HOUR OF FUN, FITNESS FOR KIDS AT MALL

Children enjoyed exercising while playing with a parachute canopy at Kids Bee Fit in West Park Mall.

It's 10:30 Friday morning in a side hallway of the West Park Mall's JCPenney wing. There's a jostle of small children -- tugging on mothers' arms, pushing to get closer to the door, shedding coats at the Kids Bee Fit room beside the Tilt arcade.

Classes are changing for the Romp 'n' Stomp exercise program for children 2 to 6 years old. Robin Swain and Stephanie Clark hurry to put coats and happy badges on the children leaving and shush the children in the new class to the wall to wait for class to start.

Most of the 20 children in the 10:30 class are regulars. They know the routine: Find a piece of wall and wait for the instructors to start class.

Robin is the main instructor this day; Stephanie, who conducted the 9:30 class, stays to help because there were so many children. Sometimes there are as many as 40 children in the class. The average class size is 23.

Before class begins, Robin reminds the children there are rules: Don't touch each other; don't hit.

Jordan has a birthday, she tells the class, then leads the singing of "Happy Birthday" to Jordan.

With that over, she asks the children why they exercise -- to become strong.

The FitKids program sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Hospital's Fitness and Wellness Center is in session. the center conducts about 10 such sessions a week for children 2 to 12 years old. Some sessions are at the mall, and some sessions are at the Main Street Fitness Center in Jackson.

The younger children have morning sessions; the school-aged children meet afternoons or evenings.

Robin and Stephanie lead the children in stretching exercises, touching toes, raising arms over heads. Then the children work their way to the center of the exercise room to do the "Hokey Pokey."

Robin and Stephanie are seniors in the health management program at Southeast Missouri State University. Both are employed by the hospital, and both say their classwork brought them into the program.

Following the stretching, a song leads the children through other exercises -- skipping, jumping, hopping, roller blading (sans skates), marching. The children had to remember which sounds went with which activities.

Each session instructors teach a lesson. This day, the lesson was on muscles -- arms, heart. The instructors develop lesson plans for each class and try to follow those plans. This day's lesson included working on the biceps and triceps with small weights.

After the children were given the weights, they did about 20 curls -- in varying degrees -- and pulled the weights over their heads.

The instructors have taught the children about safety and seat belts, good health, nutrition, muscles, bones, self-esteem, the senses, foods and teeth brushing during the fall program. The children also learned how to interact with other children.

The instructors use props when they can.

Stephanie and Robin get out the colorful parachute, and the children each grab a color, except Amanda who seems disinterested and lags outside the circle.

"You're a veteran," Stephanie encourages Amanda. "You know what we're doing. Come on and grab a color."

After stretching the circular parachute, the children and instructors shake it, making waves. Amanda joins the group and grabs a color. This exercise is followed by bouncing nerf balls inside the center of the parachute.

The children's exercise program is to instill healthy behavior in them and to prepare them with a healthy lifestyle.

Studies show children who don't take part in some kind of exercise program by age 6 often don't get into an exercise program later in life.

Back at the class, the instructors pass out plastic tubing. Again, there are rules: Don't swing the tubing, it might hurt someone; don't put the tubing into your mouth, you might get germs; don't put the tubing around the neck.

By reciting the ABCs, children used the tubing to stretch from the floor to the heart, over the head. They stretched the tubing as if they were shooting an arrow and put the tubing on the ground and did more curls.

The mall and the hospital have a cooperative agreement to conduct the fitness classes. For a dollar, children get an hour of exercise, and parents can shop for Christmas or roam the mall. The sessions are scheduled between breakfast and lunch.

The children then work their shoulders, fly like eagles. The instructors take time to tie shoes and wipe some noses before the concluding song, "Peppermint Twist."

All-in-all, Robin followed her lesson plan. Some days, a certain activity doesn't fit the children, and she'll change her plan.

The mall program has been in existence for several years. There are three other instructors: Missy Lynn, Debbie Stevens and Scott Givens.

Debbi Leoni, the coordinator of outreach and wellness at the hospital, said the children's program is geared to have everyone participate.

They all participate all the time, unless they want to sit out, she said. It's not competitive where only the best play. She want everyone to play.

There's only time for the instructors to hand out color sheets on muscles and pass the children back to their mothers.

For the children, it was an hour of exercise and fun.

For the instructors, it's cleanup time and time to reflect.

The corridor outside the Kids Bee Fit is quiet again.