"Golden Rule Act" Anti Bullying Bill Passes

It's not often that legislators in both parties agree. Even more rare is a bill with a unanimous outcome. But that is exactly what happen this week when Kentucky legislators voted on anti-bullying legislation.

The bill would prohibit bullying and harassment among students in Kentucky's public schools and require school districts to put procedures in place to handle reports of such behavior. The bill passed the House today by a vote of 96-0.

House Bill 91 or "The Golden Rule Act", sponsored by Rep. Mike Cherry, D-Princeton, now goes to the Senate for its consideration. It is the fourth anti-bullying measure that Cherry has tried to pass into law in recent years.

The prohibition against bullying, harassment and other forms of intimidation--including cyberbullying via the Internet--required by HB 91 would be included in a "code of acceptable behavior" formulated by each district that would be based on the Golden Rule of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Each code would include procedures for handling complaints of bullying and protecting those who make reports from retaliation.

Students who break the code by harassing, bullying, cyberbullying or intimidating other students could face suspension, expulsion or other disciplinary action under the proposal.

Sling Backpacks May Lead to Back Injuries

School bags slung on one shoulder may be "styling" as children often say, but an expert has warned that this may cause a severe back injury.

According to Professor Gregory Kolt, a physiotherapist and health psychologist from the University of Western Sydney said that a bag slung over one shoulder can catastrophically affect the spine of school children.

He said that humans are designed to be symmetrical and a poorly fitted backpack or heavy load can instantly cause a muscle fatigue.

"Carrying a load unevenly in bag slung over one shoulder or a poorly fitted backpack throws out this balance, places strain on muscles and can cause serious damage which can continue into adulthood," a newspaper quoted Prof Kolt, as saying.

It is necessary to have a backpack that is correct in size for the wearer, holds the load against the back, with a semi-rigid bottom panel, padded shoulder straps and panels against the back.

Washington to Legislate Mandatory Recess

The Washington Kitsap Sun ran an article recently on a state legislator wants to make recess mandatory in the state of Washington. Below are the comments I posted in response to the article. I hope that you will take a minute and post comments as well.

Check out the article and comments at....

Posted by recessdoctor on January 21, 2008 at 5:07 a.m.

Of course kids need recess and a "kid break." It is sad that we need legislation to make it happen.

I wonder how many adults would stand by and let their "work break" go by the wayside so that they could be "more productive."

Let's let "kids be kids" and release them for some break time with peers and to get out and get a little fresh air.

Recess is a research based intervention for the childhood obesity crisis. Check out:www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/research.htm

We should all be thanking Sen. Rosa Franklin, D-Tacoma, for the mandatory recess bill.

Physical Education Class Uses Pedometers to Motivate Kids to Move

At Washington Woods Elementary, students recently started using pedometers during gym class, and physical education teacher Doreen Spindler keeps track of how many steps they take.

"Once they get 1,200 steps, which equals to half a mile, I punch their cards," she said. "That encourages them. If we play a game where we have to stand in line to wait, they jog in place or do jumping jacks. It's amazing how a lot of them are very aware of what their pedometers say."

After every two miles completed on the pedometer, Spindler gives students little foot-shaped tokens. She also gives them tokens when they bring in log sheets that show they met exercising goals.

Spindler and the school nurse, Robin Moore, work together to promote health.
Moore talks to the children about eating properly and has them bring in a log sheet, monitored by parents, that shows how many healthy snacks they have eaten, Spindler said. Moore gives them hand-shaped tokens once they reach 10.

Students display their tokens on their backpacks and necklaces, encouraging a healthy competition among each other, Spindler said.

"They know they have different opportunities that can help them make a healthy choice, whether it be what they eat or how they are active," Spindler said.

The We Count Pedometer Walking Program provides different tools for motivating and tracking student progress. Walking logs, chants, certificates, bulletin boards and many other tools motivate students to move.

$75.655 million in PEP (Physical Education Program) 2008 grants

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) has announced that $75.655 million in PEP (Physical Education Program) grants will be awarded this calendar year (2008). This represents a $3 million increase from the amount distributed in 2007.

Peaceful Playgrounds, , and WE Count Pedometer Walking Programs have been supported across the nation through submission of the PEP Grant Application. Additionally, Peaceful Playgrounds has a PEP Grant writing support page with tips, hints and language for getting your PEP Grant funded.

According to SGMA, for the third consecutive year, Congress rebuffed the President's desire to eliminate PEP at a time when the Department of Education's budget was targeted for cuts.

