We need Stuff!

If you can donate used sneakers that still have some life in them....our kids would be so thankful! Many of the children's families cannot afford sneakers and so your help would be so helpful! Just bring any donation to the Gym and we would be so thankful on behalf of our kids. Also, Our P.E dept. will be trying to find grant money or donation money to start our new Snow Shoe Program, probably for next winter! We will be looking for about $2000 to buy 50 pairs of snow shoes so that we can add this new program to our curriculum and we hope the kids will develop a new love for being outside and getting healthy in the winter, we are very excited about this new endeavor for our school. Yoga starts this week and we were able to fund this program thru our PTAC, parents group and many private Yoga studios in the Dennis area, much of the thanks goes to Ms. Cevoli and her love of bringing Yoga to our kids. Thanks and look forward to working with you to benefit our kids here at the Ezra Baker Innovation School! P.E Dept.

Jump rope For Heart

We have 12 great stations for the kids to jump at during their regular P.E. period. Also, each classroom has asked the children to fill in a Heart with the name of a someone who they are jumping in "honor" of for this week. Also, the children will be making a second card to share with the local nursing and assisted living programs in our area. Along with that we have emphasized healthy eating this week, physical activity for a minimum of 30 minutes/day and have tried to organize a morning family walk for 20 minutes but due to snow storms we have had to postpone that phase to sometime in the spring. We hope that the children will better understand that we are all not alone in fighting heart disease. Our gym is looking great, starting to fill up with hearts. we will forward pics later on. Stay healthy!

Welcome Back to Baker!

Back to School....Soon! School is soon approaching and will be here before you know it! Now is the time to start thinking about your fitness level! Here are some things for you to think about now: Check your BMI level, so that you get an idea where you are now and then during the school year we will have you check yourself again! Remember this is only one tool for you to use and along with other check points, it will give you a picture of your health. Use the links on this blog site to help you! Next, remember the 5-2-1 program and you should check yourself to see if you are eating 5 fruits/vegetables daily, 2 hrs or less of TV/Computer time and 1 hr. of daily physical activity! Start looking now for sales on good running sneakers that give your feet good support! Get physical now so that your body can get ready for running, sweating and conditioning those muscles! Don't wait to start moving in our physical education class because you will find it hard to play many of the games and learn many of the new skills that you will be learning. Remember that we will be able to see your growth over the school year....You should be stronger and better at doing the P.E activities over the school year, much is expected from your hard work! So, enjoy the summer and make a comment on this blog site should you need any help or advice, I'll be checking this blog for questions! Also, walking daily, as a family unit, does a "body good" and builds those emotional bonds that you will always remember and get that warm fuzzy feeling inside of you! So walk daily and strive for 30 minutes a day of moderate walking, which is at least 3 mph. Until we meet again, enjoy the summer!

Field Day 2014

Field Day featured 13 fun filled stations, each station created so that fun was the priority and winning the station became lost in the fun. Children all had a fun day and their teachers got to see a different part of their students!

Backyard Family Game Night!!!

It's that time of year again Ezra Baker! Our 3rd annual Backyard Family Game Night will be held Friday night May 30th from 5:30-7:00pm @ EHBi Elementary School! There will be a variety of physical activity games and stations throughout the EHBi upper field and playground area. For more details, please see the flyers for the event that will be going home Tuesday May 27th!! We are also hosting a "sneaker donation" bin and accepting all mint/slightly used condition sneakers of all sizes!! Our wonderful EHBi PTAC will be selling EHBi water bottles as well, so please come out and support their wonderful efforts for all they do for our students!

Jump Rope For Heart Totals 2014

An amazing $4716 was raised by the kids and families at the Ezra Baker Innovation School!!!!! Thanks go out to our families for reaching out to their contacts and too our school staff for their support to raising money which will be used to finding a cure for heart disease. This is our 12th year raising money and we truely believe that we have made a difference in finding the advances discoved in fighting this diease that effects us all. Great work

Boston Strong...Boston Red Sox Tribute ...

