Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008

 Forget that old saying about the lazy days of summer. Physical education teachers and officials with the health department want to encourage kids to stay physically active.

 “Get Movin’” – the VERB Summer Scorecard – is the ticket to fun and prizes for 9- to 13-year-olds. 

  “I can’t encourage this enough,” said Betty White, a P.E. and health teacher at Beaumont Middle School. “Anything to get kids active.”

  Students can track their physical activity online from May 24 to Aug. 1 at www.verbsummerscorecard.com. (Scorecards also are available at any YMCA or public library.) Participants will earn entries into a grand-prize drawing for every 12 hours they are active or play. Prizes include a Wii game system, mini iPod shuffles, bikes and Heelys.

  “For a lot of kids who are really active, it does reward that,” said White, whose sons won a skateboard and a membership to the children’s museum in past summers.

  Kids also can use their scorecards for discounts at participating businesses around town. Check out the VERB Web site or the June and July issues of Lexington Family Magazine and La Voz for more details and a calendar of events.

There are lots of activities in Lexington and surrounding counties, and playing hard at home counts, too.

  “If they want to walk around the block, that’s fine. If they want to count vacuuming, that’s exercise. Any kind of physical activity that gets them off the couch, they can count it,” said Diana Koonce of the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, which sponsors the program.

  Register early, from May 12 to June 8, at www.verbsummerscorecard.com for a chance to win an iPod shuffle and a $15 iTunes card.

  The VERB grand finale will be 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Southland pool off Clays Mill Road. Every participant will get a beach towel, pool bag and water bottle.

  For more information, contact Koonce at (859) 288-2317.

BY THE NUMBERS
550: Participants in 2007.
41,141: Hours of physical activity logged.

DID YOU KNOW?
• The elementary and the middle school with the highest early registration will get $300 worth of P.E. equipment; the deadline is May 30. Glendover Elementary and Beaumont Middle won last year.
• At the end, schools with the highest participation based on percentage of students will win $500 for their wellness programs. Beaumont Middle and Deep Springs Elementary were tops in 2007.