Take It Outside Week On Thursday, October 22 With Orlando Head Start Children
RESTON, VA (October 20, 2009) – Hall of Fame golfer and new mom Annika Sorenstam will join Orlando Head Start children on Thursday morning, October 22 to help kick off the inaugural Take It Outside! Week, October 19 – 23. Annika will visit the Oakridge YMCA site in Orlando, encouraging the children and their families to play outdoors while celebrating the environment.
Presented by Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS), the national initiative is sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR). Its purpose is to get children outside, connect with the natural world, and increase physical activity.
In her 15 year professional career, Annika became the most dominant women’s golfer and has transcended her sport to become a prominent mainstream athlete and celebrity. Her workouts were legendary and helped change how women’s golf is played, watched and covered, and she continues to have a positive impact on all of women’s sports. She recently stepped away from competitive golf to start a family and focus on her Foundation, along with the ANNIKA brand of businesses, including her golf academy, clothing line, financial group, course design, wine label and fragrance.
According to Center Director Karin Spencer, Ed.D., “Outdoor play is associated with greater amounts of physical activity in children, and research has shown that opportunities for whole body exercise has a long lasting influence as preschool physical activity tracks throughout childhood.
“Unfortunately children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation,” added Spencer. “We want to help early childhood education and care staff discover the benefits of outdoor play across developmental domains and learn about the features of high quality outdoor play spaces that promote movement opportunities for children of all ability levels. When adults model and teach the importance of physical activity, young children are more likely to adopt a lifetime of healthful practices and behaviors.”
Accompanied by Luisa Vargas of Garden Grove Elementary School, their parents, teachers, and assistants, the children will participate in four activity “stations.”
Books That Move You: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle (from the HSBS Books That Move you list; easy to read with colorful pictures; easy to engage children by asking questions throughout, i.e. the giraffe is bending his neck, can you bend your neck? What else can you bend?)
Catch and Do: On each section of a beach ball (traditionally sectioned by color) write an action word such as jump, turn, shake, etc. Children can play catch with a partner or in a group. Roll or throw the ball to each other. When the child catches the ball, they should look to see where their hand is on the ball and do that action. Throw the ball to another child. This is a great follow up to reading Head to Toe.
Cooperation Carry: Pair two children to walk across a play area carrying the beach ball together. First they might use two hands, then one hand each. No hands?! What fun and silly ways will they think of to carry the ball?
Bubble Fun: Blow bubbles outdoors. Chase and catch the bubble before it pops. Swat at them with one hand or catch them with two hands. Stomp on them when they land on the ground. Jump on them with two feet, hop on them with one foot.
Head Start Centers serve over 900,000 children and their families. For an array of free resources about Take It Outside! Week, visit http://www.headstartbodystart.org/
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) recommends that children get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every day. To help early childhood programs establish and maintain movement as an integral part of the overall learning process, NASPE has recently published these two new resources – Appropriate Practices in Movement Programs for Children Ages 3-5 and Active Start: A Statement of Physical Activity Guidelines for Children From Birth to Age 5. To order, call 1-800-321-0789, or order online at www.naspeinfo.org.
Head Start Body Start Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS) is a project of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR), which are associations of the American Alliance for Health, Physical education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). Funding for HSBS is provided by the Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services.
The purpose of HSBS is to increase physical activity, outdoor play and healthy eating among Head Start and Early Head Start children, families and staff. HSBS is assisting Head Start programs in creating healthy learning environments, both in and outside the classroom, through structured and unstructured physical activity that leads to the physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of young children and reduces obesity and its associated costs.
ANNIKA Foundation
The ANNIKA Foundation teaches children the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition, and offers aspiring junior golfers opportunities to pursue their dreams. A primary focus for the ANNIKA Foundation is to identify the greatest needs and opportunities to make an impact through the development of sports and physical fitness programs for kids. A key focus will be to provide resources that increase participation and access where it is not currently available or affordable, and promote awareness for the importance of leading a healthy, active lifestyle.
About Annika
Annika is the greatest female golfer of our generation and often regarded as the best player in LPGA history. Her prestigious list of accomplishments includes her 2003 induction into the World Golf and LPGA Halls of Fame, ten Major Championships, 89 worldwide professional victories, eight LPGA Player of the Year Awards, and participation on eight Solheim Cup teams. In June 2008, Annika was named a USGA Ambassador. Annika has worked hard on her off-the-course businesses, which include the ANNIKA Academy, the ANNIKA Foundation, the ANNIKA Collection with Cutter & Buck, ANNIKA Financial Group, numerous golf course design projects around the world, a signature fragrance and a namesake Syrah in partnership with Wente Vineyards.
Contact:
Elizabeth Benz
Brener Zwikel and Associates
w: 212-708-3329
c: 352-514-0550
e: elizabethb@bzapr.com
