SHIP stories
Building physical activity into young children’s
days through programs such as I am Moving, I am
Learning (IMIL) gets kids off to a healthy start.
•
In the first three years of SHIP, 1070 child care
sites with 23,900 children have improved and
increased physical activity for their kids.
Physical activity is the best policy
in McLeod County
With support from SHIP, Preschools and daycares
throughout McLeod County are not only making
physical activity a permanent part of their daily
routine, they are making it company policy.
Child care providers are looking at their current
policies, space and physical activity practices and
developing action plans to put permanent changes
into place. While some providers already have put
physical activity into their programs, developing a
formal policy helps them stay more accountable. SHIP
staff also helped create a resource guide highlighting
numerous activities, events and public spaces in all nine
cities that providers can take advantage of with their
kids at limited or no cost. The county is also working
The Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) works to
improve health through better nutrition, increased physical activity
and decreased commercial tobacco use and exposure. Find out
more at www.health.state.mn.us/ship
with Ridgewater College to encourage I am Moving,
I am Learning (IMIL) training, a popular and effective
physical activity program, as part of its continuing
education offerings for local providers.
At Lori’s Childcare and Preschool, owner Lori Holtberg
has notified families of her new written policy that
limits TV time to only a half hour a day while kids
are in her care. The policy also states that children
will have at least two hours of physical activity each
day, with an hour in the morning and an hour in the
afternoon, focused on large muscle development and
cardiovascular health. “We were doing a lot of this
before, but putting it into a formal policy makes you
more accountable,” says Holtberg.
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Updated 4/2013