See the video to the left on this page as the Boston Red Sox pay tribute to all of the EMT's, Police and Firefighter, medical staff, survivors and politicians on this 1 Year Anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing. It is tough to keep a dry eye... as we all can make the emotional connection and feel for the survivors of that terrible tragedy. There is so much good in people as this event has demonstrated and that a few evil people cannot can only make us more resilient to find the good! Sometimes sports does get it right and brings us all together around stuff that really matters! Baker P.E. Staff

Jump rope For Heart

This week in every P.E class we will be Jumping to support the fight against heart disease. This will be our 12th year sponsoring this event at our school. We are so proud of the children and family support that we receive every year and I'm sure all of the money raised has helped in the research to improve the quality of care for everyone! As we have told the children, the American Heart Association thanks each child who does the charity work and rewards them with a thank you gift! The children know that the "gift" is just that... and does not equal the value of their donation and so the children participate mostly because some person that they know and or have loved have suffered with heart disease. We are so appreciative to all families who perhaps can't help us financially but do so with their emotional support, and again we have told the children that not all families can participate due to other financial family priorities. So we look forward to a fun week outside due to our gym repairs but we are sure that all children will have fun jumping in some activity. Bob and Christen

Why There's More to Diet and Exercise Than Just Weight Loss By Babble.com | Healthy Living – Fri, Apr 11, 2014 3:21 PM EDT

We've been hearing for years and years that losing weight is a matter of eating well and exercising. Weight loss, it seems, has been at the center of our national discussion on obesity and its health-related issues. Which is fine. Being overweight is often a problem on many levels, from physical health to emotional well-being. It's good that we recognize the importance of maintaining a healthy weight. But lately I've noticed a slight change in the discussion. I've heard (or rather, read) more and more talk about eating well as a means of improving health, including curing specific ailments like high blood pressure, and about exercise as the antidote to mental issues that we've grown accustomed to taking pills for. Eating well and exercising, it seems, are not just for weight loss - they're also good at combatting some of the illnesses we develop by (wait for it) … eating poorly and living sedentary lives. Things like high blood pressure, anxiety, stress, and depression. This is a step in the right direction. It's a sign that we are recognizing the connection between our diet, our activity level, and the way our bodies feel and perform. It also means that we're realizing there is a safer, healthier, more cost-effective way to fight the ills of our age than by taking pills, some of which have side effects that are as bad as the disease itself. While this development in the conversation on nutrition, exercise, weight loss, and health comes at a fortuitous time - when we are having other conversations about the costs of healthcare in our country - I am nervous about where it could lead. Changing our diet and moving our bodies more frequently and intentionally are, I'm sure, the most natural and efficient ways to both improve our health and decrease the amount of money spent on medicine and medical treatments. But if eating more carefully and exercising more consistently are to become "treatment methods," what will the future of our healthcare system look like? I certainly don't have the answers, but one scenario that goes through my mind is that doctors will be writing prescriptions for "three 4-mile runs per week at an easy pace" or "kale salad with dried cherries and toasted nuts" for their patients. And that running 4-miles will be just like taking a pill: You do it because you have to and try not to think about it too much. Related: You'll save money on therapy ... and 7 more unexpected benefits of exercise If that happens I think we'll have not necessarily missed the point, but possibly missed a great opportunity - the one in which we realize that living active lives and eating real, whole, fresh foods is actually really enjoyable. Living that way leads to greater energy and awareness, to a variety of experiences, to meeting new people and to discovering new, empowered parts of ourselves - and that's in addition to the lower blood pressure, calmer mind, and fewer prescriptions to fill. It's possible, of course, and even likely that even if doctors prescribe meal plans and workouts instead of pills, people will come to a realization on their own that their health, their energy, and their life in general has greatly improved, and they will learn to love the "drugs" (diet, exercise) that got them there so much that they will integrate them into their lives as a lifestyle and not merely as something to take before breakfast or with dinner. But I believe the better course could be to skip that step in which doctors have to tell us what to do and just do it ourselves: discover the joy of movement, the deliciousness of food that doesn't come pre-cooked in a plastic tray, and reap the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits that come when we do things because of joy and not because of fear (of disease, of fat, of the unknown). One of my personal heroes, George Sheehan, the late running enthusiast, writer, doctor, and philosopher of sport, wrote frequently about the importance of finding those intrinsic reasons for running, playing, and being active. Things like increased creativity, conquering the blues, discovering your inner hero. When a similar topic came up during the rise of aerobics nearly 40 years ago and the prospect of prescribed exercise had been suggested, he wrote: "There is an alternative to the athletic-state or the exercise-your-heart-ailments-away argument of the aerobics plan. The answer is to consult your friendly neighborhood athlete, be he runner, tennis player, or average half-court basketball player. Why does he do it? [ . . . ] Running pays off and it pays off today. Exercise gives instant and exhilarating effects. There is a natural high to be obtained legally." And, more poetically, but no less accurately: "And while these pounds were being shed, while the physiological miracles were occurring with the heart and muscle and metabolism, psychological marvels were taking place as well. Just so, the world over, bodies, minds, and souls are constantly being born again, during miles on the road." Weight loss is a good first step. Better health and fewer pills are worthy motivations, but until we embrace a healthy diet and consistent exercise as both a gateway to and a hallmark of a full, well-lived life for body, mind, and spirit, we're cheating ourselves of those final revelations: that there is natural high to be obtained legally, that our bodies, minds, and souls are renewed when we treat our bodies well. Doctors can't prescribe that to us. We have to claim it for ourselves. Photo source: Lizzie Heiselt -By Lizzie Heiselt FOOTNOTE: At Ezra Baker Innovation School, we have been addressing this exercise to mental health relationship by instituting our Open Gym concept by which any child during anytime of the day may come to any gym class and participate in the class activity. This often looks like a child coming into the gym who may be restless or frustrated from a classroom activity and just needs a fun few minutes. Sometimes the child stays for only a brief time and for some it may last for the whole class duration, but the child often helps the support staff as to how they are feeling and whether they are ready to return to the class. This helps the child to be an active participant in their understanding, recognizing and controlling their emotional self control.

