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Get Moving!

No matter what shape you are in,together we can rise to the chal-lenge to get more active during themonth of May. Remember thesetips as you get your family moving.

Suggest activities you can dotogether. Try out some of theideas on our A to Z list.

Start small. If youre not used

to being active, take it easy atfirst.

Mix it up. Try different activi-ties to keep it interesting.

Make physical activity part ofyour regular routine. Give up aTV show to make time forphysical activity.

Recognize small efforts. Re-member, some physical activityis better than none!

Offer encouragement andpraise.

Point out positive choices. Ex.

Im glad were walking to thepark instead of driving.

Choose healthy gifts. For birth-days or special rewards, choosegifts to encourage your child tobe more active.

Adapted from: www.healthfinder.gov

To post questions and get moreideas, recipes and resources tokeep your child happy, healthy andsafe, join the Healthy Kansas KidsGroup page on Facebook!

May 2013

May is National Physical Fitness & Sports Month

In honor of National Physical Fitness &Sports Month, Child Care Aware of Kansaschallenges your family to get at least 30minutes of physical activity together eachday. Physical activity increases yourchances of living longer. It reduces the riskof high blood pressure and other healthissues. By getting active, you will sleep bet-ter, strengthen your bones, and lower yourrisk of depression. For fun ways to get ac-tive with your family, heres an alphabetical

list of ideas to try.

A: Ask children to come up with differentways to make an ARCH with their body.B: Practice BALANCE skills with a balancebeam or stepping stones.C: CRAWL through tunnels. Old sheets andmoving boxes make great, portable tunnels.D: DART through a homemade obstaclecourse. Great fun for indoor or outsideplay!E: EXPLORE the great outdoors. Look for

wildlife. Chase after butterflies and fireflies.F: Feel the rush of the wind as you FLAPyour arms like theyre wings.

G: Challenge children to GALLOP forwardsand backwards, in different pathways andat different speeds.H: Read Who Hops? by Katie Davis, then letchildren HOP or move like the animals inthe book.I: INFANTS need tummy time to strengthenmuscles, improve balance and learn coordi-nation.J: Place a series of lily pad hula hoops onthe ground and encourage children to

JUMP from one lily pad to the next.K: KICK balls of various sizes.L: Learn to be limber with a game ofLIMBO!M: MARCH to the beat using homemadeinstruments or some John Phillips Sousatunes.N: Teach children NUMBER conceptsthrough physical activity. Encourage chil-dren to count steps, make groups with acertain number of children or keep track ofthe amount of physical activity they geteach day.

O: Always provide OPTIONS! Adapt gamesto meet the individual needs of children.And remember, kids are great at devisingnew ways to play with standard equipment.P: PROVIDE an environment in which chil-dren can PRACTICE skills independently.Avoid using competition as a motivator andpromote success for all children by adjust-ing for individual skill levels.Q: After physical activity, be sure to providetwo minutes of QUIET TIME and relaxationexercises. Emphasize slow breathing, relax-ing muscles and releasing tension.R: Use RHYTHM STICKS or RIBBON WANDSto promote childrens expressive rhythmic

movements.S: Develop endless catching games usinginexpensive SCARVES.T: Encourage children to THROW balls orbeanbags underhand or overhand at TAR-GETS placed on the wall. Use poster board,a cardboard box, or an old sheet to createunique targets.U: Help children learn how to USE variousbody parts by focusing on movements withthe UPPER BODY. Use the alphabet to de-velop movement challenges that relate toupper body parts such as the arms, elbows,shoulders, hands, and head.V: Promote VOLLEYING skills by playing agame of Keep It Up with a balloon or

punch ball with the rubber band removed.W: Have children act out various weatherconditions by WALKING as if they were feel-ing each kind of weather. Suggest possibleweather conditions like windy, walking in

autumn leaves or playing in puddles after arain.X: X marks the spot! Use tape, carpetsquares or poly spots to create a personalspace for each child to use. Encourage chil-dren to show you how they can put variousbody parts on their spot.Y: YOGA poses can help children developtheir balance and coordination.Z: Encourage children to create ZIGZAGpatterns with their bodies.

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Make Your Home Asthma-Friendly

Apple Banana Salad with Peanuts

Salad: Dressing:

12 oz lettuce mix 1/3 c. plain low-fat yogurt

2 ripe bananas 2 T. mayonnaise

2 1/2 apples, sliced thin 1 T. honey

3/4 c. unsalted dry roasted 2 t. paprika

peanuts

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Slice bananas and apples. In a large salad bowl, tossmixed greens, banana and apple slices, peanuts and dressing. Serve immediately. Nutrition

information per serving: 330 calories, 7 g fat, 8 g fiber, 26 g sugar, and 10 g protein.

Serves: 4

Source: www.choosemyplate.gov

Healthy Eats

According to the U.S. Centers for DiseaseControl, almost 20 million people in theUnited States have asthma. Nearly 9 millionof them are children.

To make your home asthma friendly, followthese ten steps from the Environmental Pro-tection Agency:

1. Take it outside. One of the most commonasthma triggers in the home is secondhandsmoke. Until you can quit, smoke outside,not in your home or car.

2. Good night, little mite! Dust mites arealso triggers for asthma. Cover mattressesand pillows with dust-proof zippered covers.

3. Play it safe. Watch for the Air QualityIndex (AQI) during your local weather re-port. When AQI reports unhealthy levels,limit outdoor activities.

4. A little goes a long way. Reduce everydaydust build-up, by regularly dusting with adamp cloth and vacuuming carpet and fabric-covered furniture.

5. Stake your claim. Household pets cantrigger asthma with skin flares, urine, andsaliva. Keep pets outdoors, if possible.

6. Uninvite unwelcome guests. Cockroachescan trigger asthma. Dont invite them into

your home by leaving food or garbage out.

7. Think before you spray. Instead of pesti-cide sprays, control pests using IntegratedPest Management methods. If sprays are nec-essary, always circulate fresh air into theroom being treated and keep asthma suffer-ers out of that room for several hours afterany spraying.

8. Break the mold. Mold is another asthmatrigger. The key to controlling mold is control-ling moisture. Wash and dry hard surfaces toprevent and remove mold. Replace moldyceiling tiles and carpet.

9. Air it out. Reducing the moisture will con-trol asthma triggers like mold, cockroaches,and dust mites. Use exhaust fans or openwindows when cooking and showering. Fixleaky plumbing or other unwanted sources ofwater.

10. Plan before the attack. Work with yourdoctor or health care provider to develop awritten asthma management plan for yourchild that includes information on your childs

triggers and how to manage them. Share theplan with your child care provider or anyonethat regularly cares for your child.

For more information, visit: www.epa.gov

Source: United States Environmental ProtectionAgency, Indoor Environments Division.

Healthy Kansas Kids, a Program of Child Care Aware of Kansas www.ks.childcareaware.orgFunding for this project was provided in part by the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, a philanthropy based in Hutchinson and the Kansas Health Foundation.

The Kansas Health Foundation is a private philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. For more information about the Kansas Health Foundation,

visitwww.kansashealth.org.

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