children

Did you know that more than half of obese children become overweight by the time they’re 2? Did you also know that roughly one in five children is overweight by their 6^th birthday? Given such high statistics, whether you’re a parent or a teacher, it’s critical to support physical fitness for preschool children and instill healthy lifestyle habits early on so that children may continue these habits as they grow.

Today is the National Preschool Fitness Day and in light of this, I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight a few child care centers that offer great fitness programs.

Kiddie Academy of Gainesville is a child care center where Health and Nutrition are part of the curriculum and where children spend two hours outside daily. The center has an indoor gym and a soccer enrichment program.

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The holidays are a time for the old familiar family traditions. But if you are looking to shake things up a bit, and expose your children to a more global outlook this season, here are some fun and easy traditions from around the world that are easy to integrate into your merriment.

More than milk and cookies.
One of the easiest ways to get kids excited about new cultures and traditions is with food. And there are as many different dishes from around the world associated with this time of year as there are elves in Santa’s workshop.  In Mexico, it is traditional to celebrate Christmas Eve with delicious tamales. In the UK, Santa doesn’t get milk and cookies, it’s sherry and mince pies that warm his late night sleigh ride (makes sense no!?).

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