'Take 10!' program promotes healthy way for children to learn

HOLLISTER, Mo. -- Chanting with a cadence that has earned her the nickname "Colonel Pickett," Hollister elementary teacher Nikki Pickett leads her class in unique chorus.

"Matter is anything/ that has mass/ and takes up space./ It has two basic things./Mass and volume."

As the 10-minute science lesson continues, the fifth-graders eagerly march in place, repeating the chant. There is giggling during the jumping jacks. But when the cool-down phase comes, students swing their arms and whisper the mantra.

Afterward, they return quietly to their seats.

The burst of exercise not only reinforces the lesson, but gives students a chance to let off steam so they're ready to study, Pickett says.

Hollister is the first school in Missouri to adopt the Take 10! program developed by an Atlanta research institute. About 310 schools in 32 states are using the technique that was developed after studies began surfacing about childhood obesity.

In Hollister, nine fourth- and fifth-grade teachers are using Take 10! for about 220 students who seem to enjoy the break.

"It helps get you awake in the morning, and it gets you motivated to learn the lesson," said 10-year-old Ashley Smith.

"It helps us, like, remember what energy is, and what our lesson is," said Dylan Martin, 11.

"It's fun," said 10-year-old Dillon Baldridge. "It's not just, like, boring school work."

The goal of Take 10! -- researched over the past six years by the International Life Sciences Institute -- is to provide a physical activity that can contribute to children's health without taking time away from class studies and that won't add to a teacher's already busy schedule, said Debra Kibbe.

Kibbe is director of physical activity and nutrition for the institute's Physical Activities Nutrition Program.

A report recently released by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior services showed 22.7 percent of Missouri youth ages 9 through 18 are overweight. Height and weight information was collected on 14,194 students during the 2000-2001 school year.

The state report doesn't break out statistics for Taney County. That indicates that the county does not exceed the average state percentage, said Jim Berry, director of the Taney County Health Department. Still, it remains a serious issue for Taney County, Berry said.

In 1999, Kibbe coordinated a Childhood Obesity Conference with representatives from health care, schools and communities. They decided that schools needed a program that carried positive health messages and promoted short bouts of moderate to vigorous exercise, Kibbe said.

"We are of the mind-set that health and learning are linked, but the pressures on teachers are so great now that it's difficult for them to be able to find the time to add one more thing," Kibbe said. "This is intended to replace a seated activity with movement."

In most schools, "test scores and academic performance are top priority, and health care actually comes pretty far down the list," Kibbe said. But as childhood obesity and early onset of diabetes, heart disease and other problems gain prevalence, "our goal at this point should be to stop blaming and start focusing," Kibbe said. "There are a lot of reasons kids are getting heavier and we know, common sense tells us, what those are. Thin starts at grass roots levels."

Kibbe's group also has developed similar programs for preschool and middle school students. Kibbe is studying results, including its impact on learning skills and disruptive classroom behavior.

The program costs $79 per classroom, and includes teacher training and aids such as classroom posters and stickers for the kids. To get Hollister started, Skaggs Community Health Center provided $750, said Rebecca Tough, Skaggs' community wellness coordinator.

Tough discovered the program last summer on the Internet. At the time, she was looking for ways to help children stay fit.

"I think the earlier we get to them, even if we have a home situation that's not a healthy lifestyle, these kids have a big impression on their parents, and they do take the information home with them," Tough said.