Fit Kids Playground
Inspiring Healthy Habits for Life
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Inspiring Healthy Habits for Life!
Thank you all who attended the 1st Annual Fit Kids Playground! On Saturday, June 13th, Hyde Park Village in South Tampa had over 500 families joining us for our 1st Annual Fit Kids Playground! It was an amazing afternoon of fun with parents and kids dancing, jumping and being active, sampling healthy foods, all while parents were able to learn about healthy habits from local, national and non-profit organizations to pass on to their children. Read more about this event has inspired a program to educate the preschoolers of Tampa Bay! Fit Kids Playground could be coming to your child’s preschool soon!
Bringing fitness and fun to a whole new level is the Fit Kids Playground program, designed to educate preschoolers on healthy eating habitsand the importance of exercise! “We Can! is designed to empower parents and communities such as Tampa to adopt healthier lifestyles by offering programs and materials based on the latest obesity prevention research,” said Karen Donato, S.M., coordinator of overweight and obesity research applications for the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and We Can! project coordinator.
Fit Kids Playground wants to bring health and fitness to the classroom. They have collaborated with the education department at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo School to develop a 4-day curriculum for pre-schoolers, ages 3-5 that is based on the We Can! Parent Program, but geared to teach the children directly. Realizing that parents are extremely busy the program was created to offer pre-school programs the opportunity for Fit Kids Playground trainers to come in and have a “Healthy Day” with the kids! They educate the preschoolers on healthy food and its association to colors, the Food Pyramid groups, healthy food choices vs. unhealthy choices, a sampling of healthy food choices for kids to try and an fun fitness component involving outside activity. The program compliments what the preschool teachers are already doing in their classroom with this age group. Just by adding a fun and healthy spin to the days activities will help lay the foundation of inspiring kids develop healthy habits that will help them make smart food choices throughout their lifetime and also aid in the fight against childhood obesity.
Currently, Fit Kids Playground is piloting this program with Learning Gate Community School and Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo School. This s a FREE program offered to any pre-school in the Tampa Bay area. The class is taught by Fit Kids Playground- one time per month, during a four-month time block. They are currently accepting applications for schools to offer this curriculum (designed to meet Sunshine State standards) during the summer and fall of 2010 and also the spring of 2011. Log on to http://www.fitkidsplayground.com to submit an application for your school. Space is limited.
Childhood obesity effects up to one in every five children in the United States with behavioral factors such as lack of exercise and unhealthy eating patterns as two of the most common causes of the childhood obesity epidemic. First Lady Michelle Obama, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced plans January 28th to help Americans lead healthier lives through better nutrition, regular physical activity, and improving communities to support healthy choices.
With a wide-variety of physical activities for children to demo and healthy snacks available to sample, Fit Kids Playground is the perfect place to find what interests your child to keep them healthy and happy for a lifetime.