Superheroes learn about healthy eating

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By Stephanie De Pasquale | Friday, December 8, 2006 12:58 AM CST | () comments

Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES Dan Wardell, host of “IPTV Kids Clubhouse,” organizes a skit about healthy eating habits at Truman Elementary School in Davenport. Video clips from Thursday’s visit will be shown on the Iowa Public Television station next week.

Seven first-graders at Truman Elementary School in Davenport were turned into superheroes Thursday in a lesson about healthy eating that will show up on Iowa Public Television next week.

Dan Wardell, from the Iowa Public Television show “IPTV Kids Clubhouse,” told the first- and second-grade classes the story of “Snow White and the Seven Superheroes.” Wardell wrote the story and loves to share it whenever possible.

“We love to have kids come up and be part of the story, because not only do they have fun doing it, but they learn more,” Wardell said during Thursday’s visit.

The story featured Truman Principal Lisa Baxter as Snow White who lived on the planet Fairy Tale. She got on a space ship to escape the evil queen with the help of superheroes played by seven first-graders and one teacher: Gorilla Boy played by Will Snowball, Cheetah Girl played by Sheridan Walton, Frog Boy played by Isaiah Watts, Flying Zebra Girl played by Caitlyn Harris, the ABC Twins played by La’mya Lam and Austin Richards, Puppy Girl played by Kelsey Ruff and Hypno Teacher played by Jason Curtis, physical education teacher.

The only requirements to be a superhero were the children had to show their muscles and demonstrate their superpower by making the noise of the animal they played, or singing the ABCs in the case of the ABC Twins.

According to Wardell’s version of the classic fairy tale, while running away from the evil queen, Snow White and the superheroes got stranded on the planet Junk Food for one year.

“It was a planet completely covered in junk food,” Wardell told the wide-eyed children during the story. “All junk food, all the time, and they were trapped there.”

Wardell went on to distribute the foods the superheroes had to eat while on planet Junk Food: caramel apples, cookies, hamburgers, red meat, corn dogs and a 50-gallon barrel of soda for Hypno Teacher.

After a year of eating only junk food, the superheroes lost their powers, and the children at Truman knew why. “Because all they ate was junk food,” student Megan McCullough said.

But Wardell’s story does have a happy ending. Snow White gave Wardell a call, and he brought the superheroes healthy food like apples, wheat bread, broccoli and milk to replace the junk food they had been eating. One by one, each superhero regained their strength and got to show off their muscles again.

Wardell told the students that while they didn’t have superpowers like flying and leaping over buildings in one bound, they did have superpowers that would suffer if they didn’t eat healthy.

“You have the superpower of being able to read, you have the superpower to shoot baskets,” Wardell told the children. “And you are all going to lose your superpowers if you eat all junk food all the time.”

Baxter said the staff at Truman already actively promotes wellness and eating right through walking clubs, kid-friendly aerobics and fitness runs, so Wardell’s healthy eating program fit right in.

“We know that we as a country are overweight,” Baxter said. “We know that it is so important to educate the youth of America about healthy lifestyles.”

Wardell also told an interactive story to children at Monroe Elementary School in Davenport later in the day.

Video clips from both story times will be shown all next week between programs on IPTV, seen locally on KIIN-TV, Channel 12.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.

ON TV:

Video clips from “IPTV Kids Clubhouse” host Dan Wardell’s visit to Truman and Monroe elementary schools in Davenport will be shown all next week between programs on IPTV, seen locally on KIIN-TV, Channel 12.