Courtesy photos
The Mineral County Cooperative Extension held a fitness and nutrition summer program, Veggies for Kids, that included a variety of activities throughout the week. The program concluded with an afternoon at the local swimming pool.
Submitted
The Mineral County Cooperative Extension held a week long Veggies for Kids summer institute last month in Hawthorne.
Mineral County Cooperative Extension provided this program in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club of Mineral County. There were an average of 40 students in attendance each day, doubling the program’s participants from last year. This is the sixth year that the summer institute has existed and has expanded to 13 schools statewide.
Veggies for Kids is nutrition and fitness program consisting of lessons on healthy eating, adequate water intake and staying active. Schyler Hagen is the instructor for the program at Hawthorne Elementary for 1st and 2nd grade. The summer institute is to reiterate what the students have learned throughout the school year and to enjoy some fun outdoor activities in summer weather.
Each day consisted of “an hour of fitness,” and a healthy food art project. The kids toured the community garden where they were able to observe the progress on seeds that many had helped to plant during the school year. The students assisted in planting seeds in the Cooperative Extension’s hoop houses and each student took plant home with them. The program had the kids exploring their surroundings by walking to the desert on a nature scavenger hunt where many of students discovered “treasures” to show and tell at the end of the afternoon. To conclude the week, all of the kids spent an afternoon at the Mineral County Swimming Pool.
