Today’s Random Acts of Fitness & Spice (RAFS) challenge comes from one of the 25 most influential people in the lives of children according to Children’s Health magazine (and I).

This must have been a pretty good year for Dr. Katz because he was also nominated for the position of U.S. Surgeon General to the Obama Administration by the American College of Physicians, the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, among other national and international health organizations. I wonder how he’ll top all of that in 2010? I can’t wait to find out!

I wrote about Dr. Katz a few weeks ago after his visit to the Hy-Vee Whole Health Experience. You might remember me telling you about two programs he founded: NuVal, a nutritional scoring system, and ABC for Fitness© (Activity Bursts in the Classroom), a free program that encourages teachers to introduce short bursts of cardiovascular activity in the classroom.

Here’s our Random Acts of Fitness & Spice challenge from Dr. Katz:

My challenge is, in fact, best summarized in a program; it is a challenge to schools, and to an extent parents, to make physical activity fit into the daily routine of every child.  Here it is- http://www.davidkatzmd.com/abcforfitness.aspx.

We can do this, right? Let’s grab our favorite kid and do some random bursts of fitness with them everyday. Not only is this a great way to teach our children great habits but it also helps us work in some extra exercise, too!

Once you’re done with your daily workouts, why not celebrate and reinforce your kiddos success by recording it in a fitbook junior?

One Wisconsin teacher is passing out fitbook junior, a 12-week interactive fitness and food journal for kids, to teach students the importance of goal-setting, engaging in daily physical activities and making nutritious food choices, while balancing their tasks at school and home. “My goal is to teach students the importance of taking care of their health. I want them to have fun while doing it, and they’ll also be graded,” says Beth Ivey, a Physical Education teacher at St. Francis de Sales. “More than ever, taking responsibility for your health is a critical subject kids must learn while they’re young.”

Lisa Greenwood, a mother and Program Director of Fleet Feet’s Zoomerang Kids Running Club in Connecticut says “I use the grown-up book, and my son and I make our plans together. His goals include running eight laps and eating five new fruits this week, while I’m working on strength training and stretching.”

Want to win a fitbook junior for a fit kid you know? Simply tell us how you are going to incorporate daily bursts of exercise with a child as proposed by Dr. Katz. Here are a few ideas to get you started..

• Download the ABC workbook to get some great ideas
• Tell your school or Parent Teacher Association about the ABC Program
• Add some bursts of exercise with your kids in your own home, your backyard, or a playground near you
• If you’re like me and you are not a parent, tell a mom or dad you know and enter the contest anyway. I’m sure you might know a kid that could benefit from this program and would love to own a fitbook junior!

Enter the drawing by telling us how you’re going to participate in this Random Act of Fitness & Spice challenge in the comments section below. Be sure to submit  your comments by 11:59 P.M. on Tuesday, December 15th and check back on Wednesday to see if you are the lucky winner of a fitbook junior!

Now I really must go make a play date with my neighbors kids, I think we’ll have a blast channeling our inner Katz.