Study Links Fitness and Academics

From Teacher Magazine:

This is no surprise. The better you feel the more you will do. The better health you are in the more you will accomplish. Even the laziest non-achieving personality…

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Physically fit students in Texas are more likely to do well on the state’s standardized test and have better attendance, according to a study released Monday.

The study, which reviewed results of fitness assessments of students across Texas, also found that fit students are less likely to have disciplinary problems.

“Now, we have hard evidence that there is a link between fitness and academic success,” said state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who pushed the 2007 legislation calling for a renewed emphasis on physical fitness. “We need to continue our efforts to decrease these trends as if lives depend on it, because they truly do.”

The two-year old law requires annual fitness assessments for public school students beginning in third grade. The results were reported to the Texas Education Agency and the Cooper Institute of Dallas analyzed them.

The Cooper Institute found that cardiovascular health, measured by a walking/running test, had a higher correlation to school success than the students’ body mass index.

“Increased exercise improves cardiovascular health and that helps the brain function more efficiently and enhances its ability to learn,” said aerobics pioneer Dr. Kenneth Cooper, founder of the Cooper Institute.

The results of the first fitness assessment, which measured students in the 2007-08 school year, found that Texas students were startlingly unhealthy and their fitness levels declined sharply through 12th grade, where less than 10 percent of students passed the fitness test.

Students will be assessed again this spring.

The Fitnessgram test includes a skin fold test, curl-ups and push-ups. Another exercise tests flexibility, with students sitting with one bent leg and one straight leg and then reaching forward as far as they can.

In the trunk lift, which tests trunk extensor strength, students lie on their stomachs and raise their upper body while the teacher measures the distance between the students’ chins and the floor. The last test is called the pacer, a paced 20-meter run that increases in intensity as time progresses.

The results are recorded on a report card that allows parents and teachers to identify the physical strengths and weaknesses of each student. Results, unattached to students’ names, also are submitted to the TEA.

“Our state and nation are struggling with obesity, thanks to the combination of increasingly sedentary lifestyles and the declining quality of diets,” said Gov. Rick Perry. “We owe it to our children to take the appropriate steps to encourage fitness, steps that are made clearer by the information contained in this first round of testing. I am confident we are on our way to making a difference that will improve and even save lives.”

Need I say more?

Twice a year I ask myself the same question – Do we REALLY want to do this play? And the answer is always the same. It’s good for the kids.

Producing a children’s play can be extraordinarily hard. It can be a nightmare if there is no cooperation from every single resource because it takes a lot of work by everyone included. It means all out cooperation from teachers, parents and students. First, every teacher needs to help with the practices. They need to understand how the lines are meant to be delivered and help train the children to offer the lines the same way until they are second nature. The lines have to be led so that they make sense, are funny when they need to be and straight man delivered when that’s the ticket. That’s half the work. If one teacher is accepting the lines delivered one way, and another teacher is demanding something else, it won’t work. The children won’t understand the flow of the play. If one teacher’s heart is not in it, or there is a failure of enthusiasm, the children will latch onto that descent and the play will be a poor attempt.

Parents need to help children learn not only their lines, but the lines that surround their lines. If only their lines are learned, they won’t know when to come in and speak, and the director is left with a cast that needs every single line prompted — not fun to listen to, not fun to do.

Children need to be enthusiastic about the play. This is accomplished with lots of kudos, fun practices, and lots of rewards. It can’t be the last thing on the list; it has to take precedence and it has to be important to all involved – not an easy trick.

So, if this is really such a work out and a royal pain in the neck, why do it at all? Because The Play as an art has all but been taken out of the lives of small children simply because it is too hard for adults to preside over and teach. It is something that needs to be taught, and there are few adults who know how to teach this until they actually do it. Those yesterday little dramas that children used to get together and do are really no more, and children are missing this early childhood piece of the puzzle. It’s a puzzle piece that helps in the development of the whole human being because it uses the whole human being to accomplish!

First, a play allows a child to express himself by becoming someone else. It’s a kind of discovery that will benefit him all his life with “becoming someone else” as a theory to understand one another. Putting yourself in someone’s place is not something many children do well. It’s learned through play acting, through drama, through the unique art of the play.

Becoming someone else is a kind of invention a child rarely gets to do in real life. Even a secretive, quiet child can come out of his shell to play at a new personality. I remember a little girl named Hadley who started her play life as a turtle and spoke her lines into the carpet – but she said them. Two years later, she was one of the stars. There is nothing like a play to bring out an introvert. My grandson, Jack, had to hold up a sign because he was so shy about saying a simple line. But by the time he graduated from the Garden School, he was saying all of his lines out loud. Today he’s a bit of a funny man.

