Established in 1989, Project ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously) has been hailed as the world’s largest exercise class. Each year it is estimated that several million children throughout the USA and in more than 30 countries abroad, commit to exercising at 10:00 am (local time) on the first Wednesday in May. The creator of this program is Len Saunders, a physical education teacher from New Jersey. In this book, Mr. Saunders presents what are described as “15 great projects for making fitness fun.”

The book consists of 15 chapters, each with a unique theme and suggested grade level focus. For example, chapter one explains how to organize a Tri-Fit-A-Thon. This event involves students first learning how to correctly perform three exercises: chin-ups, curl-ups, and push-ups. Once learned, students then participate as individuals or on teams to see how many of the exercises they can perform in a specified time. Special emphasis is given to promoting good sportsmanship and teamwork. Competition is directed to personal improvement and certificates are awarded to participants. The chapter includes guidelines and a checklist for running this event together with a sample certificate, parent letter, and press release. In short, for anyone interested in hosting a similar event all the organizational details are provided.

The next 13 chapters offer similarly detailed explanations for a variety of fitness-promoting events each adopting a different strategy for motivating students to be physically active. Here are the titles:

	Great Country Fitness Challenge
	Sportsmanship Olympic Games
	Commercial-Cizing
	Video Olympics
	Fitness Pen-Pals
	Wall of Fame Mural
	Publishing for Fun and Profit
	An Unforgetable health and Fitness Fair
	Non-Stop Jumping jacks Day
	Fitness Counts: 1, 2, 3
	G-WIS Skills Clinics
	The Great Race Across the States
	Funtastic Field Days

The book’s final chapter provides readers with details on organizing a Project ACES day. Students of all grade levels can participate and organizers are encouraged to involve youth community organizations in addition to local schools. Suggestions are given for activities that can be performed by large numbers of students, together with ways to use the event to advocate for the need to increase physical activity among our school-aged students. As a result of the growing popularity of participating in an ACES day, Mr. Saunders notes that many teachers have chosen to create Project ACES clubs in their schools to keep participation going year-round.

In summary, the Project ACES Handbook is a wonderful resource for K-12 physical educators looking for tried, tested, and effective ways to stimulate student interest in physical activity and physical fitness. This book is well written, but more importantly it is a practical guide to help teachers host a successful school event. If promoting physical fitness is one of your primary teaching goals and you are looking for some new ideas to motivate your students, the Project ACES Handbook is a resource you will find invaluable.

For more information on Project ACES go to: http://www.projectaces.com/

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