10 Ways to Get Moving in April
It’s Healthy Living Month with Classroom Champions!
Let’s Get Moving!
For the month of April, Classroom Champions focuses on Healthy Living as the social and emotional learning (SEL) theme in our K-8 SEL Foundations Curriculum. When it comes to healthy living, we focus on both physical and emotional wellness. One way to address both is to get moving!
Exercise not only has physical benefits like strengthening muscles and bones, reducing the risk of disease, managing weight, and improving sleep quality, but it can improve mental health too. There are effects on brain health, such as reducing stress and depression while improving cognitive functioning and self-esteem.
Plus, getting active can help with mindfulness, boosting an appreciation for the here and now. Such healthy habits can become mindsets for life if practiced and established early.
Here are ten ways to get moving during the month of April:
1: Start with one step forward — go for a walk!
Sounds simple enough, but going for a walk not only helps you get steps in (the goal being 10,000 steps/day), but it will build an appreciation for the world around us. Encourage your students — and yourself — to take some deep breaths, stop and smell the roses, stroll and catch up with a friend!
You can also try going for a mindful walk! A mindful walk is like taking a stroll with a special focus on being fully present in the moment. It’s about enjoying the sights, sounds, and sensations around you while gently moving your body. You might notice the rhythm of your steps, the rustle of leaves, or the warmth of the sun on your skin. It’s a relaxed and enjoyable way to bring a sense of calm and clarity to your day, wherever you choose to wander.
Check out this free mindful walking resource here.
2: Empower physical activity in the classroom
Check out Kid Power, a free award-winning digital platform for the classroom that features activity videos designed to empower the whole student–heart, body, and mind! Get your students up and moving as they unlock RUTFs (therapeutic food packets) for kids in need around the world and earn coins towards helping local causes. Sign up for a free account today!
3: Use alternative flexible seating options
Exercise balls have long been used as seats for students with ADHD, but having a couple exercise balls in the classroom that any child can choose to use in lieu of chairs is a great way to encourage movement for all students. The exercise balls require users to engage their cores as they center themselves at their desks to work. Just be ready for some wiggling in order for students not to tip over!
4: Practice yoga and mindful breathing techniques
Invite a local yoga studio instructor to lead your students through some deep stretching and relaxation techniques. Many of the tips and tricks will be helpful for students to remember during spring test-taking to help manage anxiety and concentration.
5: Create an obstacle course to increase coordination
Partner with your PE teacher to create an obstacle course for kids. Challenge them to beat their previous times. Obstacle courses engage kids’ gross-motor skills such as kicking, crawling, running, jumping, throwing, lifting, and climbing, which can help with balance, hand-eye coordination, and crossing the midline.
6: Let imaginations run wild and invite students to act out a story
Children of all ages love being read to. Read a picture book or a chapter from a longer novel aloud, and ask kids to act out the story as you read. Engage their imaginations as well as their bodies in bringing stories to life.
7: Take brain breaks to increase student focus
Take a look at this infographic from Heart.org. Consider creating such a choice board where students can pick which activity they want to do as a short brain break. See the clever one mixing math with jumping jacks! Consider sending such ideas home too:
8: Host a kickball tournament
Pit students against faculty in a lunchtime kickball tournament. Encourage team spirit by inviting all to dress up in themed costumes. Can’t you just smell that bouncy red rubber ball?
9: Collaborate with students to create a recess jar
Encourage kids to take full advantage of recess time by helping them vary the games and activities they can engage in. Write different games and ideas on pieces of paper, and then put the folded paper into a jar (lots of ideas from playworks.org). Each recess, a different child can pick a slip to read aloud and lead. Urge them to include others to participate from their grade or across grades.
10: Plan a year’s end Olympic Games
Create outdoor stations that kids can rotate through as part of a year’s end celebration. Use everyday items to test students’ coordination, focus, and perseverance. See turnkey ideas here from the last Olympic Games.
As spring hits in cities and towns far and wide, find ways to get your students moving inside and outside of the classroom. And find more healthy living habits of mind by signing up for Classroom Champions’ SEL Foundations Curriculum.
