HK author Rae Pica honored with Margie R. Hanson Distinguished Service Award

Rae Pica, author of Physical Education for Young Children, was presented with Margie R. Hanson Distinguished Service Award during the National AAHPERD Convention Thursday, April 2nd. This award is given annually by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education to professionals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of physical education for children.

Rae Pica has been a children's physical activity specialist since 1980. A former adjunct instructor with the University of New Hampshire, she is the author of 17 books. Rae is known for her lively and informative workshop and keynote presentations and has shared her expertise with such groups as the Sesame Street research department, the Head Start Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues, Gymboree, and state health departments throughout the country. She is author of the blog The Pica Perspective, in which she shares her thoughts on matters related to children and physical activity, and is the host and cocreator of Body, Mind and Child, a series of podcasts that help parents prepare their children's minds and bodies for life.

Physical Education for Young Children places the focus squarely where it needs to be: on the fundamentals. This resource offers guidance in teaching across subject areas to provide an interdisciplinary approach, offers sample lesson plans to meet the unique needs of the little ones, and lists resources for children's music, equipment, and props. With Physical Education for Young Children, PE teachers will no longer have to ask what to do with the little ones. They will know-and they will be able to build a physical education curriculum that serves the unique needs of 4- to 8-year-olds.