Healthy breaks

s:2563:"We live in a “cupcake culture” that celebrates everything with food—often food that’s not good for us. That’s one of the reasons that the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for children ages 2 to 5 and 12 to 19 in the past 30 years, and more than tripled for kids ages 6 to 11 during that same time span. Jenine De Marzo is out to change that culture. She provides all the tools you need to do so in Healthy Breaks: Wellness Activities for the Classroom.This book is filled with teacher-tested 5-to 10-minute activities that take little preparation time and can be done in the classroom, not just in the gym or outdoors. Healthy Breakspromotes healthy lifestyles, beginning with daily wellness activities in the classroom. The activities supplement the physical education and health education programs by promoting natural activity throughout the day. De Marzo also provides suggestions for using these activities in place of the food-centered celebrations that occur throughout the school year. Healthy Breakspresents the following features: • Tools for kindergarten through sixth-grade classroom and health teachers to promote wellness and provide health-related activities in the classroom • Activities for before- and after-school program leaders to increase physical activity and wellness • Clear and concise instructions that make it easy for any teacher to engage students in physical activity and academic learning • Tools for meeting objectives of national wellness policies set by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Schools are uniquely positioned to influence students’ health and wellness. With this resource, classroom teachers can easily integrate activities in their daily schedule. Not only are the activities fun, but they also address the problem of childhood obesity that is rampant in North America. They also aid in meeting objectives of wellness policies set by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Healthy Breakscan be used as a supplemental guide for classroom teachers who want to integrate health, wellness, and movement within their classrooms, as well as an additional guide for physical educators who have limited gym space and resources. And, perhaps best of all, the resource can be used in transforming our “cupcake culture” into a health and wellness culture.";