Providing Opportunities for Children to be Physically Active

Kyddie Karnival Learning Academy opened its doors to the community in 2010. They offer 24-hour care to the North St. Louis County area. Brittany joined the Go NAPSACC project as she was interested in attaining MOve Smart recognition from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.  She knew they were already implementing most of the standards for the recognition but believed participating in the Go NAPSACC project would ensure they met the requirements.  

Brittany and her staff revised the playground schedule to ensure all children were meeting outside playtime requirements. Infants are outside at least twice a day, toddlers and preschoolers are outside three times a day for 60 minutes and 90-minute, respectively. Brittany invited feedback from staff and families on the outdoor policy to engage them in the process and support the new policy. Brittany and her staff work with parents that if they arrived early and the children were on the playground, the families would wait in their cars to allow their children the full opportunity of the outside playtime.  

Based upon Kyddie Karnival Learning Academy’s pre and post NAPSACC assessments, Brittany and her staff increased their Outdoor Play Best Practices by 66%.  Shannon Carr was Brittany's TA Specialist.  Shannon commented, “Brittany is amazing! She included staff and parent’s voices to ensure they would be heard when making policy changes. We are lucky to have her in our child care community.”

Kyddie Karnival is in the process of completing their MOve Smart application. Brittany is seeking the recognition for her program as physical activity for young children is important and can often be overlooked. Brittany stated, “We want to provide every opportunity for the children to be physically active.” 

Are you interested in learning more about Go NAPSACC? Click here.

Ready to register for the April-September group? Click here to register.

If you have questions, please contact Lauri Choate, Director of Training at lauri@mochildcareaware.org or 314-754-1603. 

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