Be Healthy-Be Fit

"There is nothing more important than our good health - that's our principal capital asset."

It's never too early to develop a love for physical activity and establish a healthy lifestyle in young children. While during pre-pandemic times, fitness activities were seamlessly weaved into the fabric of learning at Anand Niketan Sughad, the post pandemic era posed a challenge in this regard.

Fueled by a passion to get children up and moving, the school devised a novel campaign - 'Be Healthy-Be Fit'. The core element of this 'fitness' movement was to promote a healthy lifestyle in students and their families. A plethora of activities were formulated to drive home the importance of being fit and healthy. Yoga, zumba, aerobics, food and nutrition, wellness activities dotted the landscape at Anand Niketan Sughad. The entire teaching fraternity of pre-primary and primary grades children was powered up to embark upon the path of healthy living for students and their families.

The journey to health and wellness began with a 'virtual' expert intervention with a city based nutritionist, Ms. Shweta Nagar. She enlightened parents on issues such as healthy eating habits, balanced meal and nutritious snacks for children. She also addressed parental concerns and queries with regard to children's food habits.

While the importance of children getting adequate nutrition, hydration, sleep, and exercise was reiterated by Ms. Shweta Nagar, the emotional and mental well-being in children that needs to be developed and nurtured was taken care of through positive affirmations.

Affirmations are a powerful and holistic way of building positive minds and happy children. Teachers began the online class with health and wellness related affirmations like, 'I will include fruits and vegetables in my meals today', 'I will wash my own dishes today', 'I will listen to the sounds of nature today', 'I will meditate for 10 minutes today'etc. These positive affirmations laid the foundation of a growth mindset in young children. Motivated by teachers and supported by parents, students internalized the positive affirmations and sent videos and pictures of themselves in action; following the health and wellness 'mantras'.

Besides this, students were engaged in fitness related activities like yoga, zumba, exercises and games, all this through virtual classes! Mothers were roped in for 'Mom and Me - Yoga Buddies'. An expert Yoga practitioner, Ms. Ronak held virtual yoga sessions which included child friendly yoga poses like, happy baby pose, butterfly pose , tree pose etc.

So the journey towards a healthy mind and body embarked by teachers and students at Anand Niketan Sughad can be encapsulated in the words of Ms. Runa Mukherjee Parikh, mother of Hridaan Parikh, grade 1, who said, "The Fitness Mantra series that has been taught to students of Anand Niketan Sughad is a very important one. Many times, we as parents tell our kids to do things like care for the home plants, help with the meals but they don't pay heed. However, when their beloved class teachers tell them to do the same things, they listen! Plus, the idea of other students in class also doing the same thing with them helps! There is a sense of responsibility and independence that the children have imbibed from this daily activity. My child proactively waters the plants and takes his plate to the sink now. He even gives up gadgets without me timing him. So the fitness mantra series has taught him a life skill of accountability. Very thoughtful indeed!"

Urvi Shah
( Teacher Trainer)