Benefits of being a Healthy School in motion

Physical activity has many benefits and it affects all aspects of a child’s growth and development. Regular physical activity is an important part of every child’s daily life. Schools that promote physical activity not only benefit the health and wellbeing
of their students, but also encourage and benefit their staff and community. It is important to educate, encourage, and motivate children to participate in regular physical activity. The benefits of physical activity stay with children as they become adults and the positive behavioural traits of active children may also transfer to adulthood. For children, being regularly active:

• enhances academic performance. Basic classroom skills including arithmetic, reading, memorization, and categorization improve with sufficient physical activity.
• is beneficial psychologically, regardless of weight. It is associated positively with self-esteem and self-concept, and associated negatively with anxiety and depression.
• improves skeletal health, which in turn reduces their risk of developing osteoporosis in the future. Daily weight-bearing activities, of even brief duration during adolescence, are critical for enhancing bone development that affects skeletal health throughout life.
• has a positive impact on behaviour and healthy lifestyles. Among young people, high levels of fitness are associated with healthier eating habits.

I think that sometimes going outside at school can be associated with Physical Education class or free time or as a reward. I think that building this outdoor time into our day is so much more!

Last week we took a walk around the schoolyard checking on the garbage situation. We realized that there are only garbage bins at the far park and NO recycling bins. Therefore there was ‘stuff’ in the garbage bin that should have been recycled. This led to a conversation about what we can do about that. How can we express that either a) We need recycling bins at the park (and if it is like this at our park, how many other parks need recycling bins too) or b) Encourage people to take their recycling home or to the nearest bin to recycle instead of just throwing it in the garbage…because it is easier to just toss it. This was a great conversation that came from a 15 minute walk. For the other 15 minutes we played a game that Cathy Woods had taught us earlier in the year. The weather wasn’t super kind to us last week, but it didn’t stop us! We chose activities that kept us moving and kept us warm! The slogan was #coldairdontcare lol. On Tuesday we all played Hide and Go Seek Tag. Not one student complained about the choice of game (we talked about the fact that not everyone would have their top choice each day but if we give it a chance they will have fun). This allowed us to practice our 4C skills along with being totally active for 30 minutes. We had to collaborate on creating ‘rules’, communicate the ‘rules’ so everyone was on the same page, think critically about how many people would be ‘it’, what to do when the Nursery class came out, how we would know when the game was over, etc. and then be creative with our ‘hiding spots’ and with strategy. SO…this game was so much more than kids just running around. On Wednesday we did some math at the playground. Some students played a math game (multiplication battleship) and others continued to work on their number puzzles. It was chilly, but it didn’t stop us! For the last 10 minutes we ran around to warm up. Just getting some fresh air and a change of scenery is good for our brains. We could have easily stayed inside for this activity, but we are trying to think of things that we can do outside instead. We brought what we needed (clipboards, writing tools, etc.) so we didn’t need to be inside! On Thursday we went to the far park and searched for things in nature to become makers with! We could only use what was already on the ground (no breaking branches, etc.) and had to work with a partner or group, then just make! ‘Making’ practices so many skills! The class had a blast and created some pretty cool nature art :). Finally on Friday we saw the SUN! We played outside with Room 126. There were 2 options: 1) Play a game called Follow The Leader or 2) Use chalk to create (games, drawings, math questions, etc.). A third option came up when the kids realized that the sun was allowing for some perfect conditions for shadows! It is nice to come out with another class because we build new friendships, rekindle old friendships, learn to practice the 4Cs with other people which can be a very useful skill. I am so happy with how this first week went 🙂

Upcoming Plans:

*Play with our buddies outside (we can read outside just as easily as we can inside!). This is happening on Monday. We are also planning on doing some planting. I have a parent volunteer (thank goodness!) to come and help. The kids want to have a planter outside of our window. We had thought about making one out of pallets, but if anyone would like to help us out with that let me know! If you’d like to join us on any of the days we will be outdoors, please don’t hesitate to schedule a time and maybe an activity with us!

*Please remember that we need kids to wear their “Musical” outfits on Monday (dress rehearsal!) and Wednesday (performance day!) *Below is the email that was sent home on Thursday about costumes.

REMINDER: Costume requirements for Dress Rehearsal day(Monday, May 1^st) AND Concert Day (Wednesday, May 3^rd)

*Enjoy your week! I hope to see you at the Musical on Wednesday. There will be a magnificent performance as always. Thank you to all the staff and volunteers who made this production possible. Your hard work and dedication to the students is inspiring and very appreciated.

Until next time,

Danielle