Fit4Kids, a new nonprofit in the Richmond area, is ready to roll this fall. Actually, it's ready to run recess games, put more activity into classroom lessons and plant gardens at area schools.

Mary Dunne Stewart, executive director of Fit4Kids, explained the first round of initiatives in her organization's quest to bring down childhood obesity levels locally and improve children's health.

Recess seemed like a good place to start.

Although we might think that children run around and get lots of exercise at recess, that's not necessarily so. Some kids stay away from recess games because they feel clumsy or shy. Others may choose to sit and talk to friends instead of moving during their free time.

Fit4Kids hopes to engage those not-so-active children with activities that appeal to all levels and interests.

"It's like field day every day," Stewart said. A "recess coach" will be assigned this fall to Woodville Elementary in Richmond, Bellwood Elementary in Chesterfield County and St. Andrews, a small, private school in Richmond that serves low-income families.

After one year at those schools, the recess coaches will relinquish their duties to teachers there and move on to other schools that might be in need of such activity-boosting efforts.

Another Fit4Kids effort will be taking place in the classrooms at Bellwood Elementary.

Modeled after a program in the Williamsburg area, the Wellness Integration Program will encourage teachers to incorporate movement into the learning process and make nutrition part of the regular curriculum.

Activities such as "subtraction tag" will get kids moving while learning math concepts, Stewart said.

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Fitness: Fighting childhood obesity and improving kids' health