I teach preschool in an inner city school district. I have a room with 20 children with about half with special needs.
According to a 2003 report by the Trust for America’s Heath, Kentucky has the fifth highest level of adult obesity in the nation at 25.6%, the third highest level of overweight high school students, and the third highest overweight levels for low-income children ages 2-5. See http://www.ket.org/kidshealth/wellness/obesity_statistics.htm
Right now in our school district there has been a no junk food policy! This started last year and I think it is a fabulous idea. Children get enough junk food at home. They do not need to get it at school as well. We should be the ones to set an example. To go along with our no junk food policy we have started a curriculum called "Color Me Healthy." It teaches children the difference between healthy food choices and unhealthy choices. This year our students BMI went down 3%! This is a good start! Next year we would like to start a field day with our students and add the physical aspect of staying healthy.
With the resources listed we can make this a reality! These items will be used by the whole school on a daily basis, year after year! We need jump ropes - many of our students have never even seen a jump rope! Potato sacks - this will probably be the first time many of our students have used one of these! I have also added a tossing game to work on hand/eye coordination, shape recognition, and to improve muscle tone in their arms!
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. ("Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2002"; Oct. 6, 2004)
By contributing to my proposal you will be helping children get healthy! By enjoying exercising and physical activity early it becomes a part of life. Children today are spending too much time in front of a television! Let's teach them that there are other forms of enjoyment! Parents will also be involved with field day so this will be a learning experience for them as well. Hopefully they will get ideas of things they can do at home. Please take time now to donate and help put a stop to obesity in Kentucky!
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