Greater purpose for child's play

Exactly what is the fastest way to consume five saltine crackers? T.J. Crowden figured the answer was stacking the crackers and shoving them all in at once -- a technique that inevitably caused the Eagle Ridge Christian School 12th-grader's gums to gum up and his lips to spray crumbs across the floor.

Worst of all, it prevented him from whistling. Hard as he tried, all that came out of Crowden's mouth were bits of white crackers and silent air.

"Nuh, nuh. I can do it," he said as other students swallowed the last of their crackers and began trying to whistle as well.

In the end, another student won the cracker-eating, whistle-blowing competition, and Crowden was left digging crackers out of his cheeks with his finger. But he had fun anyway, and more importantly, it raised his heart rate.

Fun and exercise merged Friday at Eagle Ridge as students in kindergarten through 12th grade participated in a variety of activities in honor of Worldwide Day of Play, an event sponsored by cable TV network Nickelodeon.

"This helps students learn that they can play and have fun but still be fit and exercise," said Jamie Crowell, physical education and health teacher at Eagle Ridge.

Crowell organized the activities at Eagle Ridge, which included egg-and-spoon, piggy-back and "human wheelbarrow" races. Students of all ages and their teachers divided up into six teams and competed against each other in the events.

Not only does Crowell hope her students learn something about exercise, Crowell also hopes the play day will earn the school some money.

This is Eagle Ridge's first year to have a full-time physical education and health program. The school lacks even basic equipment.

"We don't have books," Crowell said. "Basically, what we have are eight playground balls that I bought."

Participating in Worldwide Play Day allows the school to apply for grants between $5,000 and $10,000.

The official play day is actually today, but any school that participated prior to or on the actual day qualifies to apply for the grant.

If the school receives the grant, Crowell said she would like to start by purchasing items like bean bags and floor mats, which can be utilized for numerous activities.

Eventually, she'd like to be able to include archery, badminton and even BB guns in her high-school level lesson plans.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128