RECESS is Coming to the JCC

by JCC staff

(Published July 29, 2014)

Have you noticed that kids get more wiggly and less fit as the school day gets longer and the study load gets more intense?

The demands of curriculum and performance standards create challenges in terms of what can fit into a typical student day. Unfortunately, it often means less recess and physical education when cuts need to be made in the schedule.

But our new partnership with General Mills and Kroger is aimed at maintaining health and wellness for families throughout the school year by offering monthly exercise, nutrition and cooking classes.

We’re calling the program R.E.C.E.S.S., which stands for Recreation, Education, Culture, Exercise, Skills, Success.

The best part is that it’s FREE to JCC Indy members, and program classes register new participants each month.

Here are more details on the program offerings:

Family R.E.C.E.S.S.

This is an opportunity for parents and kids to play active games together. Exercising together is a powerful tool for promoting a lifelong love of movement and establishing the habit of regular exercise as parents model exercising for their kids. Children must be eight years old upon registration.

Thursdays 5:30-6:30 PM, November-May

Kids Only R.E.C.E.S.S  

Keeping exercise fun is the key to getting kids to stick with it. This program will focus on letting kids play diverse, fun games that encourage movement, team building and cooperative play based on the CATCH curriculum developed at the University of Texas. These classes focus on children working together to solve a problem or reach a goal while being physically challenged and keeping all kids moving as opposed to traditional games that often eliminate players.

Limited to the first 15 kids, ages 8-11 years old

Tuesdays 4:30-5:30 PM, August-May

Healthy cooking and nutrition for families 

Parents and children cook quick and tasty recipes together. Parents are empowered to model healthy eating in a non-confrontational setting. Kids will pick up cooking skills to pique their culinary curiosity and learn recipes they can create with parent support. Families can plan to eat the healthy, balanced meals they have just created. Children must be eight years of age on the registration date and must be accompanied by at least one parent.

Limited to the first 5 families 

Thursdays 5:30-6:30 PM, August-May

Healthy cooking and nutrition for kids only Cooking with kids aims to improve food literacy and acceptance of a greater variety of foods among youth through hands on curriculum involving cooking, tasting and peer-influence. The curriculum and menus will focus on exposure to fruits, vegetables and whole grains with an emphasis on tools and techniques that create the foundation for independent food preparation and culinary exploration. Take away materials will provide at home tips for parents to employ follow up lessons.

Limited to the first 10 kids, ages 8-12 years old Mondays 5:00-6:00 PM, August-May

R.E.C.E.S.S. participants will be asked to confidentially complete brief questionnaires at the beginning, middle and end of each month to assess program success for knowledge retention and adoption of healthy habits.

Instructors include: Andre Grimes, BS Kinesiology MBA, CPT, Health and Wellness Coordinator at the JCC; Erin Dietrich RD, JCC Dietitian; Megan Daugherty, RD, JCC Dietitian; Katherine Matutes, Ph.D., CPT, RYT 200,  Director of Health and Wellness at the JCC.

For more details, contact Katherine Matutes at 317-251-9467.