Turning Lemons..into Lemonade!

Even though our gym is being repaired...Watch the video closely to see the excitement in our children! Despite the adversity of no gym building.. the kids are excited about P.E., the smiles on their faces and their personal learning that goes on as they experience change is truly a great life lesson. We talk about change and how we deal with the negatives to find the positives....yes that is education.
thanks to Ms Cevoli for bringing Yoga into our lives!!!!!

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Phys. Ed. news!

So how about some dance and yoga to add into our PE curriculum this year?! Because of our unique facility situation, Miss Cevoli and Mr. Fantaroni have become even more creative with their physical activity ideas this year! We have added a Dance unit into our curriculum where students have learned or reviewed a variety of popular line dances and some original line dances choreographed by Miss Cevoli. The K-1 students have done some fun easy dances in their classrooms such as the hokey-pokey, YMCA, cha-cha slide, ‘seasons’ dance, and chicken dance! The 2nd through 3rd graders have also done the YMCA, chicken dance, cha-cha slide, and Cupid Shuffle. They have also learned some original choreographed steps from Miss Cevoli to a variety of music for warm-up and creative group work. By using a variety of music, it exposes the children to different types of rhythms, tempos, and genres! In February, we did some scooter activities that helped increase cardiovascular endurance and hand-eye coordination. Mr. Fantaroni introduced the students to his original “Scooter Handball” game as well as basic scooter soccer, and scooter relays. We take the students outside as well for some fresh air and fun in the snow whenever the temperatures can allow us to! When we return from February vacation, we will be starting some Yoga and core-type activities using the donated mats from Baker’s PTAC, parent donations, and various yoga studios throughout the Cape, thank you all for your help and support!

Baker School Supports "Stands UP to Bullying!"

The link to the left "This Bully Didn't See This Coming" is a must see! My friends at the Yarmouth Station Ave Elementary School passed along this link from our Cape Cod sister school in Falmouth, to us here at the Baker School and we are all in with this anti-bullying message! Bullying is not tolerated and we are all proud of our students who share in others well being and do step in to help students in many different ways. The video is well done and we all step in to protect our kids! In our P.E. curriculum sportsmanship discussion, we spend allot of time talking and practicing good sportsmanship and learning how to be happy winners and encouraging losers, with no place for bullying others in competition. Well done Falmouth!

Kindergarten health habits influence obesity chances!

The article to the left on this page discusses the health habits decisions which can lead to an early predictor of obesity. Please read and its crucial to help children learn healthy habits early in life about healthy lifestyle's early in life as a deterrent to avoiding the chances of being obese in life.

