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10 fun and cheap ways to stay fit

Do you have an extra $60 lying around at the end of each month? Can you eat whatever you want and not gain a pound? Those who answered no and do not want to pay to join an athletic club should try the following:

1. Pack lunch. Come on, do you have to have warm and gooey chocolate chip cookies, a slushy and the cafeteria’s famous stromboli? No, you don’t.
Especially not every day. Some kids pack their lunch. Most schools have microwaves, so you can pop in a Lean Cuisine or leftovers from last night’s dinner. Your waistline will thank you.

2. Join a sports team. Whether it’s a school team or a recreational league, there are plenty of people looking for teammates.

3. Walk your dog. Or better yet, walk the neighbor’s pooch. (Hint: They might throw in a little cash.)

4. Do yoga. Sometimes, early in the morning or late at night, certain television channels run yoga and pilates demos. If you can’t find it, check out a tape or DVD from the library.

5. Clean. You probably hate the idea, but cleaning burns calories fast. Especially when you get down on your hands and knees and use your muscles to scrub the floor.

6. Gather your friends and play basketball, soccer, dodge ball, softball, etc. Working out is more fun when you are with people who are willing to have fun with you.

7. Mow the grass or help Mom and Dad with yardwork. Mowing means walking up and down your yard, back and forth, until the job’s done. Depending on how big your yard is, this can make you work up quite a sweat.

8. Walk wherever possible. You have probably seen older people walking for exercise in shopping malls. If you’re waiting on Mom to get out of her favorite store, take a stroll. And, if you live near your school, why not walk home?

9. Swim. It’s one of the best exercises you can do. Go to the YMCA, or just wait until summer to get your swim on at a public pool.

10. Play tennis. Places such as Hollins University and Waldron Park in Roanoke County have public tennis courts. Grab a few balls and hit with a partner.

— Compiled by Mary Katherine Hayth, Lord Botetourt High School

5 ways to be green

Kermit the Frog once said “It’s not easy being green.” But we disagree. Here are a few simple, practical ways to help the environment:

1. Carpool. Save the Earth, and your cash. With gas dangerously close to $3 a gallon, there’s never been a better time to carpool with buddies. Cars produce carbon-monoxide, an ozone-depleting gas. With fewer cars on the road, there’s less carbon-monoxide gobbling the ozone. If you plan on going shopping, ask a friend if they want to go . Going out to eat with some buddies? Pick them up on the way.

2. The three R’s. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Collect aluminum, glass and paper products, and take them to a recycling center. Buy products that use recycled-material packaging. Save plastic grocery bags and use them later.

3. Water, water not quite everywhere. Conserving water is probably one of the easiest ways to help the Earth. Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth. Only use the washing machine or dishwasher when you have a full load. Take shorter showers. A 15-minute shower can use up to 40 gallons of water.

4. Funky-looking light bulbs. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs, or CFLs, are much more energy-efficient than their incandescent counterparts. According to Energy Star (a joint program of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy), CFLs can save $30 or more on electricity bills during the bulb’s lifetime, which is 10 times longer than that of a traditional incandescent bulb. Bonus: Saving electricity reduces CO2 emissions.

5. Buy local produce. Ain’t nothing like a homegrown tomato! Buying produce at your local farmers’ market helps people in your community.

— Compiled by Danielle Norris, Pulaski County High School

21 ways to pass the rest of winter

1. Scrounge up some of that holiday money you received from Grandma and go see a movie.

2. Do a snow dance every night to increase the chance that the next day will be a snow day, giving you a day off from school.

3. Make a sock monkey.

4. Experiment with hot chocolate. Try adding peppermint and dark chocolate.

5. Sit by a crackling fire and read a good book.

6. See if you can do the impossible and lick your elbow.

7.Use Post-It notes to count down to the last day of school. Make it look fabulous with glitter.

8. Write a poem about your anticipation of summer. Ex: Winter can be a bummer / I really can’t wait for the summer / Snow is cool, but I’d rather be in the pool / Earmuffs are fun, but I’d rather be in the sun.

9. Add a tune to your poem and write a song.

10. Record your song and sell it.

11. Get famous.

12. Move to L.A. (Note: Numbers 10-12 are highly unlikely).

13. Collect the winter photos you’ve taken with your friends and put them in an album. Decorate it. Make it a scrapbook.

14. Anagram this: A Manicure Form Twist (Hint: there’s an apostrophe somewhere).

15. Write a letter to a far-away friend.

16. Offer to scrape snow off of walkways for a small fee.

17. Knit a scarf.

18. Buy a bathing suit. They’re cheap this time of year.

19. Learn to play the violin.

20. Decorate your backpack with patches, gems, pictures, pipe cleaners and anything else you can think of.

21. Read The Edge.

— Compiled by Allie Smith, Patrick Henry High School

11 Places to Volunteer

1. Women’s Resource Center. The Center helps women and their children escape abusive homes. Teens can help by collecting donations of clothing, toiletries, toys and books. www.wrcnrv.org/volunteer.html

2. Local animal shelters: You can go at any time during regular hours to play with the cats and walk the dogs (though you may have to fill out a volunteer form and/or have a parent with you). http://www.nrvanimalshelters.com/

3.Literacy Volunteers help people learn to read. They also have book sales and promote readin-related activities. http://www.lvarv.org/

4. The YMCA holds classes and camps for the betterment of the area it serves. www.ymca.net/

5. You can help area food banks, such as the Southwest Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank, by holding food drives or going door-to-door and donating what you collect . www.swvafoodbank.org/service_area.html

6. Project Esperanza builds schools in the Dominican Republic. They also tutor kids at Massie’s Trailer Park in Christiansburg. http://www.projectesperanza.org.vt.edu/volunteer.htm

7. A Million Thanks gives you the contact information for an American solider who is on active duty or a war veteran. You can send care packages and letters of support. www.amillionthanks.org

8. Project Linus makes blankets for children who have suffered tragedy. All donations stay in the area. www.projectlinus.org/index.shtml

9. Girl Scouts is a service organization for girls ages 5-18 who want to participate in activities with girls of all ages. www.gsvsc.org

10. Saint Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation raises and trains dogs to assist people with a variety of disabilities. Puppy-raisers and sitters are always needed. www.saintfrancisdogs.org

11. Virginia Corps is a great site if you have an idea of what you want to do but haven’t found the right place yet. www.virginiacorps.org.

— Compiled by Claiborne Fletcher North Cross School, and Sarah Polan, home school.