The Express Star News
Story from the Chickashanews.com
October 30, 2009




Putting the Map on Grand

Teachers, students, and PTO members at Grand Avenue Elementary recently finished a Fifty Nifty United States project.

They produced a painted outdoor map of the United States.

The concrete was provided for this large outdoor map of the United States by the Grand Avenue PTO. Peaceful Playgrounds stencils and kit were made possible by the Chickasha School Fo…

When are we too old for play? Never. At least that's the new philosophy catching on in Japan. They have found that age is just a number when it comes to having fun on a playground.

Every Friday, 79-year-old Saito and a class of senior citizens swing around on a jungle gym, made especially for the elderly, at a Tokyo park.

With fewer and fewer Japanese having children, it made sense for local governments to disassemble old children's play…

Survey for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation finds most parents willing to help schools improve food offerings and increase physical activity.

In fact, vast majority of parents want schools to limit students’ access to high-calorie chips, sodas and candy and to offer them opportunities for physical activity throughout the day, a new survey by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation shows.

The national survey, indicates that nearly eight in…

Are you receiving the WOWS Newsletter from the Healthy Kids Challenge?
It is a great resource and full of ideas and tips for keeping kids healthy. Below is a sample of a item that was included in this week's Wednesday Wows Newsletter.

....Easy HEAR-SEE-DO action tips each week

HEAR .... Provide a message to increase awareness of knowledge/skills
SEE .... Show people HOW to make healthy changes
DO .... Help people practice and make healthy chang…

Advocates for school-based physical activity programs argue that allocating time for daily physical education does not adversely impact academic performance. In fact, according to seven studies reviewed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and released in a policy brief called Active Education, the effects of physical activity on elementary students resulted in improvements in academic performace, focus and classroom behavior.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the 20th Anniversary of the school where I was principal. The school and community is similar in so many ways to school and community that I experienced. We were blessed with caring parents, dedicated teachers and wonderful students.

Curran Elementary holds a special place in my heart. I begin testing my playground theories, experimenting with playground improvements and looking at students interaction…

Image from Washington Post Oct. 21, 2009


The White House rolled out "The Healthy Kids Fair" this week in Washingtion DC with First Lady Michelle Obama jump roping her way to good health.

The First Lady has lead the way in promoting healthy eating and exercise for children. Remember the White House Garden? The event this week is part of a new initiative called, "The Healthier U.S. School Challenge".

And the goal of this chall…

Stop Bullying Now has a new website with additional resources.

You may be interested in their chart which gives you current laws and legislation in regards to bullying.

You may also be interested in their new page on major research and studies on bullying.

Other articles on bullying:

Bullying Prevention: Life's lessons in good and evil.

Why Bullying Programs Succeed or Fail.

Dr. Oz swings through Detroit with opinions on fitness, health policy and Oprah.

A version of this story appears on page 14A of the Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, print edition of the Detroit Free Press.


Dr. Oz the new TV personality with his own show launched from Oprah appearances weighed in on the topic of Obesity in children: "The most important thing we can do is make it easier for kids to exercise," says Oz. He's in favor of fitness-…

Edible Gardens are all about teaching kids to grow and cook. On their website you can download a number of free programs, competitions and hot tips for developing your own edible playground. The initiative originated in the UK and is similar to the School Garden Movement here in the U.S.

Here is a couple of samples of some free information from the website:



Part of the sow it grow it set of activities, students grow grass seeds in a tube and me…

October 19-23rd

HSBS will hold its inaugural Take It Outside! week on October 19 through 23 encouraging Head Start programs across the nation to get outside, connect with the natural world, and increase physical activity. HSBS will provide programs with ideas to celebrate Take It Outside! week including activity ideas, tips for facilitating play, and suggestions for enhancing the environment. Information is available in both English and Spanish. …

Did you miss the October Grants Newsletter that went out yesterday? If you missed it sign up here.

Link to October Grants Newsletter.

This posting is from a new blog I've discovered called Fooducate Blog. It has interesting information for those interested in nutrition.

The consumer watchdog group CSPI published [PDF] a provocative list of 10 healthy foods that have been involved in large scale contamination in the past few years:

1. LEAFY GREENS: 363 outbreaks involving 13,568 reported cases of illness
2. EGGS: 352 outbreaks , 11,163 illness
3. TUNA: 268 outbreaks ,…

The General Mills Foundation Champions for Healthy Kids grant program encourages communities in the United States to improve the eating and physical activity patterns of young people, ages 2-20. Grants will be awarded to nonprofit organizations and agencies working with communities that demonstrate the greatest need and likelihood of sustainable impact on young people's nutrition and activity levels through innovative programs.

Maximum award:…

How do you get people to be more physically active? Make it fun! View short video.


Related posts:
Physical Education Case Study.

Low-Cost High-Activity Playgrounds

The "all or nothing" methods of problem solving never fails to amaze me. Here's the latest example. A private school in Maryland used the adjacent park for recess. It seems that preschool parents complained that the older school kids were taking over the park, playing inappropriately, and leaving trash.

The result was to ban the school kids from entering the park between 9-4.

Why not ask the school to increase supervision? Stude…

Teachers. Are you paying attention video?

Continuing with the playground theme from yesterday's blog....... Here's 10 unusual and unique playgrounds.


Thanks to the mental floss blog.

I remember some of these playground structures from the 70's. Do you?
Great pictures provided from Dahlia Rideou's blog called Devine Caroline.

The Peaceful Playgrounds Online Playground Supervisor Training is designed to introduce administrators, teachers, substitute teachers, physical educators, parents, after school personnel, and playground supervisors to the responsibilities and techniques associated with keeping children safe on a playground.

VIEW Playground Supervision Course VIDEO

This online course will serve as a certified professional development experience.

This course details …

The Governor of NJ kicked off a statewide Nutrition and fitness challenge with students on Friday. The statewide fitness challenge to kids, their parents and school leadership across New Jersey today, urges them to take steps toward better children’s health by exercising more and making healthy food choices. The Governor’s Nutrition and Fitness Challenge invites kids between the ages of six and 17 to register at www.nj.gov/health/fitnesschalleng…

October Play Nice Newsletter.

This month we cover:
Can Physical Education Make you Smarter?

Peaceful Playgrounds Weekly Support Webinars
Friday, October 2 2009 - 10:00 AM PST - Free registration for this date!
Friday, October 9 2009 - 10:00 AM PST - Free registration for this date!

Online Playground Supervisor Training and Certification
View Video of Training

National Take It Outside Week- Head Start Body Start

General Mills Box Tops for Education and…