Spend some time discussing the following question: What does it mean to be healthy?
Guide the questions and answers so that your children respond by relating some of the physical activities that help keep hearts healthy.

Make a Healthy Food Journal and a Healthy Heart Journal

Materials:

You can help the kids make a journal by using paper folded in half and making a cover out of construction paper – or use a composition book and decorate the cover with heart stickers.
If using a composition book – plan to decorate the front cover with heart stickers and that becomes the front of the healthy heart journal.
Turn the book over and decorate the back cover with stickers of activities – like bicycles, Frisbees, running, jump rope, etc.
• Seed catalogues
• Sport store ads
• Grocery store ads
• Safety scissors
• Glue sticks
• Markers and crayons

What to do:
• Encourage the children to cut out pictures of healthy foods and exercise or sports items.
• Glue them into the book and discuss how these things can make you healthy.

Additional dramatic play activity:
By using a pretend doctor’s kit teach the children how to use a stethoscope. Then have them do some exercises such as running in place, or jumping rope, and then have a “doctor” listen to their hearts with the stethoscope.

Sports and Activities:
Have an assortment of play and sports equipment for the children to play with. Encourage the activity and help then record them in their journal. If you do this activity/craft at or preschool be sure to let them take their journals home to continue to record their activities and continue to add pictures of healthy foods and exercise equipment or sports acitivites.


Related books:
Hear Your Heart by Paul Showers
Your heart is always pumping! Read how it works and how to keep it healthy. Enjoy and learn.

Thump, Thump: Learning About Your Heart by Pamela Nettleton
A good book to read in February for National Heart Month.