Let’s Move

In an effort to combat the current epidemic of childhood obesity, Simone Johnson, the director of the Martha’s Table Day Care program, has made a pledge and become a certified member of “Let’s Move Childcare.”  The “Let’s Move Childcare” campaign was started by Michelle Obama and requires that childcare centers raise more awareness about the importance of healthy eating and staying active to avoid obesity and the complications that arise from it.

Simone is very excited that the campaign has launched in Martha’s Table’s day care and has been passionately finding fun ways for the kids to be introduced to healthy foods and physical activities.  She says, “By staying physically active, our students are able to gain self-confidence and self-help skills.  They also learn about behaviors such as empathy, order, structure, safety, and health,” all of which are vital to evolve into healthy young adults.  She believes that “physical development has to start at infancy and continue on; therefore we include information and activities in our daily curriculum in conjunction with the DC learning standards.”  The students have been responding very well to the newly implemented program and have truly enjoyed the activities thus far.

The activities that have been organized in correspondence with the “Let’s Move!” campaign have included trips to a gym specifically designed for kids, dance lessons with an experienced dancer, basketball lessons from a team that has been together for seven years, and a Tae Kwon Do demonstration and lesson from a volunteer who has been practicing for many years. See the stories of the visits from the basketball team and the Taw Kwon Do volunteer below.