Since the initial PEP grants in 2001, more than $400 million in PEP grants have been awarded to school districts and community based organizations. PEP funds have successfully enhanced K-12 physical education and community based organizations' physical activity programs across the country. PEP grants are used for professional development training; equipment (balls, bean bags etc), and Physical Education curriculum like Fundamental Movement and recess programs that increase children's physical activity levels like Peaceful Playgrounds and the We Count Walking Program which earned national recognition for After School Promising Practices .

Eight states have mandatory recess: Number growing

Wanting their children to receive mandatory recess time every school day, a group of township parents repeatedly approached the township board of education last year to see what could be done.

Soon, lawmakers took notice.

Pointing to their concerns as a motivating factor, Assemblyman Joseph Malone III, R-30, is sponsoring a state Assembly bill to establish a task force on public school student recess.

If adopted, New Jersey would become the ninth state to have a recess policy. At the present time, only California, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin have enacted such a measure.

The idea for the task force came partly in response to Howell's ongoing debate of whether there should be mandatory recess time set aside each school day.

More on NJ push for mandatory recess....

New technology to monitor activity

Microsoft is developing technology to monitor workers' activity levels via their heart rates, according to the Press Association. It is suggested that it could be used to detect whether the people being monitored need assistance, the firm said.

Microsoft indicated that the patent was applied for approximately 18 months ago and the process takes 3 to 5 years to patent the technology through the US Patent and Trade Office.

The new technology could monitor and analyze computer users' physical activity, as reported by the Press Associate release.
A Microsoft spokesperson said, "This particular patent application, in general, describes an innovation aimed at improving activity monitoring systems and uses the monitoring of user heart rate as an example of the kind of physical state that could be monitored to detect when users need assistance with their activities, and to offer assistance by putting them in touch with other users who may be able to help."

More information on the topic of new technology to monitor activity.....

Schools with wellness coordinators report fewer behavioral problems

Healthy schools teams in Campbell County have come up with creative ways to fulfill the goals of the Healthy Schools Initiative. Put simply it is someone who would lead students in activities outside of recess and physical education class to increase their daily physical activity.

For schools that added the wellness coordinator they are getting promising results. Namely they are reporting increased concentration on the part of students and fewer behavioral problems.

More on wellness coordinators reduce behavior problems....

UK : Kids need more PE and Playgrounds

Schools will be encouraged to build more playgrounds, introduce food education classes and offer 4 hours of PE each week, according to the London Sun. Additionally, NEARLY a million pupils are doing less than the two hours a week of PE and sport recommended by the Government, official figures revealed yesterday.

The huge number represents a devastating setback to Labor’s drive to combat rising obesity rates among the young.

Mr Laws, Lib-Dem schools spokesman said: “As more kids grow up obese, sport at school becomes absolutely vital.

“How can we expect to find and train Olympic champions of the future if children aren’t taking part in sport at school?”

More on Millions of pupils don't get enough.....

Healthy Habits Add Years to Lifespan

A research study released last week in London found that to get an extra 14 years of life, don't smoke, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and drink alcohol in moderation.

However, it is not expected that this "new knowledge" will have much of an effect. When conducting my dissertation research I came to realize that knowledge rarely motivates one into action. There is often a gap between what we know we should do and "doing it".

"Most people know that things like a good diet matter and that smoking is not good for you," said Kay-Tee Khaw of the University of Cambridge, a researcher who conducted the research. "We need to work on providing people with much more practical support to help them change."

"We can't say that any one person could gain 14 years by doing these things," said Dr. Tim Armstrong, a physical activity expert at the World Health Organization. "The 14 years is an average across the population of what's theoretically possible."

More on the healthy habits study....

Study: Kids Will Eat Healthy School Meals

A University of Minnesota study that appeared in the Review of Agricultural Economics shows school lunch sales don’t decline when healthier meals are served and that more nutritious foods don’t necessarily cost schools more to produce.

The study contradicts the findings of previous studies, which showed students preferred fatty foods and that healthier meals cost more to make, the authors said. The researchers analyzed five years of data for 330 Minnesota public school districts and found the schools that served the healthiest lunches did not see a drop in demand. The study looked at compliance with federal standards for calories, nutrients, and fats.

While serving healthier meals does mean higher labor costs, they’re offset by the lower costs associated with nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables compared to processed foods, the researchers said. However, they acknowledged many districts needed to upgrade their kitchens and train their staff to prepare healthier foods. Study authors also suggested that schools using lunch program funding for incidentals redirect that money into nutrition.

More on healthy meals...

Childhood Obesity Cartoons

Check out the slide show on childhood obesity provided by MSNBC entitled, "A few extra pounds may harm kids hearts."

