Are
you feeling tired? Blue?
Are
the children grumpy?
Bickering? Picking
at one another?
Solution: Get up and MOVE!
-
Put
on some lively music and Dance! Dance! Dance! - Have
children find their pulse before and after dancing.
-
Play “Follow the
Leader” around the house or in the yard.
-
Play “Simon Says Move”
- Simon says “jump 10 times” or Simon says “touch
your toes 10 times”.
-
Play
a game of kickball! Great fun for all ages!
Modify it for younger children by only using one
base to run to and then back home
-
Play
“Do As I Do”. A game of silence! - Explain
the game and then give no further verbal instructions.
Leader does movements such as raising and lowering arms,
marching in place, jumping in place, hopping on one foot,
touching toes, changing motions frequently without saying
anything. Children must watch closely and change
movements to match leader quickly.
Move
with the actions while reading a book
To
help children expend energy and develop balance and
gross motor skills, read them a book and ask them to do
all the actions mentioned in the story.
If there is a line in that says, “Billy
jumped,” the children jump.
If it says “The dog yelped,” the children
yelp like a dog.
Listening for the action words will help children
learn to concentrate and doing the actions will use up
some of the winter’s pent-up energy
With cold weather children are
inside more but still need to MOVE!
Clean
Out Your Own Backyard (the inside version)
1.
Gather all of your balls – divide into 2 baskets.
2.
Erect a rope or low net or cones (balls will need one foot
of bottom clearance).
3.
Divide children into two groups, one on each side of the
net.
4. At your signal, children roll balls under
the net or between the cones as fast they can.
As soon as a ball comes
into their side of the net, any child rolls it back.
When you say freeze, children can redistribute the
balls and start again.
Movement
Fun for Toddlers
Movement
among toddlers is essential for brain development, muscle
control, strength, balance, and FUN! Physical activity
combats obesity in children and helps prevent boredom and
whining. Start early to encourage active play:
- Help
a six-month old crawl toward a toy, or a one-year old
crawl up the stairs.
- Play
the toddler’s favorite music and dance while you wave
scarves (or dish towels).
- Encourage
children’s natural inclination to run – chase
butterflies, race with the dog, blow and chase bubbles,
throw or kick and chase balls.
- Read
stories about unfamiliar activities and try them.
- Build
a maze with hay bales or empty boxes; use the hay bales
to build a climbing structure. Create art outside, using
sidewalk chalk. Play hopscotch.
- Form
a parade with a portable tape player, children, and the
dog if you have one, and march around the block.
- Turn on the sprinkler and
run through it.
More
Movement Build Better Brains
We all know
that vigorous exercise helps children develop strong bodies.
Now new research shows that aerobic exercise helps develop
and strengthen brains as well.
Dr. John J.
Ratey, in the 2008 book, “Spark”, tells about a
Naperville, Illinois, P.E. teacher who, after reading about
childhood obesity (now 20%), started a cardiovascular
program in his junior high.
Each week every child ran a mile. He designed sports
so that most children were moving most of the time instead
of promoting
team sports where most children stood and waited for a turn.
((Think of Jump the Brook, or Chase the Snake versus
waiting for a turn in Duck, Duck, Goose)
Research
reveals that the children who are the most fit do the best
on academic achievement tests.
Why is this? Dr.
Ratey says, “When we exercise, particularly if the
exercise requires complex motor movement, we’re also
exercising the areas of the brain involved in the full suite
of cognitive functions.
We’re causing the brain to fire signals along the
same network for cells, which solidifies their
connections.”
Learning
requires vast numbers of neurons to send and receive signals
from many places in the brain.
The complex interactions of brain chemicals
stimulating various parts of the brain cause learning to
take place. The
chemicals in the brain are stimulated as our body moves.
Vigorous exercise is especially good at stimulating
the release of the brain’s chemicals.
Vigorous
exercise also relieves stress, helps children focus, and
helps children gain self-confidence as they gain physical
ability.
What are
the implications for preschool professionals?
- Provide
vigorous movement opportunities every day
- Monitor
waiting-in-line for a turn time
- Encourage
good nutrition to help curb obesity (body mass index and
aerobic fitness are especially related to academic
achievement)
- Learn
more about the brain & exercise at upcoming Child
Care Choices workshops
And what
about the Naperville junior high students?
They finished first in an international science test.
They were first in the world!
Let’s get
our children moving to learn.
As each childhood professionals we are building
foundations for a lifetime of
physical and intellectual activity.
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