Engaging minds through physical activity
With kids at home until the fall, we can’t think of a better activity than movement mazes to keep them active and occupied. You may have seen these popular movement mazes taking classroom hallways by storm. Now, the reality is distance learning and working remotely from home. But that hasn’t stopped teachers, parents, and students [...]
Monday Start with learning and teaching some beginner yoga poses. Here are a few to start with: Cat and Cow Pose • Begin on hands and knees --Hands beneath shoulders and knees beneath hips --Back flat, eyes looking at floor • Inhale and arch spine upward, tuck tailbone, bend neck, and look underneath body (Cat) [...]
You may have tried the whole “activity break” thing and didn’t feel like it was successful, or that students acted crazier after their break than they did before. In many instances, especially if the idea of activity breaks is fairly new to the students, the novelty may excite them, and they will need strategies for [...]
Most classroom teachers don’t know the research surrounding how activity, such as Brain Energizers, can increase student achievement, improve behavior, and improve focus. I feel it’s our job to teach our peers the importance as well as how to implement these practices. There are so many ways to do this for our peers: Ask your [...]
As colder weather approaches for most of us, it is wise to think about ways we can still provide the activity and movement breaks that children inherently need and want, even if time outdoors is not an option during school time. Research supports the notion that children are more active during spring than winter, and [...]
The brain/body connection is not exclusive to elementary age students. In fact, it does not discriminate. This magnificent relationship is ongoing, extremely subtle, and critical to the teaching and learning process at all grade levels and content areas. Using thoughtful and purposeful physical activity is no less appropriate in a high school trigonometry classroom than [...]
Smooth and timely transitions are key to a successful classroom! Oftentimes, valuable instruction time can be wasted if students can’t easily transition from one activity to the next. The biggest thing I try to get out of my transition time is that my students are calmed down quickly and ready to focus. Here are five [...]
You hear tear-jerking stories of your students’ home lives all the time. One is being raised by grandparents who are barely healthy enough to walk because they have no health insurance. Another slept on the floor with her four younger siblings last night. Two had no dinner last night, so their last full, healthy meal [...]
It is recommended that school-aged children and adolescents participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. For instance, at the intensity of a brisk walk or more. In order to achieve health-benefits, they should do this each day. The Challenge Schools have been tasked with contributing at least 30 minutes of that recommendation [...]