Peaceful Playground Instructional Games DVD's

Now it is easier than ever to spread the power of the Peaceful Playgrounds Program!
A ground-breaking set of three DVD's and three accompanying Rules Guides is now available, that can be used by teachers and students alike, to easily learn how many exciting and constructive playground games are played!

Navigate the easy-to-use menus to select any of over 25 games actually filmed being played by real students, games for Pre-school and Kindergarten, Primary Grades 1-3 & Upper Elementary Grades 4-6.

These are all the games students will love, like Frog in the Sea, Scramble, Freezeout, Number & Alphabet Grids, Four Square, and many more!

Introductory offer: $399

Preschool physical activity: Simple, Cheap

Getting preschool kids moving is simple. Give them a ball, hula hoop, or tricycle. The expensive play structures are not required when concerned about childhood obesity according to a surprised researcher. "We were surprised but encouraged to find that inexpensive equipment could add to kids' opportunities to be outside," says senior author Dianne Ward of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Public Health.

Increasing numbers of young children weigh more than they should, underscoring the importance of physical activity in preschools, they write.

Previous research has shown that children's physical activity in preschool varies greatly from center to center. But, the authors write, research into what causes those variations is lacking.

One thing is certain according to the studies findings. Teachers' attitudes and behaviors play a role," Finn says. In other words, says South Dakota State University epidemiologist Bonny Specker, who, with Finn, has studied physical activity at preschools, instead of repeatedly telling their kids to sit down and be quiet, preschool teachers should encourage them to run around.

More on active children like their exercise simple.....

Playground markings are another inexpensive way to get preschoolers moving. Peaceful PLaygrounds offers a set of games and activity markings which create an outdoor motor learning and movement lab called Fundamental Movement Program. Also available are the consumable equipment like balls, bean bags, hoops, scoops etc and a preschool movement curriculum encouraging physical activity.

Renegade lunch lady saving kids' lives, one plate at a time

By Fran Fifis
CNN


(CNN) -- Ann Cooper is on a one-woman whirlwind campaign to change the way kids eat in schools. "We're killing our kids with food," she says.

Ann Cooper sees her work transforming school lunch programs as a way to leave a lasting impact.

Half of all the Hispanic and African-American kids born in 2000 and one-third of Caucasian kids will have diabetes in their lifetime, many before they graduate college, Cooper says, citing U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics. "It's all because of what we are feeding them," she says. "It's all preventable."

Cooper, self-proclaimed renegade lunch lady and chef, is actively working against what she describes as entrenched interests -- fast-food companies and junk-food producers -- that she says profit from selling unhealthy foods to schools. They're "basically making money off our children's health and their future," she says. "I'm just so pissed off."

She wasn't always this way. Cooper used to be a big-shot celebrity chef who worked at tony resorts, on cruise ships, for hotel chains and prestigious film festivals. She's won numerous awards and is on boards for executive chefs, women chefs and the Alumni Committee of the Culinary Institute of America.

More on saving kids lives....

RESEARCH: Daily Physical Education Reduces Obesity

A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, found that participation in daily physical education classes decreased the odds of becoming an overweight adult by 28%.

"The message for policy makers is that the failure to offer physical education is 'penny wise and pound foolish,"' study investigator Dr. Robert Wm. Blum from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, told Reuters Health.

"With obesity at epidemic proportions, an intervention which appears to hold as much promise as daily physical education does in maintaining normal weight into adulthood should be given highest priority," Blum said.

More on physical education reduces obesity....

Pedometers: The answer to "plague of plenty"?

One of the cheapest and research supported "effective" exercise and weight loss tools is available for under $20. Yep. The pedometer.

Research has indicated that the pedometer has been shown to motivate, track steps, hold walkers accountable and is generally accepted as one of "man's best tools" in the plague of plenty.

People worry about flu epidemics, cancer and even anthrax attacks, but the "plague of plenty" is the major factor shortening the lives of Americans.

Set goals for new habits of healthy eating and exercise that you can achieve. It may be as simple as taking the stairs every day at work, or taking a 15-minute walk on your lunch break.

Start today.

The effect of multicolor playground markings on children's physical activity level during recess

Preventive Medicine
Volume 41, Issues 5-6, November-December 2005, Pages 828-833

Authors/Researchers Gareth Stratton Ph.D. and Elaine Mullanb
REACH Group, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, 15–21 Webster St., Liverpool L3 2ET, UK

Abstract
Background.

British children do not meet daily physical activity recommendations, and as yet no sustainable intervention has been reported to address their sedentary lifestyle. The purpose of this investigation was twofold: First, to examine whether painting playgrounds with multicolored markings would increase the percent of recess time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA) in girls and boys and second to quantify the contribution recess makes to national recommendations for young people's physical activity.
Methods.