Snowy Owl on West Dennis Beach!!!

A lifetime of being active doesn't always mean playing sports! Bird viewing and hiking to where the birds are keeps you active , outdoors and can be personally rewarding, especially when you are fortunate enough to catch a Glimpse of this beautiful Owl seldom seen around here! Hike and explore the beauty that nature provides and will keep you healthy!

Baker is more than a building

Despite the loss of our gym temporarily, teachers pull together to keep kids excited about learning. Our P.E curriculum continues to adapt and create opportunities for learning health concepts, fitness, dance and FUN! Our teachers make Baker what it is...not the building! Let's Dance!

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Holiday Madness!

Happy Holidays from Miss C and Mr. F! Now that the holidays are here and in full swing, everyone is in full “elf” mode; shopping, cooking, eating, dining etc. Sometimes physical activity and exercise takes a back seat and you say “oh I’ll just start up again after the holidays…” DON’T!! Start NOW! I know its cold out, but this is New England! Bundle up and go for a walk with the family, play in the backyard, go ice skating at the local rinks, and the roads are still dry enough for a bike ride or skateboard! Not an outdoor person? Go to your local recreation center and PLAY! Sign up for a team sport, take a fitness class (kids or adults!), try out swimming at the YMCA, anything to keep you moving and active for the holidays! Here are some healthy tips and info on holiday eating and planning: 1) Be realistic. Don’t try to lose pounds during the holidays, instead try to maintain your current weight. 2) Plan time for exercise. Exercise helps relieve holiday stress and prevent weight gain. A moderate and daily increase in exercise can help partially offset increased holiday eating. Try 10- or 15-minute brisk walks twice a day. 3) Don’t skip meals. Before leaving for a party, eat a light snack like raw vegetables or a piece of fruit to curb your appetite. You will be less tempted to over-indulge. 4) Survey party buffets before filling your plate. Choose your favorite foods and skip your least favorite. Include vegetables and fruits to keep your plate balanced. 5) Eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed. Savor your favorite holiday treats while eating small portions. Sit down, get comfortable, and enjoy. 6) If you overeat at one meal go light on the next. It takes 500 calories per day (or 3,500 calories per week) above your normal/maintenance consumption to gain one pound. It is impossible to gain weight from one piece of pie! 7) Take the focus off food. Turn candy and cookie making time into non-edible projects like making wreaths, dough art decorations or a gingerbread house. Plan group activities with family and friends that aren’t all about food. Try serving a holiday meal to the community, playing games or going on a walking tour of decorated homes. 8) Bring your own healthy dish to a holiday gathering. 9) Practice Healthy Holiday Cooking. Preparing favorite dishes lower in fat and calories will help promote healthy holiday eating. Incorporate some of these simple-cooking tips in traditional holiday recipes to make them healthier. 10) Look at your plate. If all you see is whites and browns, then most likely you picked up all the heavier, starchy foods. Make sure your plate looks color-balanced. Potatoes and turkey with some roasted carrots and green bean casserole is a better color balance than all the “white” stuff.

Kids less fit today!-Associated Press release!

