STRONG – With just enough snow left on the ground, Kingfield Elementary celebrated ways to be active and healthy in winter with Winter Kids Wellness Day on March 26.
Activities included cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, a healthy foods relay, and more. Eva Greenthal from Mt. Abram Regional Health Center and Molly Clark from Let’s Go! Franklin County provided a StoryWalk station. Kindergarten, first, and second grade classes participated in this activity which combines literacy and physical activity. Enlarged pages of the story “Oh the Things You Can Do that are Good for You” by Tish Rabe were attached to posts and placed along a trail through the woods. Eva and Molly guided students through the story, reading the pages together and then performing an action—leap, dance, hop on one foot—to move to the next page.
Mt. Abram Regional Health Center and Kingfield Elementary are both registered in the statewide Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 childhood obesity prevention program which encourages collaboration between schools and health care practices to promote the 5-2-1-0 message: 5 fruits and vegetables, 2 hours of recreational screen time or less, 1 hour of physical activity, and 0 sugary drinks each day.
The StoryWalk activity is available as part of the HealthReach Youth Initiative, a program that promotes nutrition and physical activity to children and families in HealthReach communities. The Youth Initiative offers other programs for schools, including classroom lessons on healthy snacks, activities on sugary drink consumption, and more.
