Children, parents take part in annual Walk to School Day

But in the spirit of fun and fitness, Matt Clifford and his son, Nolan, a kindergartner at Naperville's Patterson Elementary, went out of their way Wednesday to join more than 650 classmates for International Walk to School Day.

"We see all the cars waiting in line in the morning, so it's definitely nice to see everyone walking for a change," Clifford said.

Patterson was one of numerous area schools that urged students to slip on their walking shoes for the annual event.

"It just brings the community together and it promotes a healthy lifestyle and trying to teach the kids about conserving for the environment," said PTA President Laura McDonnell, who helped organize the event with chairwoman Tina Finch.

Hundreds of students paraded down Lawrence Drive carrying banners, walking their dogs and admiring the early Halloween decorations along the way. When they arrived at school, Pete the Prairie Dog was there to greet them.

Fourth-grader Laura Brozny is a Walk to School Day veteran. Most days she bikes or rides in a car, but she said she enjoys the exercise she gets by walking.

"It's fun to walk to school and it's really nice this morning," she said.

Patterson students were joined by several special guests, including police Chief David Dial and Indian Prairie Unit District 204 Superintendent Stephen Daeschner, himself a fitness enthusiast.

Daeschner said he enjoyed the walk and is happy to see students getting exercise, especially with the rise of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes, an area of great concern to him.

"The schools are beginning to do lots of things with nutrition and exercise, but it's not enough," he said. "It's going to take an entire community to get their hands on this. It starts with the adults … it starts with people encouraging (others)."

Throughout the week, Patterson is holding a "Share Your Soles" fundraiser, collecting shoes for impoverished children. Last year, the school collected 500 pairs of shoes.

At Aurora's Steck Elementary, students and staff are tracking the number of miles they walk this week, hoping to symbolically walk the 5,000 miles it would take to get to Ica, Peru which recently was devastated by an earthquake. They are collecting donations for the American Red Cross to help those who lost their homes.

Many of Naperville Unit District 203's schools participated in the walk, too, including Elmwood Elementary where students were joined by Mayor George Pradel and McGruff the Crime Dog.

At Glen Ellyn District 89's, Briar Glen Elementary, Principal Emily Tammaru said about 90 percent of students walked to school with their parents -- some traveled more than a mile.

"It was wonderful," Tammaru said. "The kids had a great time, the parents enjoyed it and we had very few kids on the buses today."

At Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200's Longfellow Elementary, 73 percent of students walked to school Wednesday, up from 41 percent last Friday.

"We figured the amount of gas you save and the pollution and also it's healthy for their bodies," said Barb Williams, elementary physical education teacher. "But the most important is having that time with them outside the school and being able to walk with the kids to school."