Notes From the Author

Renae Buss received her B.A. degree in 1982 and her Master of Science in Education degree in interdisciplinary studies-children's physical fitness, in 1992. She has taught elementary Physical Education at Le Mars Community Schools in Le Mars, Iowa, since 1984 and is presently in this position.�

Renae has a passion for children's health and has dedicated herself to helping in the effort of educating children about lifetime wellness, focusing on physical activity and nutrition. Her mission is to keep kids moving and learning about physical activity and nutrition.

The increase of childhood obesity is increasing childhood diseases that were rare years ago-Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, early hardening of the arteries, etc. Along with the physical link, the emotional trauma children encounter also lasts into adulthood. Research indicates that overweight children who are teased and bullied by classmates are more likely to experience lower self-esteem, anxieties, and depression. Unhealthy children experience impaired learning impacting academic performance negatively.

As I understand the urgency of the physical concerns, my passion stems from the emotional trauma overweight children encounter. I see first-hand the children who are "crushed" when they are teased or isolated because of their weight--and, it breaks my heart! Because of my personal experiences with weight and my passion for helping children lead healthy lives, I have dedicated myself to making a difference.

Experts are urging to target children at an early age with physical activity and nutrition education when lifestyle habits are developing--preventing unhealthy habits from forming. Childhood is an optimal age!

As an elementary teacher, I work with the "childhood" age. With an educational background in physical activity and nutrition education (the two key elements associated with childhood obesity), I am in the perfect position to help establish healthy habits.

Physical activity and nutrition education are often separated and taught within different curriculums. Learning theorists recommend teaching physical activity and nutrition concepts together within the same program so children can relate the concepts. Therefore, as a physical education teacher, my challenge was to discover how to implement nutrition education into my existing physical activity curriculum. I created visual food characters that illustrated physical activity-foods exercising (addressing two concepts with one character). Over the course of 6 months, I created 55 food characters and placed them on five posters to organize the physical activities into the five components of health-related physical fitness. These posters visually stimulated my students to become active, while at the same time learning about both physical activity and nutrition concepts within the same curriculum.

After presenting the posters with the food characters at various conventions, I had numerous colleagues approach me to inquire about getting the posters for their own use. This was not an easy request since I hand drew the posters, which took me months to complete. I met a publisher from Human Kinetics, Scott Wikgren, who encouraged me to mass-produce the posters. With the published posters in hand, I traveled to various local, state, and national conventions. Colleagues suggested additional "turn key" educational tools that would supplement the posters. Therefore, I developed more educational tools and designed a children's educational fitness program. Developing the program provided me, an ordinary teacher, the opportunity to share with others effective learning strategies to teach physical activity and nutrition; thus, reaching more children than just my students.

When writing the curriculum, I turned to the experts in the field of education, physical education, and nutrition education. I contacted Geoffrey and Renate Caine to request permission to base the program on their Twelve Brain/Mind Learning Principles. I also contacted the National Association for Sport and Physical Education to request permission to use information they published concerning physical activity and children. For nutrition education, I contacted the USDA to discuss incorporating the newly designed MyPyramid for kids. I compiled this information and organized it for instructor use. Student outcomes were based on the National Standards for Physical Education and the National Health Standards.

When choosing a name for theprogram, I decided on an acronym using the five health-related physical fitness components. The first letter of each of the five components was used to spell "bSAFE" ("b" -body Composition, "S" -Strength, "A" -Aerobics,

"F" -Flexibility, "E" -Endurance). This acronym helps children remember the five components. Therefore, the program is entitled the bSAFE bFIT! Program for kids.

With a sound educational background from experts, I needed activities to reinforce presented information. Often times, these activities are written by experts who have little contact with children. However, this is where my teaching experience was a major advantage. I understand first-hand the needs of children, along with parents, administrators, and teachers. Knowing the importance of these needs, I designed the educational fitness program to meet these needs and make the curriculum unique.

Teachers are searching for "instructor friendly" and "turn key" programs that can be implemented in one day. The concern of limited time challenges instructors/parents. Therefore, I created short sequential lesson plans to ease the implementation process-the bSAFE, bFIT! lesson plans can be completed in as little as five- to ten-minutes.

Administrators are searching for programs that are proven effective and based on educational trends. The bSAFE bFIT! Program has practice based evidence and addresses several educational trends--the Local Wellness Policy; Content Standards and Benchmarks; Brain/Mind Learning; Assessments; Infusion of Curriculum and Cultures; Inclusion and Family/Community Involvement.

Parents are searching for new and innovative ways to improve their child's health. As an educator, I realize the important role parents play in their child's education. Therefore, I designed the bSAFE bFIT! Program to be inviting to parents. Parents, the instructors, can easily take an active role by teaching both physical activity and nutrition education right at home.

Finally, the bSAFE bFIT! Program is "kid friendly" -students developed it. Each lesson and activity was sampled by hundreds of children. Therefore, actual feedback from students was a major influence in the development of the program.

These and other differences, which make the bSAFE bFIT! Program unique are highlighted in the section entitled "Why is it unique?"

Five educational tools are provided in the bSAFE bFIT! Program for kids. They include:

My passion for helping children lead healthy lives through education is at the heart of the bSAFE bFIT! Program. Because I wanted to share ideas, I developed high quality educational tools that focus on physical activity and nutrition education for those most likely to impact the future wellness of children (public and private schools, preschools, daycares and child care providers, parents, extension agencies, health clubs, wellness centers, hospitals, YMCA and YWCA's, etc.) The unique aspect of both physical activity and nutrition education taught within the same program, and the use of fun food characters illustrating physical activity sets the bSAFE bFIT! Program apart from other available children's fitness curriculums. It has been an exciting venture and I'm eagar to develop more tools that motivate children to get up and move, while learning.

The ultimate goal of bSAFE bFIT! is to help all children increase health-related fitness knowledge, fitness level, attitudes, and habits so they can adopt a lifestyle that reflects lifetime wellness; thus, decreasing the incidence of childhood obesity and increasing academic performance. The ultimate reward is to know that we can make a difference!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at anytime! And, let's be safe and be fit!

bSAFE bFIT! has joined with Striker Sports to provide the innovative educational fitness program to you through your favorite catalog! Go to www.strikersportsllc.com and order your bSAFE bFIT! educational tools today! You may also download FREE newsletters that communicate physical activity and nutrition information to parents and community members at www.strikersportsllc.com.