmanuel of South Toledo says he could have spent the summer like his friends -- none of whom have jobs.
Waking up around noon, hanging around the house, maybe shooting some hoops to kill boredom and time.
But rather than sleeping in, Brenton, who wears his T-shirts extra-large and his sweatpants rolled to the knee, spends his mornings tidying Highland Park in South Toledo.
When the park fills with children in the afternoon, he organizes games of dodgeball, soccer, and other activities.
Some of the youngsters have low-income backgrounds, and he helps serve those children a free lunch, courtesy of Feed Lucas County Children Inc.
Brenton is one of 80 teenagers in Toledo's new Park Ranger program, a six-week summer-employment program for city youth ages 16 to 19 that kicked off June 19. A pair of rangers is assigned to 40 of the city's busiest parks for eight hours a day, Monday through Friday. Each teen ranger is paid the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. [read full article]
Learning the ropes Crafts and games hold school-life lessons for kindergartners
If you bump into someone on the playground, it's polite to say "I'm sorry."
If you want to borrow a classmate's red crayon, you should say "please" and "thank you."
If a friend upsets you, tell him why you're hurt -- don't kick or bite him.
These are some of the lessons children are learning in the Pre-K Summer Program at Riverbank's California Avenue Elementary School.
For many of the 4- and 5-year-olds, the six-week summer class is their first school experience.
A variety of programs to prepare children for kindergarten are happening throughout the region this summer.
This program's goal is to teach children to socialize, to work together and share, to foster independence, and to learn classroom routines and rules, said Jill Hodge, a kindergarten teacher who leads one of the three summer classes.
Hodge said most of this summer's 78 participants have not been to preschool.
Preschool in Stanislaus County can be costly and spots are limited.
The average cost for a year of preschool for one child in a licensed center is $5,866, according to the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network.
Also, there are about 22,000 children ages 2 to 4 in the county, and 5,000 preschool spots, the child care network reports. [read full article]