Meet Heath Jackson

Heath Jackson is currently completing a School to Work assignment with me for the entire second semester.  He comes to the P.E. classroom every day during periods 7 and 8 at the high school. Heath is a senior at Fairfield High School.  He has participated in football and track and field during is high school career. He has an interest in physical education and may pursue something in that field while studying at Central College next year.  He has done an outstanding job working with the kids and fits in well in the school setting.

Cardio Cards

 One activity that we are doing this week is Cardio Cards.  Kids are put in groups and given a list of words, some of them generated from class spelling lists, as a group they run laps to earn cards. Each card has a letter on it. As they collect letters they can spell the words on the word list. It is a great activity where kids are running, spelling, and working together.  Here are some pictures from Mrs. Bowman's second grade class at Pence and Mrs. Gleason's kindergarten class at Washington.

Today is Presidents' Day

Here is a great site that our current president stands behind.

http://www.letsmove.gov/

Connection between exercise and learning

This is a feature by CBS stressing the importance of excise and its effects on learning.

Childhood and Adult Obesity Trends

Our country has a problem. A problem that is not getting any better. Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. Obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.

Obesity is the result of caloric imbalance (too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed) and is mediated by genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors. Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term health impacts:

*Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.  

*Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.  

*Obese youth are more likely than youth of normal weight to become overweight or obese adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.

Healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese and developing related diseases.

^{Below is an informative link about childhood obesity for parents from a website called Kids Health.}

^{http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body/overweight_obesity.html#}

^{Also included is a disturbing video showing the obesity trends of adults in the United States. Watch as our nation gets more and more obese before your eyes.  For best viewing enlarge the video to full screen.} 

Jump Rope for Heart

We have a major activity taking place during the month of March. The

third and fourth grades will be participating in the annual Jump Rope

for Heart event. This is a fundraiser for the American Heart

Association.  I will be giving the kids a lot more information about

the fundraiser during the first week of March. They will bring home a

fundraiser packet and have a few weeks to raise money. It is not

required that all kids raise money, but strongly encouraged as all the

money goes towards the fight against heart disease and stroke. We will

jump rope during each class room's last two P.E. classes before spring

break. This is a fun activity that goes towards a great cause, and the kids 

can earn some prizes along the way.

Here is a website with a lot of general information about the American Heart Association and the Jump Rope for Heart event:

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Giving/ForIndividuals/JoinanEvent/jump-rope-sub-home_UCM_315609_SubHomePage.jsp