Grant provides snow shoes to Mundelein school kids

Fremont School District 79 physical education teachers are embracing the cold with myriad fitness activities.

The Intermediate School students in grades 3 through 5 are enjoying the frigid temperatures and blustery winds on snow shoes, thanks to a $2,753 grant teachers received from the Fremont Education Foundation.

Students secure the snow shoes to their boots and take off into the Fremont Outdoor Learning Environment, a 40-acre parcel of wilderness behind their school on Fremont Center Road in Mundelein, accompanied by their teacher Cynthia Jeffries.

The Intermediate School isn't the only school challenging students to fitness. Across the street, Fremont Middle School students are engaged in backyard games. The physical education classes are introducing students to a variety of games that they can play at home, in their backyards, basements and garages. The games - Bags, Box Hockey, Kan Jam, Dual and Rackle-Ball - require minimal equipment, space and people, and are great alternatives to being a "couch potato." Box Hockey and Rackle-Ball top the list for terrific cardio activities.

Other students at the Middle School are participating in the fitness distance challenge, in which students create their own teams and compete against other teams in the class as to who can go the farthest distance using cardio machines such as the treadmill, elliptical and the bike. Teams work together and set goals. This activity not only allows the students to use the available cardio machines, but also focuses on teamwork, staying active and being able to push themselves and their team to achieve at a higher level.