2018 Wellness Expo

Page 50 2018 Wellness Expo LINCOLN DAILY NEWS Wednesday, February 21, 2018 Patti Huffer of the University of Illinois Extension Office showed students how to practice balance and coordination using pool noodles. “Just Dance” videos and an obstacle course representing the heart’s chambers gave the children other opportunities to engage in physical activity. Representatives from the Girls on the Run program, which focuses on both physical and mental well-being, had students do burpees, windmills, sit-ups, squats, down dog, and jumping jacks. They played a game where they rolled the dice to determine which activity they would do and how long they had to do it. Students also talked about what brings them joy and wrote down their answers. At the Memorial Behavioral Health station, students learned about understanding their feelings and coping skills for wellness. The Lincoln Center for Developmental Rehab helped students understand what it would be like to be in the shoes of someone with a mental disorder or intellectual or physical disability. A poster showed several well- known people who have had to learn to cope with ADHD, ADD, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities. Students also learned about what to do in emergency medical situations. Renee Gentry, a Registered Nurse, explained how to recognize stroke symptoms, what to do if you see someone having a stroke, and how to call 911 if it happens. Gentry showed students how to do activities one-handed like some stroke victims have to do. Kimberly Janssen of the Epilepsy Foundation taught students first aid for seizures including what seizures are, what seizures look like, and what to do when someone is having a seizure. Nancy Kyrouac of the National Injury Prevention Foundation taught the children about preventing brain and spinal cord injuries by wearing helmets when riding bicycles and always wearing seatbelts in a vehicle. At other stations, students learned about making healthy and responsible choices. At the SIU School of Medicine Nutrition program station, students learned reading food labels is a healthy habit. Using “play food,” the children put them in baskets labeled GO, WHOA, or SLOW based on their nutritional content. Through the CATCH program, they have been taught that everybody should “eat more GO foods than SLOW foods and more SLOW foods than WHOA foods.” CONTINUED →