Secondly, the play allows children to work together and this bring yet another kind of understanding for each other. It’s a bonding friendship maker that doesn’t go away. Children who enjoy working together to laugh at funny lines, to become hams on stage, and then enjoy the costumes, solidify friendships. Helping one another is the name of this game.

Learning lines or memorization is a lost art and this is something children need to practice because memorization will serve them all their lives. It’s a skill children need to learn early because they are auditory learners until they begin to read, then most of them will change over to visual learners. The quick audio study artist, the child who memorizes sound quickly and can repeat is always at the top of their class, and plays help to make children good memorizers.

A play is a project with a beginning a middle and an end. The project of watching the project grow and develop and have a finishing point is a good lesson for a child. We begin our projects, we work hard on them, and then we have a finished project. For all those adults who start a billion things and let them lay unfinished… perhaps a play in early childhood would have taught the lesson of finishing.

There is a lot of art that goes into producing a play. The making of the backdrop; the costumes; the drama of line delivery; the actions of the characters; the whole ambiance of the show itself. Being a part of this is important for young children. It is especially important at the end of the play when it’s done and children have that brilliant sense that THEY have accomplished something wonderful.

So every year when I ask myself the question – “To do or not to do….” I remind myself of all that we would be missing if we decided not to. And we begin.

Good morning! It’s another bright Monday. It’s supposed to be a nice warm day and we will get the kids out for an airing and a nice long recess at least twice today.

There is a nasty flu bug going around, and I know of at least three children who will be out today. This seems to be a very contagious little bug, so if your child is puny or not feeling well, please keep him home. He will end up vomiting and going home for 36 hours at least to keep in step with the official state code.

This week is play practice. Every child needs to know his lines ASAP. This is a mommy and me or daddy and me thing. We will practice the play twice every day. Blocking will come next.

This week we will try to watch Darby O’Gill and the Little People. It’s Sean Connery’s first role ever.

No field trip this week. If you have not paid your field trip fees, please do so.

From Food Navigator:

Blueberries may reduce childhood cancer risk: Study

By Stephen Daniells, 23-Feb-2009

Extracts from blueberries may reduce the size of tumours primarily found in infants and children, and improve survival, suggest new findings from a study with mice.

No kidding I just got this.

“WINTER’S TAIL,” A PICTURE BOOK ABOUT THE FAMOUS DOLPHIN WITH PROSTHETIC TAIL

WRITTEN BY BESTSELLING CHILDREN’S AUTHORS CRAIG HATKOFF AND DAUGHTERS

TO BE RELEASED BY TURTLE POND PUBLICATIONS,
CLEARWATER MARINE AQUARIUM AND SCHOLASTIC

“Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again”
In Bookstores October 2009

If I were any further behind, I’d have to go to the previous century for time out.

Friday was a wonderful day. We all came in our new hoodies and we looked fetching. The kids ate a little breakfast together and then we headed out for Dr. Miller’s office up on Robin Hill Road in Newburgh. The children were exceptionally well behaved. They answered all the questions and asked a boat load of their own. Emma, our school president was gracious and led our line. She went up the the dental assistant and introduced herself as, “Hi, I’m Emma. I’m the Garden School President,” and then she graciously offered her hand – no prompting mind you – and shook hands with the assistant and tour guide. I was not too proud ;-))))))))))))))))))))

We had a nice little show of dentistry and Emma got to sit in the chair and opened her mouth and the dentist said, “Emma, you look just wonderful in there.”

We headed off to Pizza Hut for lunch. The rules being – you must eat your lunch before you play and every child ate but one who threw his on the floor. The kids had a lot of fun playing on what became known as the “hamster toy.”

We came home to play practice, and the kids were just too tired, so we postponed this for Monday.

There is a lot of flu out there. India went home with a high fever; Jaylen never made it to school on Friday; Easton has had it; poor Nathan had a terrible case. Miss Elise went home sick and some of the other children were very drawn and quiet Friday afternoon. Please watch for vomiting. You know it is a very clever idea to sport an ice cream bucket with lid for your car. This ingenious little gadget is great for sudden pukes. It is disposible and the lid goes on quick. Might think about this right now!!!! The Garden School would be happy to take your bucket and eat the ice cream and then return the empty for your car. We’ll even clean it!

