IN THE CLASSROOM -- Silly Willy learning

Deirdre Newman

It’s 10 in the morning, and the first-graders in Brenda Colgate’s

class at Andersen Elementary School in Newport Beach are getting

lethargic.

Surveying the situation, Colgate knows exactly how to respond -- she

pops in one of the Silly Willy Workout Tapes, which she started creating

six years ago.

The kids clear the desk areas and start marching, clapping and doing

jumping jacks while saying the five vowels. Soon they are using their

bodies to create vowel shapes.

“I do it almost every morning to get them to wake up,” Colgate said.

“Many times, they come in sleepy and groggy and it seems to make them

more alert.”

There are six different tapes in the series -- each with a different

theme. Some are focused on phonics, some on athletic skills and some on

learning the ABCs. Colgate said she was inspired to create the series to

show kids that fitness can be fun.

“Some kids feel more comfortable in front of the television and

computer. That’s OK, but they should still feel comfortable working out

and not being judged,” Colgate said.

Colgate’s passion for exercise started early -- she began teaching

fitness classes for kids, adults and seniors when she was 18. After

getting a teaching credential, she went back to school and earned a

master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of

Connecticut.

As she worked with preschoolers, she said she found a lack of

appropriate music that progressed from warmups to aerobic endurance and

muscle strengthening and ended with cooling down.

The exercise aficionado considered making her own tape with other

people’s songs, but they proved too expensive to copyright. So she met

with a local songwriter who said she would provide the music as long as

Colgate provided the words, music and theme.

“I was hopping around her living room making sure the tempo would

work,” Colgate said.

She supplied the narration and even contributed some of the lyrics.

Her three daughters also are featured on some of the tapes’ songs.

As a teacher, Colgate understands that each child learns differently

using various senses. Her tapes combine audio, visual and kinesthetic

skills -- appealing to a broad spectrum of students.

Richie Lamas, 6, said he enjoys doing Silly Willy Workouts in class.

“It’s good because I like it when I stretch. It makes me feel good,”

Richie said.

Gretchen Mars, who co-teaches with Colgate at Andersen, said her

2-year-old daughter, Megan, is addicted to the Silly Willy tapes and

videos.

“To have her marching at age 2 is great,” Mars said. “It helps with

exposure to the alphabet, even at 2.”

Colgate said she hopes her tapes will help stave off the current

childhood trend of obesity. And she said fitness for youngsters is even

more important now with some districts cutting physical education classes

and instructors.

“I think if they can be exposed early and have a good feeling, maybe

we’ll catch some of them,” she said.

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot education

writer Deirdre Newman visits a campus within the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District and writes about her experience.