Each month Kids in the Game has a different theme to tie into our recess, after school and enrichment programming. For October the theme is “Health and Wellness”. Now as a sports and fitness based organization, this one seems pretty simple! But just as our kids need reminders that French fries are not vegetables and Gatorade is not water, we wanted to create something for our coaches to remind them to make healthy choices too (and have a little fun in the process!).

For the remaining of October, we have created a Health and Wellness Bucket List and we want to challenge you to join! Take the time to think about your own healthy habits and remember changing small habits can go a long way…let’s do this!

#1- Ride your bike to work! Or go for a bike ride around your neighborhood or through the park.

Teaching our kids about health and wellness is important. But living healthy lifestyles ourselves is just as important. Kids watch and learn from everything that we do and being positive role models in all aspects of life is key. Be sure to check out our social media accounts (link them here) for updates on how our coaches are tackling these challenges.

A day that holds deep meaning to us, often a lot more than we realize until it arrives each year: Mother’s Day (a day that honors many of you!).

Mom, Melissa, and daughter, Livi, embodying the #powerofshe after our Athleta Parent-Child yoga class. They laughed, breathed, stretched and strengthened together in the studio with KING on Saturday morning.

Moms are women who shape us. Women who want the very best for us; for us to succeed in our endeavors; to persevere when it’s hard; to be people who lift each other up; and to be well and thrive for our whole lives.

A funny (and, I think, universally acknowledged) paradox is that moms are often the ones who model for us what it means to be well, yet have the hardest task of actually taking the time to be well. You might see this all too well in your life. We want you to know, though, that when KING says we’re committed to the kids we serve, that to us means a commitment to their families. For kids to thrive best, the adults in their life need to be thriving too.

Mom and their kiddo delighting over their artfuls creations at a KING afterschool program.

Speaking on this little paradox, we invited KING friend and partner Randi Zinn of Beyond Mom:

To find wellness in your family, first you must start with yourself. There are a million reasons why not (i have no time, my kids need me, their dad doesn’t cook the way i do and so on). But there is one giant reason why you must start with you. Because the mom is the anchor of any family and she must be whole to do it well. Here’s the great news and a truth I’ve discovered as I’ve navigated running multiple businesses, mothering two kids, and being someone’s wife and friend: it doesn’t take as much time as you think to feel whole. That’s right! A little goes a long way. So a workout once or twice a week. A coffee with a girlfriend. A manicure. These little things make us feel that we are investing in ourselves. And when we feel whole, we arrive home more enthusiastic, more prepared to be MOM. And we feel more joy around it. And with that joy we create a dynamic of health and balance in our home. It’s a beautiful recipe for happiness, really, and one that is more simple than we think. With more attention on the individual self, mom is happier to be mom. And everyone benefits from that.

When mom benefits, everyone benefits. Which is why KING is working to bring the moms (and dads!) of our youth opportunities to be well, and do it with their kids! Last week we launched a partnership with Athleta to bring free parent-child yoga to the community at the Athleta Flatiron studio.

We’ll be holding that every Saturday this month at 11:30. Our efforts just begin their, though. Stay tuned this summer for invitations from KING for events that will allow Mom to do wellness with their kiddos. Think Family Fun Nights, with movement, games, art and healthy snacks. When we do wellness with the youth in our lives, they hold wellness as something dear.

So here’s to the women who raise, encourage, advise, inspire and love us. May you be well and thrive.