DeKALB – Holly Maychszak is new to teaching elementary students, but she already has discovered that sometimes actions speak louder than words.

After a few Founders Elementary School students did not show the enthusiasm for running in place that she had hoped for, Maychszak started running herself, and soon the whole classroom looked like an Olympic training center.

While running in place is not a traditional fifth-grade subject, physical activities and lessons on nutrition are becoming commonplace in all DeKalb elementary schools as Northern Illinois University nutrition, nursing and public health students come once a month to teach classes.