Mileage Club

Program Coordinator
Carrie Beauchamp

Mileage Club Introduction

In 2004 Futral Road Elementary School physical education teacher, Carrie Beauchamp, started the mileage club in an effort to reduce childhood obesity and to increase student daily physical activity. Collectively over the past 3 years students at Futral Road have walked over 73,000 miles. This year it is our goal to walk over 27,000 miles to reach a 4 year goal of 100,000 miles. To reach this goal it is imperative that the entire student body has the opportunity to walk and earn laps not only in PE but also for at least 10 to 15 minutes daily with their regular classroom teacher.

Daily mileage club participation if recommended for the following reasons:

According to National Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE)

• Reduces the risk for overweight, diabetes and other chronic diseases
• Assists in improved academic performance
• Helps children feel better about themselves
• Reduces the risk for depression and the effects of stress
• Helps children prepare to be productive, healthy members of society and
• Improves overall quality of life.
• Physical activity in the classroom helps improve on-task behavior during academic instruction time and increases daily in-school physical activity levels among children,

according to study results presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in Denver (2006).

Results of this classroom-based program add to evidence that students benefit both physically and academically from time devoted during the school day to physical activity.

National Association for Health and Fitness (2003)

When asked about barriers to promoting physical activity, the researcher said, “Without any question, the number one barrier to physical activity in schools is the perception that time spent in activity such as physical education and recess will undermine academic learning. The evidence does not support this assumption. We now know is that making time for physical education and physical activity does not reduce academic learning and it may actually increase it.“Our research shows that children who are physically active during the day in school are much more likely to be physically active after school as well. Energy begets energy! The more fit and alert adults feel the better they perform. This is also true for children.”

http://www.physicalfitness.org/pa_newsletter.html

Lead authors of the revised Physical Activity for Children: A Statement of Guidelines for Children Ages 5-12, are Drs. Charles B. Corbin and Robert P. Pangrazi of Arizona State University.

The purpose of this document is to provide parents, physicians, physical education teachers, classroom teachers, youth physical activity leaders, school administrators, and all others dedicated to promoting physically active lifestyles for children with guidelines about appropriate physical activity for pre-adolescent children.

Summary Guidelines
Among the recommendations are the following:

• Children should accumulate at least 60 minutes, and up to several hours, of age appropriate physical activity on all, or most days of the week.
• Children should participate in several bouts of physical activity lasting 15 minutes or more each day.
• Children should participate each day in a variety of age-appropriate physical activities designed to achieve optimal health, wellness, fitness and performance benefits.
• Extended periods (periods of two hours or more) of inactivity are discouraged for children, especially during the daytime hours.

"To help bring these guidelines to fruition parents and schools need to set specific times each day for physical activity such as a before school activity, recess, physical education class, and an activity break after lunch,”said Charles Corbin.

Corbin said, "The bottom line is that sedentary living contributes to obesity and chronic diseases later in life. Starting the activity habit early in life is crucial. Children need at least 60 minutes and up to several hours of activity daily. It can be accumulated in many short (15 minutes minimum) intermittent bouts of activity and need not be done in continuous exercise periods that are appropriate for adults. Long periods of inactivity (more than two hours in length) are discouraged.”
Reference: http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cfm?template=pr_123103.html

2007 – 2008 Mileage Club Guidelines

PE Teacher’s Responsibility:

• Provide classroom teachers with materials needed to implement the program.
• Collect and record mileage cards for each individual student.
• Fill out “____ miles” on each card as they are turned in.
• Distribute foot tokens accordingly.
• Award 5 laps to students who participate in PE to their PE mileage card (kept by the PE teacher).
  

Teacher’s Responsibility:

• Provide all students with a 10 – 15 minute opportunity everyday to earn laps on their mileage club card. (This activity should not be taken away for punishment. Remember, they need 90 contact hours of Health and PE each school year. Currently they are receiving only 45 hours (1.5 days a week) or 60 hours (2days a week) in PE.)
• Choose a walking location that best meets your classroom’s needs. (Maps attached)
  o Bus Lot (1 block = 1 lap)
  o Playgrounds (K-2 and 3-5) (1 block = 1 lap)
  o Pine Tree Trail (1 block = 1 lap)
  o Hallway (1 block = 1 lap)
  o School Perimeter Trail (2 blocks = 1 lap)
• Monitor behavior during walking.
• Ensure that laps are being recorded honestly.
• Turn in completed mileage card to PE Teacher’s mailbox (office or by the gym).
  

Implementing the Mileage Club in your classroom

When?

Research suggests that students and even employees should not stay sedentary for more than 2 hours with out taking a break. Keep this in mind when planning when your class will walk. List below are possible times in which one can schedule their walking time.

1. Morning Break (use if you have an afternoon specials time)
2. Before Lunch
3. After Lunch
4. Before Recess (students walk x laps before playing)
5. After Recess
6. Afternoon Break (use if you have a morning specials time)

How?

There are a variety of ways that teachers can help students keep an accurate record of their laps.

1. Teacher or parent volunteer punches a hole in a block on the student’s card as they walk/jog past a specific point on the course.
2. Teacher or parent volunteers stamps/marks the card as they walk by.
3. Teacher or parents volunteer passes out craft sticks (popsicle sticks) as students walk by. When they get to the classroom they color in the same number of blocks or punch the same number of blocks that they have sticks.
4. Teacher tells the students to walk 2-4 laps and then punches or colors in 2-4 blocks on all students’ card that are present during walking.
5. Teacher has a class rooster with all students listed and keeps record of laps walk on that. When students reach 40 laps the teacher or student fills out a mileage card and turns it in.
6. Any other method you find is easy for you, as long as they are using the mileage cards or class list to record their laps. (PE teacher will accept both methods when recording weekly miles.)

Where?

Maps are attached (What a great way to implement map reading skills J)

1. Bus Lot Trail
2. PK-2 Playground Trail
3. 3-5 Playground Trail
4. Pine Tree Trail - School Perimeter Trail

Incentives

Students recieve a Toe Token upon completetion of every 10 miles.