Children are encouraged to bring a daily, small, HEALTHY snack that is not messy to eat, such as one from the list below.  Students will be given five to ten minutes to eat while they finish their center work in the mornings.  They may bring juice boxes if they wish; I also encourage all the children to keep a bottle of water at their desks and refill them throughout the day at the water fountain to stay well-hydrated.

Suggested Healthy Snacks:

• peanut butter crackers
• cheese crackers
• fruit
• veggies and dip
• yogurt
• raisins
• trail mix
• granola bars
• goldfish crackers
• dry non-sugary cereal
• pretzels
• nuts

Please do not send soda, candy, chips, or other snacks with little nutritional value and high sugar/fat content: these items will be sent back home.  The purpose of providing a snack time at school is not just to fill our bellies, but to learn to make good choices about what to eat!  J  Many children do not like foods that are good for them, but eating healthy snacks every day will soon establish new eating habits, especially when everyone around them is making good choices as well and the junk food temptation is not there.  Thanks for your cooperation and support. 

[NOTE: Here's a great link for healthy eating lessons, activities, snack guidelines, worksheets, and more.]

Walk N Talk/ Family Fitness Program

In addition to learning about healthy eating, students will be adopting a regular exercise routine.  Over 30% of children in America are obese, and a large cause of that trend is too much television and video games and not enough exercise!  Here’s what our class is going to do to take care of our bodies:

AT SCHOOL:  WALK-N-TALK

I provide students with a ten-minute morning break in the middle of the large block of instructional time before lunch and allow students to get some fresh air and socialize.  Three times per week, we will use this break to do a Walk-N-Talk: a brisk walk around the perimeter of the school while chatting with friends.  I enjoy this time to get to know the students on a personal level, as well.  We will walk about a quarter mile during each Walk-N-Talk session and keep track of our miles.  By the year’s end, we should have walked nearly 25 miles!  Students will be encouraged to Walk-N-Talk around the playground perimeter during our regular morning break days and recess time to ‘earn more miles’, but will not be required to do so.  If your child is unable to participate because of a health condition or disability, please let me know so I can make accommodations.  Remember to send your child to school in comfortable walking shoes each day.

AT HOME: FAMILY FITNESS PROGRAM

Students are encouraged to exercise for at least 20 minutes three times per week at home.  There is no penalty for not participating in the Family Fitness Program; however, there are incentives and prizes for those who do participate.  The term exercise is used loosely to indicate any sort of physical activity: soccer practice, basketball games, bike riding, jump roping, playing tag, walking the dog, etc.  Remember that these are activities that most of us used to do almost daily when we were children, but this generation is much less likely to be found outdoors playing.  We want to get children into this habit for a lifetime.  All they need to do is record their activity on the calendar in their BEE books and turn it in at the end of the month.  While the entire family is not obligated to participate, many families begin taking walks together once or twice a week, or go swimming on the weekends.  The Family Fitness Program is a motivator for everyone to get more active.  I’ll be participating, too!! 

[Note: my administrator did not approve this because in my county, recess must be free play and no additional breaks are allowed, so we have not done it. I included the instructions here in case the regulations are different in your district].

Life Skills

As I explained above, last year I started setting aside a forty-five minute block of time each day for a variety of life skill instruction.  Life Skills  objectives are based upon the state standards that are often overlooked but are critical in helping students be successful in the real world, such as.  Each day we will focus on one of 6 life skills on a rotating basis.  These include:

More about Life Skills instruction coming soon!

"Quality character education helps schools create a safe, caring and inclusive learning environment for every student and supports academic development. It fosters qualities that will help students be successful as citizens, in the workplace, and with the academic curriculum. It lays the foundation to help students be successful in all of the goals we have for our public schools. It is the common denominator that will help schools reach all of their goals! CHARACTER EDUCATION IS NOT ONE MORE THING ON YOUR PLATE!  IT IS THE PLATE!!!”

-Utah State Office of Education Character Education