Guiding kids’ healthy choices with some smooth moves

We know there’s a strong link between childhood nutrition and fitness. Kids need the right foods to fuel their bodies and minds, as well as the time, resources and knowledge to lead active lives and meet fitness goals.

That’s why we’ve added some fun, physical games to our Power of Choice series, our most popular children’s nutrition class. In fact, the final session of this seven-week series is dedicated entirely to getting kids moving.

Food Bank Nutrition Educator Mary Agnew says students in an after school program at Callison Elementary School in Round Rock responded with smiles and laughter to a game called “What’s in the Grocery bag?”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend children do about 60 minutes of physical activity every day. They say children should participate in activities that are “age-appropriate, enjoyable and offer variety.”

The “What’s in the Grocery Bag?” game uses plush fruit and vegetable toys called Garden Heroes to help children learn and practice exercises that improve strength, cardiovascular fitness, balance and flexibility. The exercises are designed to be safe for kids ages 6-12, while still challenging them.

“When it came to the balancing exercise everyone struggled, including me,” Mary says. “One person would lose their balance, and then like a chain reaction the others would.”

Even the after school program coordinator joined in the fun, as Mary and her students showed off and embraced the challenge.

 



 

Play the game: What’s in the Grocery Bag?

Objective:
Students learn a variety of ways to be physically active.

Supplies:

• Learning ZoneXpress™ Garden Heroes plush characters


• Paper grocery bag


• Pair of dice


• Color-coded exercise cards (Orange, yellow = strength; Red, white, brown = cardio; Blue, purple = balance; Green = flexibility)


• Learning ZoneXpress™ Your Body Is Your Gym poster set

Directions:

1. Have students form two groups.


2. Set up exercise posters at the front of the room. Divide color-coded exercise cards by category, and display them with the appropriate poster (strength cards in front of the strength poster and so on).


3. Fill the grocery bags with the Garden Heroes plush characters.


4. Have the first student from one group pull a Garden Hero plush character from the bag without looking.


5. Have that student select an exercise card that corresponds to the color of the Garden Hero plush character and then roll the dice.


6. Demonstrate the exercise shown on the card, and have all the students in group one repeat the exercise however many times the dice roll indicates.


7. Repeat with the second group, and go back and forth until all the exercises have been completed.

Adapted from Fruit and Vegetable Fun Book: 20 Games & Activities for PE, produced by Learning ZoneXpress™ (2011). Modified by CHOICES Nutrition Program, Capital Area Food Bank of Texas.

To learn more or schedule a class, contact Bilingual Nutritionist Vivian Noriega at 512-684-2538 or choices@austinfoodbank.org