First Lady Gets Kids Moving

With the help of some star athlete friends, First Lady Michelle Obama got more than 6,000 Chicago school children on their feet as she introduced her latest program, Let's Move! Active Schools last February.

Pointing to the star-studded lineup of athletes on the stage, she said, "They turned themselves into champions by doing the hard work, getting their education, exercising every day, eating healthy, practicing their skills over and over and over again. And we're all here today to tell you that you can do the same thing."

One of the star athletes at the kickoff was tennis great Serena Williams.

Another superstar in attendance was Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Gabrielle Douglas. "It was so much fun to be with all of the kids," says Douglas. "I want them to know working out can be fun. For example, when you're playing a game like tag."

Fresh from his appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick joined the First Lady at her event. Kaepernick is also active in promoting kids' healthy eating and activity through the NFL's and National Dairy Council's program, Fuel Up to Play 60.

Speaking about her Let's Move! Active Schools intitative, the First Lady told SI Kids Kid Reporter Grace Ybarra: "There are a lot of kids who shy away from activity because they think, 'Well, I'm not coordinated.' But the truth is that movement is pumping your arms, it's dancing, it's touching your toes, it's identifying your physical strengths and not comparing yourself to your classmate, because we are all different. So we want to make activity fun again for kids in schools."

"We need kids stepping up and saying, 'My health is important, [and] I am going to take some ownership,'" the First Lady told Kid Reporter Grace. "'Let's become part of Let's Move! Active Schools and take leadership and get a bunch of other kids involved and get parents involved.' Kids can be those change agents, so we want to keep bringing attention to this issue and doing it in a fun and relatable way."