March 2020 Blog

Blue's Blog March 2020

#bluesblog

March 5, 2020 - pdf version

 

Hi everyone!

It’s March, let’s bid farewell to leafless trees and brown grass, and say hello to green leaves and early blooms all around.  During March we celebrate National Nutrition Month, St. Patrick’s Day, and other fun days like, National Pi Day!

 

March is National Nutrition Month, and my friends and I have been noticing that there are a lot of kids and families that are doing a great job with nutrition.  We see kids all the time drinking water at the park or at meals, instead of juice or soda.  We are noticing that many teachers and families are giving children better snack options such as fresh fruit and veggies, instead of processed and packaged foods.  Finally, we are happy that many families are choosing the healthy options at fast food restaurants and meal prepping healthier meals ahead of time for busy nights of extracurricular activities.   We are so glad to see our friends eating healthy foods! 

 

To celebrate National Nutrition Month, we would like to share one of our favorite resources, Color Me Healthy.   This is one of our favorite resources that we encourage families and providers to use to learn more about healthy eating.  Color Me Healthy is a program developed to reach children ages four and five with fun, interactive learning opportunities on healthy eating.

This curriculum is designed to stimulate all of the senses of young children: touch, smell, sight, sound, and of course, taste. Through the use of color, music, and exploration of the senses, Color Me Healthy teaches children that healthy food is fun.  (Color Me Healthy also includes a physical activity component.)

 

The Clubhouse friends and I also like to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Pi Day.   For as long as I can remember, we have been doing the Leprechaun Dance* to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  It is such a fun dance and I hope you will try it!

To celebrate Pi Day, some math thing not the pie we eat, my friends and I love to go to Glides house where his mom makes Apple Pie Crisp*.  It is healthy and so yummy!   Luckily, she is allowing us to share her recipe with you so that you and your friends can try it too!

* Want to use these activities as a family engagement tool?  If so then click here to download.

 

My clubhouse friends and I hope you’ll celebrate throughout the month of March.  Keep fueling your body with the nutrients it needs to be the healthiest version of you! Share your pictures and ideas on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using #beactiveblue and @beactivekids.  See you in April for the Week of the Young Child! 

 

Blue the Caring Cub

Testimonials

  • Preservice Teachers Learn to Use Be Active Kids in Limited Spaces

    I really enjoyed our class meeting. It was interesting to discover that you can do just about anything with children in the classroom where there may not be much space to encourage them to be active.  A change that I will make in my own life is to be more active, as well as my daughter. I will share this information with my friends that have children such as yoga animals, or Simon Says.

    Cathy Sesta, Parent & Child Care Provider
  • Early Childhood Physical Activity Institute

    Thank you for inviting me to be part of this year’s Institute. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the experience. You’re doing amazing work and I hope I’ll be able to continue contributing to it a bunch in the future.

    Rae Pica, www.movingandlearning.com
  • Plenty of Resources That I Can Use and Share

    This class was informative, and I look forward to being physically active with young children. On Friday, I volunteered at a Parents Night Out through my daughter's school. When I got there the kids were watching a movie. I got them up to play Simon Says and Red Light Green Light, however, after that I was stuck on what to do. I wish I had the knowledge I gained from this class, to have made it more exciting.

    I enjoyed your Land and Lake Activity.

    Venessa Wright, Parent & Child Care Provider
  • Be Active Kids Trainers Rock!

    I loved the training.  I would have loved it more if I had the other teachers from my center there also.  I am really looking forward to taking my kit to work and sharing it with my staff.  I liked Brittney, she reminded me of myself as far as being very active and motivated.  When I am at work with my little ones we stay busy all day.  I feel like singing my instructions and dancing my actions helps them to focus better on what I need for them to do.  Britney was great and I learned a lot from her. I am always trying to find new little ways to get the kids moving.

    Tiffany Daniel, Sandhill Community College
  • ECPAI

    The Early Childhood Physical Activity Institute was just wonderful!  Thank you again for including me in such an important effort to create and sustain leaders in EC physical activity. I would love to return to NC anytime that you think I can help. I enjoyed meeting the folks who work with you and hearing about all of the great things that are planned. 

    Linda Carson, Choosy Kids
  • Be Active Kids has Much to Offer

    Congratulations to you and everyone who has been promoting PA for young
    children in NC. You have much to be proud of here. Be Active Kids is an excellent source of ideas for promoting active play in unstructured settings. The Be Active Kids website also has resources on promoting unstructured active play. I encourage folks to review these resources. 

    Diane Craft, SUNY Cortland & Active Play Books