It’s been a great summer. I think what I love best about summers is that we as a family and the children get lots of good workouts and outdoor excercize. Unlike many families on the NaturalKids Team, our family does not homeschool. I think one of the biggest problems with the American School System is that children do not get enough breaks and physical excercise during a normal schoolday. And they wonder why obesity rates are going up…
I feel very fortunate that we can keep our children enrolled in dance and do lots of sports during the school year to keep them healthy and fit. I know there are so many kids that don’t get the chance to do sports because their parents cannot afford it.
There is a workout program for kids in our town that is very affordable for families. It’s called Team Tom and is run by personal trainer Tom Forsyth. About a dozen or more children between the ages of 5 and 18 have been participating on any given day this summer. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday a large group of kids would meet in the parking lot behind a healthclub in our town. Any kid can just pop into class on those days. Cost is $5 per workout – less than a movie.
Boys and girls alike, would do a one-hour workout together this summer. Usually the children would be paired up as teams: one big kid with little kid. The teams would go from station to station completing sets of a certain exercise such as jumping rope, hopping on a ladder, carrying weights, hitting a tire with a big sledgehammer, and flipping big tractor tires over.
But every kid’s favorite activity happened on Wednesdays: The famous truckpulling. The teams would get a harness on – like horses pulling a wagon – and two kids would pull a truck across the parking lot.
My daughter is really sad that the summer has come to an end. During the schoolyear Team Tom will meet later in the afternoon. We probably won’t be able to go to Team Tom because of our busy schedule with school and dance classes. But I surely hope that lots of kids will find out about this great workout program helping even the littlest guy or gal build strength. Or maybe you can get a personal trainer in your community to start a cool exercise class for children.
In the famous words of Arnold Schwarzenegger: We’ll be back next summer!
omigosh – truck pulling! The kids look like they are having a blast. What a great idea – way to go Tom!
This looks like a great program. Go Team Tom! I have been thinking about my grade school gym/PE experiences, and how challenging it is to help my daughter fit in regular exercise during the school year. We are fortunate to live in an urban area where so many destinations are within a 2 mile walking radius, so I have been working her little legs this summer!
This is absolutely wonderful! Kudo’s to Tom! It is so heartening to see these kinds of generous and worthwhile activities. When I do see them I am so glad to focus on the fact there are such constructive things going on and people really care.
Thank you so much for posting!
Looks like a fun program!
This looks like so much fun and what a great program for the kids!
This is such an amazing program, my kids would love it!
That is such a cool idea! I agree that it is difficult to keep kids active. In my daughters’ school, the principle is amazing…she’s very active and is always planning activities for the kids, I’ve really appreciated it. I think my kids would like this program!!