The Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club is Carol Goodrow's after-school running program. But it's not just about running - it's also about literacy, healthy eating, and kids' fitness. You may want to start a similar club. During each 10-week session (fall and spring), children eat healthy snacks, play running games, and go on nature hikes. They also keep track of their own progress in a Happy Feet book, study The Treasure of Health and Happiness, and also work to reach group and individual goals. Near the end of each 10-week session, we have a family fun run called The Chipmunk Chase. This year we changed it from a 1-K fun run to a (x)k allowing kids to run or walk as many 1-K laps as they wanted. LESSON PLANS The Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club is jam-packed with activity. Click here for sample lesson plans that cover activities from the moment the kids arrive at the club until parent pickup. CLUB LOG Just some notes on my feelings about the weekly Happy Feet Sessions. March 19, 2008 - March 25, 2008. GAMES Running games are often the favorite activity of children at running club. They run faster, farther, and have more fun when a game is included. In the spirit of the Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club the games are non-competitive. Find ten basic games here. RAINBOW TREASURES, OUR CLUB SONG Each club session, we sing at least one verse of our club song. We also sing it at our family fun run. This year we chose the verse, Rainbow Treasures, most often. It gives us spirit and a sense of belonging. It starts like this, "A strawberry for you, a carrot for me, bright yellow sun..." Happy Feet, Healthy Food, Your Child's First Journal of Exercise & Healthy Eating The Treasure of Health and Happiness Kids Running: Have Fun, Get Faster & Go Farther carolgoodrow@verizon.net