This is so cool! This morning, Katie showed me some
tae kwon do moves and now I want to learn more, so
we decided to take lessons together.
Tae kwon do is one of the martial arts involving kicking,
spinning, and jumping. Katie said, “tae”
means kick, “kwon” means hand, and “do”
means the way. Together it means “the way of
the hand and foot.” This will be fun!
I asked my mom about taking lessons and she thinks
it’s a great idea because it’s a weight-bearing
physical activity and another fun way to help build
strong bones.
Katie and I can’t wait to start. Her mom will
take us to sign up for classes and get our uniforms
this afternoon. Then we’re going to stop for
Chinese food. Stir-fry with tofu, broccoli, and bok
choy is a dish that’s delicious and has calcium!
More later, I’ve got to get kicking!
Hey! It’s been a few days but I’ve been
really, really busy practicing tae kwon do stances
with Katie. The white belts of our uniforms signify
that we’re beginners—but not for long!
There’s a rainbow of belt colors and each one
symbolizes a higher level of skill, discipline, knowledge,
and power. And being powerful girls, Katie and I want
to get our yellow belts soon.
Doing the blocks, kicks, jumps, and spins takes strong
arm and leg muscles, energy, and concentration. Our
instructor said we should eat healthy foods to help
build strong minds and bodies. My friends and I try
to eat lots of foods with calcium, so I’m already
making healthy choices.
Today for breakfast I had orange juice with added
calcium and a bowl of granola with low-fat milk and
fresh berries. For lunch, Katie and I had veggie wraps
with non-fat cheese, and low-fat frozen yogurt for
dessert. Then we walked to our lesson to get our muscles
warmed up for a good tae kwon do workout.
I messed up on one of my stances, but that’s
okay because our instructor says, “making mistakes
is how we learn along the journey of life.”
I’ll remember that next time I take a test at
school!
The sleepover went great! Katie, Tracy, and I stayed
up late practicing our dance moves and we’re
ready for the talent show tryouts! We all combined
our different styles such as jazz, ballet, tap, and
freestyle for an awesome routine.
For dinner, Zak stopped by and loved making mini pizzas
with us! We also set up a baked potato bar and had
fun toppings such as broccoli, other vegetables, and
a variety of low-fat cheeses. Eating foods with calcium
is one way to help us grow strong bones for when we’re
older.
After Zak left, the girls and I went back to practicing
our moves before we all had our special late-night
frozen yogurt sundaes, got in our sleeping bags, and
chilled out.
The next morning, Dad made homemade waffles with low-fat
buttermilk and also served us orange juice with calcium
before everyone went home.
What a fun night!
I am so excited! Katie, Tracy, Zak, and I are all
in the same class this year at school. Since we live
so close to school, the four of us formed a walking
group to get some easy weight-bearing physical activity
before and after school.
Since school started, mom and I took a few shopping
trips for new clothes and for fun bone-healthy foods
to pack in my lunch. My mom always packed my lunches
before, but this year I am going to help her so that
I can make my own choices. We bought almonds, cereal
bars with calcium, and low-fat fruit yogurts. A couple
times a week, I buy lunch from the school cafeteria.
They have a variety of choices I can make to get a
healthy diet. To help me get enough calcium, I make
choices like a grilled cheese sandwich, low-fat chocolate
milk, and fat-free frozen yogurt.
I can’t wait to keep walking to school with
my friends; what a great year it’s going to
be!
|