Study: Kids Are Less Fit Than Their Parents Were Associated Press News Release By MARILYNN MARCHIONE DALLAS (AP) -- Today's kids can't keep up with their parents. An analysis of studies on millions of children around the world finds they don't run as fast or as far as their parents did when they were young. On average, it takes children 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts did 30 years ago. Heart-related fitness has declined 5 percent per decade since 1975 for children ages 9 to 17. The American Heart Association, whose conference featured the research on Tuesday, says it's the first to show that children's fitness has declined worldwide over the last three decades. "It makes sense. We have kids that are less active than before," said Dr. Stephen Daniels, a University of Colorado pediatrician and spokesman for the heart association. Health experts recommend that children 6 and older get 60 minutes of moderately vigorous activity accumulated over a day. Only one-third of American kids do now. "Kids aren't getting enough opportunities to build up that activity over the course of the day," Daniels said. "Many schools, for economic reasons, don't have any physical education at all. Some rely on recess" to provide exercise. Sam Kass, a White House chef and head of first lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move program, stressed the role of schools in a speech to the conference on Monday. "We are currently facing the most sedentary generation of children in our history," Kass said. The new study was led by Grant Tomkinson, an exercise physiologist at the University of South Australia. Researchers analyzed 50 studies on running fitness -- a key measure of cardiovascular health and endurance -- involving 25 million children ages 9 to 17 in 28 countries from 1964 to 2010. The studies measured how far children could run in 5 to 15 minutes and how quickly they ran a certain distance, ranging from half a mile to two miles. Today's kids are about 15 percent less fit than their parents were, researchers concluded. "The changes are very similar for boys and girls and also for various ages," but differed by geographic region, Tomkinson said. The decline in fitness seems to be leveling off in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and perhaps in the last few years in North America. However, it continues to fall in China, and Japan never had much falloff -- fitness has remained fairly consistent there. About 20 million of the 25 million children in the studies were from Asia. Tomkinson and Daniels said obesity likely plays a role, since it makes it harder to run or do any aerobic exercise. Too much time watching television and playing video games and unsafe neighborhoods with not enough options for outdoor play also may play a role, they said. Other research discussed global declines in activity. Fitness is "pretty poor in adults and even worse in young people," especially in the United States and eastern Europe, said Dr. Ulf Ekelund of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, Norway. World Health Organization numbers suggest that 80 percent of young people globally may not be getting enough exercise.

More Awareness=Kid Safety in Sports!

Being more conscientious about examining kids and reporting is terrific in High School sports! For younger kids in youth sports, Parents must ask coaches about how they check or test for concussions in sports and what is done so that that youth oriented sports is fun but yet safe and doesn't leave a life long brain deficit.Also, the Katy Perry tribute to Children's Hospital on the left link is terrific and a spirit that exudes caring which is also exemplified at our Baker Innovation School for all of our children, come experience the Baker difference and visit anytime!

Fitness=Academic Success!

In the Cape Cod Times, an article appeared, link on left side of page, about the positive relationship of fitness and academic success. At Ezra Baker Innovation School, we have been studying this relationship between the Pacer Cardiovascular fitness Test and Academic performance as measured by the DRA test of reading for the past 3 years. To date our analysis is finding a match between fitness and academic performance for over 63% of the kids and in some classes over 70% relationship match! This practical study conducted within a public school does demonstrate that the "better than chance" results indicate that if kids are fit then they probably will do better academically in better than 63% of the time. We already know the health benefits of fitness but now this academic relationship makes it clearer for parents to support the schools in getting children to move for fitness for lifelong benefits. Many private schools do not have P.E or substitute walking for a P.E curriculum, which is not effective. Your public schools value the total child and offer your children the best opportunities for academic success by teaching to the total child, unlike most private schools. We appreciate the parents who support our school and believe in us to work with their child to develop their child to their maximum potential!

Love Football....but at what cost!

Bryant Gumbel, known sports reporter does a TV program called Real Sports and in it he covers many topics. The lastest that caught my eye, link to the left on this page, he talks about concussion and the effects of long term brain damage related to the game of Football. In his report he raises issues which I hate to hear because I love football. All of the recent rule changes in football to protect players irks me, but I understand the why's. The game has changed ....for the better! In his report, he indicates that recent surveys find that over 80% have heard of the link between concussions and brain damage. Polls have indicated that 33% of adults are less likely to have their children play youth tackle football, which has translated to a 13% drop in kids playing youth football. And fans of the game were polled and 14% said that they find football less enjoyable because of their awareness of what it's doing to the players. The poll looked at income and found that people who earned below $50,000 and who did not go to college heard less about the effects of concussion. The conclusion could be that the game of football is played by the poor...for the enjoyment of others! Remember at one point the sport of Boxing was one of the most popular sports until people realized what what happening to the athletes! In my opinion, recent rule changes in youth football to limit live tackling to only 1/3 of a weekly practice makes sense and safety along with proper tackling skills is essential in which kids learn to tackle with their shoulders and not lead with their heads! Coaches need to be closely scrutinized for their adherence to proper safety! Playing the game is fun but not if it means memory deficits which last a lifetime and thus effect a person's lifelong behavior, academic performance, social and personal relationships, occupational choices and lifetime income potential. Yes all of that to play the game of football!