Preschool focuses on heart health

By ANNE KAZMIERCZAK
Register Reporter

It’s natural to think of hearts when you think of Valentine’s Day, but Patty Patterson wanted her students to think beyond candy and paper cards.
This month, she used the opportunity of a heart-based holiday to teach the preschoolers about heart health. It’s all part of her teaching philosophy, and may help her get a grant to build a natural playscape for her charges.
Patterson likes to “include the real world” in her lessons. Planning February’s activities meant including Valentine’s Day. But Patterson felt there is too much emphasis on candy and emotions best left to adults when children and Valentine’s Day intertwine.
She recognized that “Our heart isn’t a love magnet — it’s a muscle,” and decided to teach the children how to keep that muscle healthy.
“We’ve been working on a grant to reduce obesity in young kids,” Patterson said, and taking the focus off candy and putting it on exercise and healthy food choices was a way to meet that goal.
Patterson taught the children what makes food heart-healthy — “grains” they say, and “vegetables and fruit!”
They brought in examples, such as V-8 juice and whole grain breads and cereals.
“I found the baby food,” said Dallyn McGraw. Sure enough, on the label is a little heart, showing, Patterson said, “caring for our hearts isn’t just for adults. It starts when we’re very young.”
“It makes your heart happy,” offers Grace Rich.
On a bulletin board was a diagram of a real human heart. The kids had been learning about blood pressure today.
“Sara Clift, a Physician’s Assistant, came in and talked with the kids about why they should keep their blood pressure down,” Patterson said.
Clift recorded each child’s blood pressure on a red paper heart, along with their name, then pinned them to the children’s shirts.
“We’re wearing our hearts on our sleeves today,” Patterson smiled.
She asked the class of two- to five-year olds to describe some ways to keep their hearts healthy.
“Jumping Jacks!” yelled Reece Murry. “Playing football,” added Grace. “Dancing,” suggested Mallory Heim. Skating and jump rope and playing and running were further suggestions from the class, proving they’ve learned their lessons well.
“Grace came in and told me she and her mom took a walk to Jefferson School from Party Girls,” Patterson said of the effect the lessons are having on the children. “And Drake brought in a pillow from his Grandpa’s heart surgery.
“It’s ringing a lot of bells for the kids.”
Patterson said the children now volunteer to run up stairs, because they know it’s exercise. They try to get their parents to walk with them when at home. They think about movement more, she said, and they can do more themselves.
Patterson has the children do a half-hour workout every day. Fun-out might be a better name, considering how enthusiastically the children participate.
To a CD Patterson compiled of various children’s tunes, the class begins a warm up stretch, then moves into aerobic dance and finishes up with “cloud work” — a quiet cool down period.
“You don’t just jump into things,” Patterson reminded her wards, you stretch first.
“Because if you don’t, your bones will hurt,” Grace added.
The kids’ favorite song is “popcorn.” They jump up and down to mimic the grain’s popping.
“When we first started, they couldn’t do the whole (two-minute long) song. By a minute into the song, a lot of them were panting and coughing, so we talked about lung capacity.” Now, a mere month later, Patterson said, “they start jumping before the song begins.”
Instead of paper hearts this year, Patterson’s class “will exchange gifts that will exercise your heart.”
Jump ropes and hula hoops and footballs are some of the offerings. Parents are enthusiastic about the exchange, she said.
“Our gifts are about the price of a box of valentines, and valentines get thrown away.”
For her gift, “I’m burning a CD of our exercise music and instructions for each child so the kids can do them with their parents,” Patterson said.
“It’s important for the parents to share this with their children.”
In addition to the morning workout, “we play outside every day,” Patterson said. “We’re getting 30 minutes (of aerobic activity) in the morning and 30 in the afternoon.”
“All these different things take care of our physical health.”

PATTERSON’S daycare is one of four in the area vying for a $500 grant from the Family Resource Center in Pittsburg. The FRC evaluated the daycares’ facilities, food and program.
“Honestly, we got a really high score on our evaluation,” Patterson said.
She hopes to build series of interactive gardens should she receive the money.
“We’ll have a butterfly garden, a rock garden and a reading garden with a bench and shade tree.
“And we’re definitely going to do Mr. McGregor’s garden, so we can get a bunny to live here.”
“Tending the gardens will be part of our exercise,” Patterson said.
“Everything we’ve been doing all month has been to promote a healthy heart,” Patterson said. “I look at this as a foundation for further education.”
Sometimes, Patterson said, “in our busy lifestyles we don’t take the time to teach our children. But we’re making impressions on them on how to live.”
“I have the opportunity to give them the knowledge of healthy hearts and blood pressures.”