WENATCHEE — The quickening beat of “My Heart Says Thanks” sent Wenatchee Head Start’s toddlers into a frenzy.

“When I move, move, move. When I jump, jump, jump ...” the teachers sang with the stereo and led the movements.

So the children jumped, ran in place or some wiggly armed combination of the two. Some stared wide-eyed at their peers until a teacher lifted their arms for them.

“You guys are awesome! Feel your heart,” preschool teacher Kahni Christensen said after the song ended. “Close your eyes. What is your heart saying?”

Several children put a hand on their breastbone to check what was going on in there.

The song is part of a new national Head Start curriculum, “I am moving, I am learning,” which became part of the daily routine at Chelan-Douglas Head Start this year. The program is designed to fight childhood obesity by teaching kids exercise and nutrition, the younger the better.

“We know young children like to move a lot,” said B.J. Hellman, children’s program coordinator for Chelan-Douglas Head Start. “We know how important it is for them to move a lot. Well, let’s take that energy and channel it in the right direction.”

The program’s design is based on brain research, which shows movement fosters proper brain development in young children. As the kids work out, they learn how to identify body parts, what’s “back” and “front,” color recognition, rhythm and counting.

The songs sing the praises of fruits and vegetables. Teachers are introducing nutritious foods with class cooking projects and veggie taste tests.

“It might take 10 times until they decide they like something, but this is the age when they’re developing their preferences, either for the sugary stuff or healthy food,” said Jenna Keffeler, health coordinator for Chelan-Douglas Head Start.

AmeriCorps volunteers are also working on parent newsletters with inexpensive recipes and physical activities to try at home, she said.

Keffeler said the staff have been interested in the program since it began spreading in Head Starts across the nation two years ago. Chelan-Douglas used part of its federal stimulus money last spring to send a few of its teachers to Portland, Ore., for training.

Of the 213 Chelan-Douglas Head Start children, 3 to 5 years old, given a health screening last year, 45 percent were overweight or obese under guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said.

Part of the problem is the “stroller baby” phenomenon. From birth, children are strapped into car seats and carriers instead of moving around. Also, fresh nutritious meals are often more expensive and take time to cook, which is a challenge for the working poor — the primary demographic of Head Start.

A month after the program’s official launch, the staff say they like it, Keffeler said. She’ll send a formal survey later in the year to measure specifically how the program has helped.

Rachel Schleif: 664-7139

schleif@wenatcheeworld.com