This next week is a play practice week. Your child is earning Easter basket goodies every day he knows his lines, so please help him now. The sooner the children know their lines, the sooner we can play at this and camp it up.

The King and I was over their heads. They were good sports and watched it, but this is one movie that should have been previewed before we showed it. There was too much talk and not enough action. This week we will try Darby O’Gill. It’s got some scary stuff, but it’s charming and we think the kids will love it.

Onward and upward!

I got this from Edith and I just love it.

Taking a child out in public should be a pleasure for both the parent and the child. It should be no more trouble to take a child out than to be at home. But it takes developing a routine and a set of rules that benefit both parent and child.

I was watching a young family at Mass this past Sunday, and I noticed that this family was packed for the event of Mass. It’s forty minutes from start to finish, so I wondered why most of this family’s house came with them? Whose insecurity was operating here? I wondered if perhaps this child was in day care all week, and the parents were not accustomed to taking him out.

I remembered back to when I first had a young baby and took him to events at our college. I had to be dressed up, and taking a baby dressed up is not always easy, but I simplified it with some thought. First thought – how long would I be away? How may cloth diapers would I need? Would I need to feed him? I hated diaper bags and from the beginning of motherhood, and I insisted on a lovely square black cosmetic case that matched my shoes. The very idea of dragging some obnoxious hamper with every thing in the nursery sent me into a tasteful orbit. I would pack my cosmetic case with the barest necessities and happily go with my son, Brendan, and for the most part it worked out brilliantly, and the purse sized case had everything I REALLY needed. Less is actually more.

As time did what it usually does without our control – passed – I became more and more conscious of what I really needed and didn’t. When we went anyplace, we looked out the window of the car and we talked and played with one another. On long trips, I remember packing four days of very small and useful new toys in separate small boxes which we rotated. Food was in a hamper centrally located and easily accessible to everyone. Garbage was collected on the spot. Drinks were had only on stops.

On short daily trips, we left everything at home. I was and continue to be a believer that the outing is the fun, not the focus of what we can bring from home. The very idea that one would bring food from home on the way to the store, church, shopping, or an errand loses me in the concept – what for? The idea of an outing – even to the bank – is a chance for the child to see how mommy or daddy behave. Then he models his behavior after mommy or daddy.

When a child is taken to the grocery store, it’s a time for him to see the different foods, learn about all the things there are to eat, visit with other people, and perchance get a treat, help plan the family meals, and vocabulary. If he’s sucking on a cup, how does that happen?

When a child is taken to church, it’s a time when he watches mom and dad worship God.

Taking food, toys, and distractions means one thing – wherever a parent takes a child, the parent is teaching the child that what is ultimately important is the “thing” that we brought from home, and the place where we are going is a necessary nuisance – not the focus. The child at church on Sunday had his back to the altar every time my eye caught him. He pounded his father again and again, as if he was annoyed at being on this particular outing. He ate, drank, slammed, and argued. What a loss for the parent and the child. If the parent had left all the child’s belongings at home, the child would have two things to do – pay attention and learn, and enjoy the quiet affectionate arms of his parents. “Look at that box; that’s where God is; look at the pretty colors; that means Lent; look at what Father is doing; that means….”

The idea with children is not to “get through an outing to the end” but to make it count for everyone, every time from start to finish. Packing sippy cups, snacks, toys to distract the child is doing just that – distracting his attention from what is really important – being with the parent to do something real.

Next time you take a small child someplace, try leaving all the paraphernalia at home. Go to the toilet before you walk out the door, and let the focus be on what is outside the child – not what can go inside the child. Let the child explore without fear that he won’t be fed. He won’t starve in four hours or less – I promise.

Daily chores, daily routines, daily coming and going should be light weight, convenient, and fun. Make it fun by unloading the camel. A loaded camel can’t make it through the gate.

This will be a busy week! We are starting play practice this week. We will be sending home lines for the play. Please help your child learn his lines “in order.” That means you need to read the scene with him so he knows when he comes in. Just learning lines does not allow for the child to know when he is supposed to give his line. He or she should know the line before his and what comes after. It’s a process!

Costumes will be provided.

This week we will be watching The King and I. The children will learn some of these wonderful songs in this production. This is family watching. You might think about this kind of film at home.

It will be cold today and we will stay indoors. Tomorrow it will be warmer, and we will most likely be going out side. Please send your child in a coat that matches the weather.

Please watch for illness. There have been a lot of very strange infections going around. There are high fevers involved. Please watch your child closely.

Have a great day.