Winning at Wellness at Bell Elementary

It looks like a simple game of kickball on a beautiful spring day. But for 11 children at Floyd L. Bell Elementary School the contest is as much about health and wellness as fun and games.

“The goals are to get the kids up and moving. The alternative is going home and sitting,” said Bell Elementary School Principal Lorraine Hulbert.

The Winning with Wellness program takes place after school from 3:30pm-5:00pm every Monday at Bell. Interns from Binghamton University’s Health and Wellness Studies Department developed the program. They work with students not just to have fun but to also teach them healthy habits.

“When people get to Middle School, High School, College, they have their health habits set,” said Rachel Smith, the program’s Lead Intern from Binghamton University. “We wanted to install healthy habits earlier.”

Among the lessons the program teaches are food groups, portion sizes, healthy snacking, and introductions to different sports. Basketball, kickball, and tag are popular with the students.

“My favorite is Pokemon line tag. I love Pokemon and all the characters,” said 2nd-grade student Leland Dember.

“We have a snack, do warm-ups, stretch and play games,” said 2nd-grade student Regan Pangburn.

“All of the activities they do here they can replicate at home with their family,” said Hulbert.

Dember has symbolized the success of the program in its first two months. On the first day he didn’t play in any games. Now he’s an eager participant. Armed with a Fitbit he tracks his number of steps, which now averages between 11,000-12,000 per day.

“They’re moving and they can’t wait to get here. We’ve had a full roster each week and they’re moving for an hour and a half. Their lunch choices have changed, too,” said Hulbert.

Hulbert would like to see the program expand next year, possibly to include more winter months, more children, and run as many as three nights per week.

The students are running as well, as they learn how to manage stress and use food as fuel. So what is their favorite part of the program?

“Everything,” said Pangburn.

Photo of children looking at a Fitbit

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