 
 
 CLUB LOG Week 2 - March 25, 2008 ENERGY There are so many ways to earn footprints (points) toward the Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Ribbon.  Some of the ways are easy. Come to club, earn a RED footprint. Bring your Happy Feet book, earn an ORANGE footprint. Others take a little personal responsibility. For example to earn a BLACK footprint, you must bring in a note about a family project. To earn a BLUE footprint, you must journal at home all week. To earn a MULTICOLORED footprint, you must do an activity from the Kids Running book at home. But there are many more ways to earn footprints toward a ribbon. This year we have eleven, but even with this number, the kids are surprising me by doing things I'd like to reward which aren't covered by our footprint point program.  - A child saying that he read every poem in my Kids Running book at home, and reciting his favorite - the one about "Writer's Block". - Or a comment, "If I knew that you could come Happy Feet Club EVERY season, I would have come last spring. I thought that you could only come once!" For me as a runner, it's wonderful to be able to share my love of running, healthy eating, and fitness fun with kids. As an author, it's a thrill to be able to see my books in use by the children and to see the impact they have on the children. It's great to see them dig into their healthy snacks they brought to club, to hear their enthusiasm, and to feel the energy in the air. And it's wonderful to see the room fill with parent volunteers - some who come every week.  But there is more. What fun it is to see a child's interpretation of an activity. This cool sock is an activity from page 7 in the Kids Running book. This child "remembered" the assignment to find the activities on this page. I think I see a familiar "Kokopelli" on the sock. And the best part of all is the running. I'm too busy watching out for my kids to carry a camera, but I wish I had the photos to show our butterfly course. We had too few cones to clearly mark it so we lined the wings with beanie babies I had collected over the years. Then we watched the stream of kids dash down the center lane, and turn left to walk a wing, or right to jog one, before starting the course over again. This butterfly drill is one that we could "play" every week.   Then the nature walk - through the rocky woods - around and over the rocks, across the bridges, and the famous plank, up by the pond and a long run up the hill. A great day at club - jam-packed with activity - not a minute to spare before pick-up time. And when I return to my room after parent pick-up, the room still has a cozy feel as if the children have left their happy energy in the air. Note: This year the students have a special folder. One verse of the club song is laminated onto the front along with a reminder to draw fruits and vegetables on the cover. Above is a cover from last year's club, courtesy of a Happy Feet, Healthy Food alum, Nicholas. March 19, 2008 The Happy Feet, Healthy Food Kids' Club began its 9th season yesterday. Founded in the spring of 2004 as the Miles of Math Club, the after-school running club in Connecticut is better than ever. I closed enrollment last week so that we can fit comfortably into my classroom, but it's always hard for me to turn away a child who wants to enter my fitness club.  JOY The first day of club can be difficult with 40 or so first and second graders getting used to the routine, listening to directions, needing to quickly switch gears, and act on command. The club moves fast. We have hours of activities to complete in a little over an hour after all the kids arrive, but this year was different. The children were in their seats with good attention skills ready to soak up knowledge and anxious to get outside to play a running game. I looked around the room and my heart was filled with JOY. What made the difference? Perhaps the kids, but more likely my experience. Season Number 9! CLASSROOM SET UP THEN When I first started the club, too many things were happening the first day. There were stations set up. Kids had to go to stations to pick up books, tees, and folders - all of which were pre-labeled with their names. There was a lot of sorting, finding, and in the end confusion! Oh, they also had to go to a station and make a name tag. Backpacks were left in the hall and it took weeks to get them to learn to line them up neatly. But if they needed something it was difficult for them to find their packs. Still the club stayed popular.  CLASSROOM SET UP NOWThis year the tees were passed out before club. Easy: order half kid mediums and half kid larges. A folder for each child was prepared and labeled with their name and session day. Inside their folder was their Happy Feet book, and their Kids Running book. (We use the Happy Feet book each club session and the Kids Running book in the spring and The Treasure of Health and Happiness in the fall as the main texts.) When the children entered the room, all they had to do was find their desk. On each desk was a child's folder, a little pail of crayons (the pastel pails made it look like a party), a label, a pencil, and a marker to make a name tag. The children place their backpack under their desk and put their jacket on their chair. No confusion! THE JOY What made that feeling of joy? -So many children entering with anticipation. - Having a multitude of parent, student teacher, and adult helpers. - Children wearing their fit and fun tees. - The healthy snacks brought from home. - Kids coloring in their footprints. - Kids having fun with our first Step-slide game. - The nature walk in the woods. - The endless line of children hiking through our rugged woods, on the twisting paths. - Kids at their seats for ready for journaling with pencils in hand. - EVERYONE finding the place to write the date at the top of the page. - The journal entries from simple to complex. - The smiling parents at pick-up time.  See the graphic on the left. This was me at pick-up time - guarding the door, making sure no one left without signing out their child and taking the handouts. - All children picked up on time. - Heading upstairs to a clean room thanks to Heather Lyon and an unidentified parent volunteer. JOY! See our First-day Club Survey. THE ORIGINAL CLUB is generously sponsored by CNC Software, Inc, and Nerac.com.  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 PRIVACY POLICY |