Keeping kids fit and healthy in school can be challenging. You know it’s important, but you also have other things you need to get through each school day. Is there a way to keep health and fitness in mind and still focus on teaching your kids every day? No worries. You can do both. Try some of these easy and fun ideas to keep your kids active, healthy and fit during school without losing the learning.
Step It Up
Invest in pedometers for your students and staff, and have school or classroom-wide contests to see who can take the most steps every day or week. Incorporate steps into things your class does anyway. Design math lessons around counting steps, go the long way to the library or lunchroom, and encourage kids to be aware of their steps when they go to the bathroom, play in gym class, and walk home from school.
Be Active Throughout the Day
Set aside 5 minutes at the beginning, middle, and end of every day to get up and move. Have students stand up, touch their toes, and twirl around. Make the activity fun and light (or even silly), so kids enjoy doing it. Show them ways to be active at home, too, like by volunteering to walk the dog or doing 5 jumping jacks after each 15 minutes of computer or video game time.
Stay Hydrated
Stock up on water bottles for your entire school (staff, too). Turn drinking fountains into filling stations and set aside time throughout the day to “fill ‘em up.” During snack or lunchtime, add fruit to water bottles to provide nutrients and make the water taste better.
Make Good Food Choices
Getting kids to make good food choices isn’t always easy, especially with all the “not-so-good-for-you” options out there. Teach your kids how to read labels and talk about what healthy eating means. Have each kid bring in a healthy snack or lunch and share with the class why they chose the foods they did.
Pay it Forward
Wellness isn’t only about physical health. It’s also about positive emotions and feeling good, and one of the best ways to feel good is by doing things for others. Encourage your kids to practice random acts of kindness and to “pay it forward” when others do nice things for them.
By incorporating a few easy ideas into the school day, you can help your kids stay healthy, active, and emotionally well, so they do better in school and in life.
What do you do to keep your students active during the school day?