What children learn and participate in at school builds the foundation for their lives. If they are taught to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine at school, kids will be more likely to enjoy activity and continue to incorporate it into their lives each and every day. Many schools can no longer offer physical education, but that does not mean physical activity of all sorts has to be eliminated. Here are a few quick and easy ways to get your children's hearts working during the school day.
Jumping
Jumping up and down is a no-space-needed activity that is easy for kids to do and will get their heart rates up for a few minutes. Have the students stand behind their desks with their chairs pushed in. Set a timer for 60 seconds and have the students jump as high as they can while keeping their arms and legs together, like a pencil. If you have more space, have them do jumping jacks instead. Tell them to do as many as they can in the 60 seconds while maintaining proper form. Repeat this three times, with 30 second breaks in between each set.
Picking Apples
Arm and hand movements are easy to do at a desk and are also good for those students that are overweight and may be embarrassed about decreased motility. Have students stand or sit at their desks and raise their arms straight above their heads. Tell them to pretend like they are reaching up to pick apples from a tree, alternating which hand they use for picking. Do this for 60 seconds. You can switch it up by letting well-behaved students choose a different fruit to pick each time.
Exercise Cards
Develop or purchase exercise cards to keep in your classroom. You can use basic index cards or make shapes that pertain to the season or your school's mascot. Write the name of an exercise and a description on the back of each card. At the beginning of the day, give the first five students to walk in the room a card each. Instruct them that they must lead the class in this exercise at some point during the day by raising their hand and letting you know when they are ready. Do this each day or until all students have had a chance to lead. Some good exercises are marching in place, jumping jacks, touching your toes and arm circles.
Make Collecting Papers Fun
Using a conga line is a fun and active way for students to hand in homework or collect other papers from the teacher's desk. Have them form a conga line, holding the shoulders of the person in front of them, and put on some music. Students can conga up to your desk, kicking their feet out and waiving one arm to pick up or drop off the necessary papers. Have them make one full loop around the classroom before and after they get their papers.
