By

Jean Robinson,   Howe Elementary School

Play:

Community Playtime – It’s Good for Everyone

Topics:

Access to Healthy Foods, Community Involvement, Physical Activity Participation, Student Leadership, Success with Funds,  Teamwork

We started off our 2016 school year Fuel Up to Play 60 Program by having a school dance entitled “Rock Around Howe” Sock Hop. We had a DJ who played a variety of music and games that got us and kept us moving. We used the Blender Bike to serve healthy Yogurt Smoothies to promote healthy snacking and encourage physical activity. We served football shaped pretzels to promote our Green Bay Packers and decorated in green and gold colors. Our FUTP 60 team created posters to promote the dance and read announcements each morning to create momentum and excitement about the event. Many parents and staff got involved helping to decorate and serve the smoothies. FUTP 60 prizes were given to the winners of the game challenges and the line for the Blender Bike was continuous. There was great disappointment when the music stopped and it was time to go home.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

Our team worked together to plan the event and what it would take to make it successful. We engaged parents in the event and helped everyone to have a great time. Students helped with promoting the event at and around school by talking with their classmates, reading announcements and being involved with the games at the event.

How did you accomplish your goals?

The event was a great success. Everyone loved the Blender Bike, the games, and the music. There is already talk of having another event like this one.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was that there was a constant line at the Blender Bike and not enough time for everyone to try it. It would be nice to have had 2 of them. The other challenge was time. We didn't have enough time to do all of the games that we wanted and still have a great dance.