Community Walk

On Mother's Day, May 11, 2003 the Beeman Healthy School Team will be sponsoring a community walk. Our theme for the day is, "Take your Mom (or Dad, Grandparent, neighbor, dog, etc.) For A Walk!" We will meet at the school at 1:00 p.m. and walk as a group down South Street. People can walk the full 2 miles, 1 mile down and 1 mile back, or whatever distance they are comfortable. Along the way, there will be a fun activity for both kids and adults. The walk will end at the Beeman playground with refreshments. An award of extra recess timewill be given to the class with the most walkers participating.

We hope that everyone will enjoy this chance to get outside with your family and friends for a little fresh air and fun. Look for the wonderful posters that the local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts have created for us.

Upcoming Dates:

May 1- Rejuvenating Yoga with Elissa Cobb (3:30-4:30 in Gym)

May 11- Take Your Mother For a Walk (1:00 p.m. at Beeman)

June 14 - All About Town
(11:00 a.m. in Library)

Food Fights Are No Fun!

How much is enough? How much is too much? Appropriate serving sizes for children can be surprisingly small for children between the ages of 2 and 5: as little as 1 tablespoon of each food offered for each year of age. When children are pressured to eat, they are less likely to listen to internal cues of hunger or fullness.

"Children have a natural appetite thermostat," says  a registered dietitian. "If a parent pushes food, kids lose sight of how much food they really need." "We can't define our success as parents by how much our child eats," says Ellyn Satter, author of "Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense," (Bull Publishing).

Nearly 1/4 of all school age children are overweight and  9% are obese, according to some studies. Yale Uni-versity obesity expert blames the "toxic food environment", in which we are all constantly tempted to eat too much. Served a super-size portion, many children will eat it all and gain weight. In one 2001 study, researchers found that serving sizes at many fast-food chains have increased by as much as 40% in 20 years.
 

(Courtesy of "Working Mother" magazine.)

80 Days - 80 Ways for Family Fun!

On June 14, 2003 the All About Town Forum will be a brainstorming session of ideas to keep our kids busy this summer without relying on TV, video games and computers. Members of the Beeman Healthy School Team will lead this informal discussion of:

• Tips for TV turn-off

• Lists of local daycamp activities

• What did kids do before video and comptuer games?

Please join us at 11:00 a.m. in the New Haven Community Library for some great sharing, and even a door prize! Kids are welcome - they probably have some great ideas!

What Are We Going To Do With Our Kids This Summer?

 ** Summer Program Offerings **

At the April All About Town Forum, Gerrie Heuts, Bristol Recreation Coordin-ator, gave an introduction to the summer program offerings, which are much expanded this year. The full list will be available by the end of April in the Beeman school newsletter. Until then, information can found at:

Website: bristolrec.org

Email: bristolrec@gmavt.net

Phone: Gerrie Heuts at 453-5884 (Holley Hall office)
 

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