In my DVD Activate & Be Great The CAMPUS Kids and get ready for one of our fit-family-fun performances by practicing our songs and dances. In the Summertime we perform those shows live 4-5 times a week. In the Winter it’s only a couple of times a month. It can be hard to stay active when the weather makes you want to burrow underneath the covers to stay warm. At my house we have turned our family game night into a family video game night that involves physical competitions using the Wii. In the event of a power outage we break out our mini trampolines and have jumping contests in the living room. Anything to get our blood pumping. That’s the trick, whatever you do make sure you raise your heart rate and break a little sweat. That along with healthy meals throughout the day, will ensure a peaceful nights sleep. Like I always say, “Active Play, Healthy Food, and Peaceful Sleep” added together equal AWESOME Fun!

SMILE On!

Miss Lori

“The weather outside is frightful which makes it hard to get regular exercise. What do you do in the winter months to keep yourself active, healthy and fit?”

Abi age 10~
During the winter I take dance classes and play Wii fit a lot. I drink a lot of water and try to eat healthy snacks like apples, strawberries, grapes and carrots. I also like doing sit-ups and push-ups with my mom and brother. We have competitions and it is fun.

Sinead age 17~

In Winter, show choir season really starts up at my high school. With rigorous dances, I get so much exercise rehearsing every week! I never dance harder throughout the year than I do in Winter, because competition season begins in January, and the months leading up to competitions are spent solely on dancing our butts off to prepare for competing! I also teach gymnastics throughout the winter. I think it’s really important to stay active, even throughout the winter, and teaching gymnastics helps me to get the exercise I need on an almost daily basis while I’m at work. Plus, it’s fun! I really love being active and running around, so I make sure to stay fit throughout Winter!

Tess age 9~
To keep my self healthy and fit I do indoor speed skating, (and of course gym at school).

McKenna age 11~
Well I dance all Winter long… It’s my winter sport. My dance team rehearses more in the winter than in the summer…. but during Winter Break… I love playing in the snow!!!!! We have a BIG hill right behind our house. No more than 5 minutes… (well not when we’re in snow gear). I love going to the hill with my friends. Last year they were doing construction and my older brother Jason and I went to the hill to find a GINORMOUS hill of dirt. It was SO steep and SO much fun to go on. I also like going to my friends houses and making snowmen and drinking hot chocolate. That takes a lot of energy!!!! (no joke!!!!). If we’re not found at my friends houses, we like going to the YMCA. Most the time we go swimming. They have a diving board and if we get lucky the diving board will be open and all we have to do is take a couple minute swimming test and we’re in!!!! This year we’re old enough to go in the exercise room, so we might go there this year, I’m not sure though. Thats how we get exercise in the cold winter months though!!!!!!!

Elita age 9~
My family and I are concerned on how to stay fit, but we found an answer! We will do exercise tapes and jog on our mini tramp! I think those are two great solutions!

Kyra age 11~
Sometimes we choose to take public transportation instead of driving places. Since the train station is 6 blocks away from our house, I get exercise that way. At Christmas and other seasonal holidays with lots of sweets, I try not to eat to much!

Jaedyn age 6~
I do the Wii Fit Plus! My favorite games are Hula Hoop, Ski Jump and Obstacle Course. I like them because they are really fun and really active. The Hula Hoop is really active because you are moving around like you have a hula hoop on your waist.

Ava age 11~
During the winter season I like to swim and when the weather is nice I ride my bike or walk. If there is snow on the ground I might have a HUGE snowball fight with my neighbors. I also live near a forest and my family and I take long walks with my dog.

Ariana age 9~
I love being active. My favorite activity to do when it is cold outside is swimming! Yes, I said swimming but of course, it would indoors! Swimming is my favorite activity because it works out all of the muscles in your body. My mom, sister and I play games in the pool. Sometimes we pretend to be mermaids and other times we will play water volleyball. For some reason, even other sports seem more fun when you play them in the water!

Anaiya age 7~
I love doing gymnastics! I just started taking gymnastics classes and I love doing it and the best part is, you can do gymnastics even when it’s cold outside! I am learning to do flips and handstands the right way so that I don’t hurt myself and I get to learn with my friends which makes it even more fun!

The Beatles revolutionized music within their nine years as a band, and even over forty years later, they continue to be a chief influence to musicians around the world. Within a decade, they went from being a local English band to a legendary icon worldwide. Not only are they appealing audibly but visually. For these particular reasons, it only made sense to Drake to dedicate an entire game of Rock Band to them. The process, as you can imagine, was not easy. The creative developers worked with the Beatles’ own Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, as well as Yoko Ono to represent the late John Lennon and Olivia and Dhani Harrison on behalf of George Harrison. They were meticulously involved in the entire process of creating an experience that allows other people to stand in their shoes, play their music, and belt out their beloved hits. Drake admits that it was very hard to please all five members of the Beatles’ party, but in the end all the criticism only made the game better. The project was evidently successful, as over one million copies of the game have already been sold.

As any Beatles fan knows, the British foursome was deeply into love and charity. Stone Chin (PR for Xbox) helped make it possible for The Beatles Rock Band users to follow in their footsteps. Unlike most video games, this game is beneficial globally. Any time someone purchases “All You Need is Love” at the online Xbox store, proceeds go to a Charity called “Doctors Without Borders”, which provides assistance in nearly 60 countries to people threatened by

violence, diseases, etc. Perhaps you’d like a hand painted Beatles Xbox console. Fifty exquisite consoles have been made, and each will be auctioned off for “Doctors Without Borders” as well. The last hand painted Xbox 360 was auctioned for $18,000.

The Beatles Rock Band for Xbox 360 captures the very essence of all that is The Beatles. It is full of their greatest songs, gives money to charity, and educates children in music appreciation, inspiring them with the hits of the greatest band of the yesterday, today, and surely of tomorrow.

For more information on “Doctors Without Borders”, go to www.doctorswithoutborders.org.
John Drake is also the drummer for The Main Drag, a Boston-based band in which all five members are employees of Harmonix. You may recognize their song “Jagged Gorgeous Winter” from Rock Band 2.