MVPA and vigorous physical activity (VPA) were measured using short wave heart rate telemetry. Physical activity levels were compared before and after playgrounds were painted in 4 intervention schools and compared to 4 matched schools with unmarked playgrounds. Schools were situated in areas of deprivation. Ninety-nine children completed the study.
Results.

A significant interaction (group × time) was evident for MVPA and VPA. Time spent in MVPA and VPA increased significantly in intervention schools as a result of playground painting. Boys were more active than girls, and activity decreased with age, but neither difference reached significance.
Conclusion.

Multicolor playground markings can be a low-cost method of increasing children's daily physical activity levels in the short term. If these increases were sustained, then school playgrounds with multicolor markings would make a valuable contribution to physical activity recommendations for young people.

The Importance of Play

Curriculum Leadership Journal
Deidre Thian

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. It’s a well-known proverb. The wisdom underpinning the proverb, that if Jack works all the time he will be both boring and bored, seems forgotten in some schools in the United States.

For other schools, the a key question – what should the playground that Jack uses at school be like? Research would suggest that ‘good’ school playgrounds, that is grounds that support physical, social, emotional and cognitive development, have three common characteristics. They support developmentally-appropriate activities for the physical, social, emotional and cognitive developmental range of the children that use the space – whether they are young children or older young adults. They exhibit diversity in the types of spaces provided and the range of activities supported. And, perhaps the most critical feature, the types of spaces provided and activities supported in school grounds are interesting to the user. If a type of space or equipment is not liked by the children – irrespective of whether it has been well-designed – it will not be used.

Some examples of some places/programs getting it right are in the United Kingdom, through advocacy and research by such organizations as Learning through Landscapes, which funded Titman’s seminal research on the effect of the physical environment of school grounds on children’s behavior and attitudes, and by government and private support being provided to schools to improve school grounds (eg Growing Schools Program). Similar initiatives are also occurring in parts of Canada and the United States (eg Boston Schoolyard Funders Collaborative, Seattle’s Grey to Green Program, and Peaceful Playgrounds Program).

For more information on playground design.....

The Gratitude Campaign

It's called The Gratitude Campaign. It was a man from the Seattle area's idea to help us all express our graditude to individual soldiers and sailors (both men and women) when we pass them on the street. It's a peaceful 'salute' that can be done from a distance and it saves you the Herculean effort of thinking of just the right words to say to a stranger that has put their life in danger by serving in the US Military. This gentle hand signal will say it all. Click on this web page and tap the "full length movie" words if it doesn't start automatically (it's just a couple of minutes long) If you want to learn more there are other active links on that page too.

http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmovie.php


No matter what your feelings are about the current war, the people that decided our youth would be in it or your political party during this national campaign season....this is a way to show graditude that it isn't YOU in the trenches by sending a kind, simple signal to those who are! Now I can't wait to get to do this!! I'm planing a trip that will take me half way across the country and will give me the chance in 3 different airports to see a military person and and show them my gratitude for their personal sacrifices. I'm sure I won't have to say "I hope it's all over soon and you can come home for good and peace will fill the world" everybody feels that way! and we're all looking for the people we feel can best lead this country cause that to happen. May God Bless us to cast our votes in such a way!

Click on this web page and pass it on!

After School Physical Activity Website

Past California Association of Health, Physical Education and Dance President, Mary Blackman, coordinator at the San Diego County Office of Education developed a great after school physical activity website for schools. It not only provides some suggested games and activities for 4-8th grades but also some video clips of students playing the games.

Winter Sports Kits for Elementary Schools

I'm often ask if I have developed any games for snow activities. I must admit that I haven't. Growing up in Southern California the need didn't exist as snow days are non-existent in the Los Angeles area. However, I stumbled upon a website with some suggestions.

Check it out and take advantage of some free sports kits for elementary educators.

Study Promotes 'Exercise-Friendly' Day-Care Centers

A study by researchers from University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill School of Public Health found that children did more moderate and vigorous physical activity if the child-care center: had more portable play equipment, such as balls, jump ropes, hula hoops and riding toys; offered more opportunities for indoor and outdoor active play; and provided physical activity training and education for staff and students.

Contrary to popular belief, climbing structures, swings, balance beams and other stationary playground equipment were associated with less intense physical activity, according to the study. However, these items are beneficial to other aspects of child development, such as motor and social skills, the researchers noted.

Peaceful Playgrounds finding number 2 relating to the importance of consumable or loose equipment (balls, jump ropes, hoops etc) is consistent with this finding when applied to elementary school students. The addition of this new information on preschool age children further emphasizes the importance of the availability of portable equipment in enhancing children's physical activity levels.