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 bone-strengthening 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!

This Friday my Mom said I could have the girls over for a sleepover. Katie, Tracy, and I are going to have so much fun! I am already making a list of fun bone-healthy activities and snacks for the night.

On the top of the list is practicing for the upcoming talent show. We are putting together our own dance routine. Dancing is an easy way to help keep your bones strong. We tried out last year and did OK, but after the dance classes we all took I am sure we are going to be the best act this year! Katie is going to pick the music and Tracy is in charge of the costumes. I can’t wait to be able to practice our routine on Friday!

After our rehearsal, we are going to refuel by making mini pizzas with low-fat cheese on whole wheat English muffins. Yum! As a late-night snack, we are going to make frozen yogurt sundaes with yummy toppings such as almonds, granola, and fruit.

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!

Today was a great day at school. During our P.E. class, we learned some new soccer moves. Each week we will be learning a new sport or activity. I am excited because this way I can learn about bone-strengthening activities I wouldn’t normally try outside of school. Doing bone-strengthening activity helps me feel powerful and strengthens my bones.

During recess today, Katie, Tracy, Zak, and I gathered some of the other kids in our class and brushed up on the soccer skills we learned earlier. I even scored a goal!

After recess, our teacher brought in snacks for us as a treat. We had low-fat cheese with baked crackers.

I have to run; I need to finish up my homework for tomorrow!

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 bone-strengthening 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!

Today, Tracy and I signed up to tryout for the basketball team and we're totally excited! I didn't make it last year, but I think I can do it this time!

When I got home from school, I had a bowl of low-fat yogurt with fruit on top, did my homework, and then practiced jumping rope. Mom said, yogurt is a great snack that is filled with calcium. Jumping rope helps me get ready for tryouts by working the same muscles used in basketball. It's also a great bone-strengthening activity, so it's good for building strong bones too!

Tomorrow, I'm meeting up with the gang at the basketball court. We're going to play a little two-on-two, Tracy and me versus Zak and Katie. This way I can practice as if it were a real game.

Can't wait to hit the court tomorrow!

I'm so excited, my hard work finally paid off—tryouts were this past week and Tracy and I both made the team!

After weeks of jumping rope, running, practicing my jump shot, and doing push-ups I was ready for tryouts. All this bone-strengthening activity has helped me build stronger muscles and stronger bones; both are important for playing basketball.

To stay strong, Coach suggested eating more foods with calcium. The day of the tryouts I had a ham sandwich with low-fat cheese and a yogurt.

I was really nervous for tryouts. I felt like there were butterflies in my stomach. But Tracy and I did really well! I missed a few shots from the foul line, but it was OK. I think the coaches saw how in shape I was and knew I had been practicing.

Practice starts next week and it's going to be a blast playing with the team!!



P.S. I'm so excited Tracy made the team too. Now we get to
keep practicing on weekends together!