MONTHLY TIMED RUNS: Each month I have the children estimate how long it would take them to run a certain distance. K - 2nd grade run ¼ mile and 3 - 5th run ½ mile. The girl and boy who comes the closest to their estimated time receive an award certificate and a little prize.

Oct. Pumpkin Run
Nov. Basket of Apples Run
Dec. Candy Cane Run
Jan. Ring in the New Year Bell Run
And so on…….

The children will run the distance required by the President's Physical Fitness Standards come January, each month until their yearly test. I do test K-5 graders. The children learn about "pacing" when estimating, and there is one other catch - they have to get faster than their last run each month. It's easy, a great lesson, good conditioning, and the children actually enjoy running. It is not a race on who runs the fastest, but a competition with themselves by trying to estimate how long it will take them to cover their given distance.

PE TEACHER OF THE DAY: One the children's favorite. Each child will get a chance to become the PE teacher of the Day. I give them a whistle and certificate. The child starts with choosing a name they would like me to introduce them as. The child warms up the class, chooses the games and/or activities, and resolves any conflicts that may occur, cools the class down, lines them up and dismisses their class. We work on leadership skills. I involve the younger grades also. They usually do a pretty good job. The older children actually write out a lesson plan, and evaluate themselves at the end of their turn.

EXERCISE BALLS: In January I will have the children write down an exercise and put it into a plastic ornament ball. Each week/day I will open a ball and that child will stand in front of the class and perform the exercise with his/her class.

PEDOMETER TRAINING: Grades 3 - 5 check out pedometers, and record how many steps, distance, and calories burned each day for a week. The character trait learned with this activity is Responsibility! The children are responsible for checking out the pedometer, logging in their information, and returning the pedometers every day. It is an easy activity to do, and great lessons for the children.

WALKING/RUNNING CLUB: I started a walking club three years ago, and the children have walked every day. I turned it into a walking/running club to give the children a better chance to complete their goal mileage by June. We have class competitions, and a huge map to show how many combined classes miles we walk each month. The little ones enjoy this activity just as much as the older ones.

They get a walking club card. Each punch is worth ¼ mile. When they complete a card worth 5 miles, they receive a certificate, their 1st plastic foot to hang on certificate and a new card. Each time after completing their 5 mile cards they receive plastic feet and hang them on their certificate. Last year two 1st grade girls broke the school record with 135 miles each by the school year's end! They got a gift certificate to a sporting good store to get a new pair of running shoes.

Each class picks a destination, and tracks their miles to see how far they have to go before reaching it. This is a fun way for children to get exercise and a hassle free playground at recess. We even encourage the parent(s) to join them on their walks before and after school. I got my materials and info from Fitness Finders. You have to check out what they have to offer, and start your own awards incentive walking program.

Children's Belly Fat - Abdominal obesity increased more than 65 percent among boys and almost 70 percent among girls between 1988 and 2004. The finding of growing girth is significant because abdominal obesity has emerged as a better predictor of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk than the more commonly used Body Mass Index, a weight to height ratio that can sometimes be misleading. Read more.

The secret life of fat cells - They are the building blocks of flab, the wages of cheesecake, the bloated little sacks of grease that make more of us -- more than we can fit into our pants. Scorned and despised, they are sucked out surgically by the billions from bulging backsides, bellies and thighs. But they are not without admirers. Read more.

Obese Teenagers Are More Likely to Die Prematurely - Obese people that have gained weight in adolescence are 3 times more likely to die prematurely than individuals that got overweight during adulthood.

The Dangers of Belly Fat - Fat can show up in all sorts of places. It can strain the seat of a pair of jeans, hang over a belt, or make a wedding ring nearly impossible to remove. In these thin-conscious times, many people worry about every extra ripple and bulge, no matter where it shows up. Doctors, however, see things differently. When it comes to your health, there's one place where fat is especially dangerous. Find out more.

Pound for pound: America's children are tipping scales - By 2004, nearly one in five American children gained enough to be considered abdominally obese, a whopping 65% belly fat increase in just over six years. Alarming increases in belly fat occurred at the highest rates among 2 to 5 year old boys (84 percent), and 18 to 19 year old girls (126 percent). Find out more.

Cortisol is a corticosteroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex that is involved in the response to stress; it increases blood pressure, blood sugar levels, may cause infertility in women, and suppresses the immune system. Read more.

Hormones - Cortisol, Stress, & Body Fat - Cortisol is a very important hormone that you must understand if you want to get maximum results from your training and nutrition programs, but if you don't educate yourself, you may become one of the millions of victims to fall for the latest fad. The answers to the frequently asked questions in this article will arm you with the science-based facts, while helping you steer clear of the hype-based scams.

Pregnancy Stress 'Passed to baby' - Children whose mothers were overly stressed during pregnancy may themselves be more vulnerable to anxiety as a result, research suggests. Read more.

Science Daily - New research by a team at the University of Warwick says that massage may help infants aged under six months sleep better, cry less and be less stressed. Read more.

Steele Children's Research Center investigators find exposure to siblings, mother's allergies, and daycare alter infant cortisol stress response. Read more.

How Young Children Manage Stress - Scientists believe our ability to manage stress as adults is formed in childhood through a combination of genes and experiences. Read more.

Your Child's Vision - There's nothing quite like looking into your child's eyes. But while you're busy gazing at your young one, be sure to pay attention to his or her eyesight. Early detection and treatment of eye problems are essential to a child's visual health.

Children's Screening - This 100 question test will allow you to evaluate if your child is likely to be suffering from undetected vision problems. Print out this questionnaire and use the following rating scale to score your child's performance, circling the number that best describes your child.

Does Your Child Have a Vision-Related Learning Problem - When a child has 20/20 vision, it means that each of his eyes can see what an average person sees at a distance of 20 feet. Children can have good sharpness of vision (20/20) and still have serious problems with their vision. Find out more.

Aggression - Although aggression and violence involving youth is hardly a new phenomenon in the United States, both the quantity and quality of aggression have undergone dramatic change in the past decade. Read more.

Aggression: Six to Eleven - How school-age children learn to control their hostility. We want our children to be assertive but not pushy. We want them to be tough but not be bullies. We want them to be self-confident but not boastful. We believe they should learn to put other people first but not be wimps. When it comes to aggression, parents give their children many messages, almost all of which are mixed. Read more.

Environment more than genes determines child's social aggressiveness. A study finds that social aggression, usually an outgrowth of physical aggression, is related more to a child's environment than to his or her genetic background, suggesting that intervention could have a significant effect. Read more.