The Fayetteville Observer
By Jennifer Calhoun
Thursday, March 12, 2009
When the music starts, the children at Gray’s Creek Head Start begin singing along.
When the song tells them to jump, hop and run in place, that’s when they start smiling.
The preschool exercise routine is not exactly recess, and not exactly playtime.
It’s a new initiative called “I Am Moving, I Am Learning,” or IMIL for short.
IMIL aims to give Head Start enrollees moderate to vigorous exercise during classroom time through interactive CDs that teach about healthy foods, the benefits of exercise and even sign language and Spanish instruction.
It’s one way to combat Cumberland County’s rising rates of childhood obesity and Type II diabetes, said Shadia Young, nutrition coordinator for the local Head Start program.