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SWITCH Day celebrates learning healthy habits
MPCSD students celebrated all their hard work learning about health and wellness with a fun-filled day
MT. PLEASANT — Each of the Mt. Pleasant Community School District fourth and fifth grade classes celebrated the conclusion of a 12-week SWITCH program focused on learning about and creating healthy habits with a fun day filled with activities last week.
“When SWITCH happens, it is usually in the wintertime,” Henry County Iowa State Extension and Outreach Office 4-H County Youth Coordinator Erin Heaton explained. “It is 12 weeks that starts in January when the kids are more sedentary.”
According to Heaton, the program encourages students to be more active, consuming more fruits and vegetables, and promoting other healthy habits.
“We focus on a healthier lifestyle,” Heaton said. “We want to set those examples and do those things now so it carries on to adulthood so they can make those choices when they’re on their own and living life.”
According to the ISU Extension Office, SWITCH, which stands for School Wellness Integration Targeting Child Health, encourages students to switch what they Do, View, and Chew for healthier options.
SWITCH education in the classrooms include four weeks each of “do, chew, and view” lessons. “Do” lessons focus on encouraging that healthy activity like getting at least one hour of exercise a day. “Chew” lessons encouraged students to try new foods and fit in five servings of fruits or vegetables daily. “View” lessons consisted of learning about healthy habits through videos or lessons.
After learning about healthy habits in their classrooms over the winter, SWITCH Day provides the students an opportunity for additional interaction with what they learned and celebrate all they’ve accomplished through the program. A bonus to SWITCH Day, according to Heaton, is that it exposes the students to parts of their community they might not otherwise experience.
“It is just kind of a fun day that is all health and wellness focused,” Heaton said. “They go to the library and do an activity. They get to enjoy all the features of The REC Center which a lot of kids don’t get to do. A lot of the kids have never been to the library before, so, going to the library was a good experience.”
Many of the health and wellness focused activities for SWITCH Day took place at The REC Center where students learned about Iron Panther strength training, checked out Zumba, played dodge ball, enjoyed swimming, and let loose with open gym. Multiple students reported that their favorite part of SWITCH Day was swimming at The REC Center.
With a tour of the Mt. Pleasant Library among the activities for the day, students also had the opportunity to exercise their creative muscle as they made book hedgehog crafts. As they wrapped up the day students took a healthy snack of popcorn back to school courtesy of Henry County Public Health/Healthy Henry County Communities.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com
