FERRIDAY &045; The main character in the story Ferriday Lower Elementary School kindergartners heard Wednesday did a lot of running and jumping &045; and so did the kids.

As rambunctious as a group of 5-year-olds can be, this group was merely doing what it took to get their hearts pumping and their bodies healthy.

FLES and Ferriday Upper Elementary students are combining learning with exercise this year as part of a LSU AgCenter program called &uot;Take 10!&uot; Classroom teachers incorporate a reading or math lesson with built in physical activity into their days about once a week. Wednesday, the children acted out the words of the story as their teacher Connie Whitley read it.

&uot;I like the way we ran,&uot; kindergartner Avery Halford said. &uot;(My heart) is beating fast, very fast. When it beats fast, it means you ran too much.&uot;

But this time, too much is a good thing, Halford’s teacher explained, using a character called Hardy Heart to tell why exercise is important for the heart.

The teachers share a doll, Little Organ Annie, to familiarize the students with all the organs, their functions and what to do to keep them healthy. The rest of the gang includes Wendy the lung, Kid and Sid the kidney brothers and Calci M. Bone the bones. Annie’s stomach opens up to reveal the characters.

Down the hall, another group sang &uot;Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,&uot; while touching the appropriate body part at an increasingly faster pace.

In both rooms, when the 10 minutes was up, the breathing was heavy and the children reported being tired, but glad to exercise.

&uot;I do push ups to be strong,&uot; Rashad Leonard said.

Materials for the program are funded through a $1.57 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg foundation providing five-year research and educational programs on childhood obesity in the Mississippi River Delta region.

Local extension agent Terri Crawford said research shows children who are getting physical activity have better results on tests and are more alert in class.

&uot;By doing this, they are taking academics to a different level,&uot; Crawford said.

Other parish schools have had OrganWise Guys assembly programs sponsored by the foundation and aimed at improving health. A new interactive exhibit, &uot;The Body Walk,&uot; is scheduled to visit the elementary schools in April and May.