Fun Run

Carolyn's school does a "Fun Run" to teach the kids the importance of exercise and fundraising.  Each classroom picks a charity, kids get pledges of support, and then they run laps to earn their money.  It was pretty funny to watch the toddler classrooms (18mos to 3) and the early childhood classrooms (3 to 5) do it.  They would come out of the building, single file, while some inspiring music was playing.  Think theme song from Rocky!  One parent would then lead them through a warm-up routine.  They would line up at the start line.  All the parents would count down and they were off.  Each classroom ran for 8 minutes, and parents tried to count how many laps each kid would do.  Some would barely walk.  Others were cutting corners and sprinting as fast as they could.  Kids were tripping over one another.  They were laughing; some were crying saying they couldn't do it because they started off so fast.  When the 8-minute time was up, a bell rang.  They then went through a stretching and cool-down routine, and all received medals, bottled water apples, oranges, and granola bars.