Never Too Young To Start Exercising
Children are never too young to start exercising - that's one of the messages of Mission: Active Kirklees 2009.
Mission: Activie Kirklees is an annual programme aimed at encouraging youngsters to become more active and healthy. Running alongside this year's activity sessions and healthy eating advice for primary school children are a series of fun activities for under-5s.
'Tots Bee-Fit', 'Mini Moo-vers' and 'Toddle4Life' are all new ways to get toddlers - and their parents - active. To promote classes recently started as well as new sessions starting in September, Kirklees Physical Activity Development Officers are running taster sessions as part of Mission: Active Kirklees.
'Tots Bee-Fit' gets toddlers wiggling, dancing, singing, playing games and giggling. And 'Mini Moo-vers' gets them moving and grooving in fun-packed dance sessions. Both activites are aimed at 2-5 year olds.
'Toddle4Life' is a programme of family walks aimed at adults with babies in prams and toddlers on the run. They are held throughout Kirklees and are led by qualified walk leaders.
Hannah Croughan, Physical Activity Development Office for the under-5s, said:"Tots Bee-Fit is all about having fun. We use music to get the children and their parents hopping, skipping and jumping and they don't even realise they are exercising. We also incorporate learning about numbers, shapes and colours.
"In Mini Moo-vers we aim to create a dance performance and we have a group of under-5s who will be taking part in the Energise dance team's 'Jump and Shout' at Lawrence Batley Theatre in July which will involve dancers of all ages from across Kirklees."
Further information about sessions for under-5s, contact Kirklees Physical Activity Development Team, tel: 01484 234089, email: physicalactivity.development@kirklees.gov.uk
Mission: Active Kirklees, which is being held over four weeks, is involving thousands of children. As well as schools activity sessions and under-5s activities, there are also sports-themed library sessions with author Tom Palmer who writes football-related books.
Also, at the start of the new academic year in September, all schools in Kirklees will be receiving Mission:Active Kirklees logbooks and resources for teachers so activity and healthy eating will continue to be promoted.
Mission: Active Kirklees, which is part of Kirklees Council’s ‘Getting Fit for 2012’, is being run in partnership with Kirklees NHS Primary Care Trust and Kirklees Active Leisure and also involves the Kirklees Schools Sports Partnership. It also links into the national ‘Change4life’ campaign which encourages families to become healthier.