Get More Kids to Be Physically Active During Hybrid Learning
This school year will be unlike any other. With many families engaging in some type of virtual or remote learning, having resources to keep kids physically active is key. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, preschool-aged children should be active throughout the day to enhance growth and development, while youth ages 6 through 17 need at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity to attain the most health benefits from physical activity. To help break up the added screen time due to virtual learning, some educators turn to movement breaks or brain breaks. Following are some ideas to add physical activity to hybrid learning days.
Create Opportunities to Move Around!
When learning from home, students miss the daily physical activity that comes from moving around the school building, classrooms, or stations. Proactively address the hazards of sitting for too long, and encourage kids to move around during the remote learning day. Whether it’s moving to a different spot in the home for each period or subject, or simply finding time in every hour to get up and move around. If you can, encourage kids to get up and head outdoors. Not only will the fresh air and a change of scenery offer a refreshing break, but the opportunity to get blood flowing will help kids when it’s time to focus on schoolwork again.
Foster Active Learning and Engagement With Educational Tools
Get kids moving with more than a brain break by using an active learning platform that engages students’ minds and bodies. A flexible program such as Walkabouts offers easy and fun web-based lessons that work on any device, and do not require any equipment or additional space. Parents/guardians and educators can get kids up and out of their seats throughout the school day, as they excitedly follow Jax and Gia, two friendly avatars who lead students through movement-based learning activities.
The platform comes with more than 200 Walkabouts for pre-K to 2nd grades and printable Walksheets (activity sheets that include a movement component) for grades pre-K to 5. Walkabouts are correlated to state and national standards and these correlations display beneath the Walkabouts player window.
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
- State Standards
- Head Start
For more information about Walkabouts’ flexible subscription plans, visit walkabouts.com/plans.
Get the Family Involved! Sign up for 'Bring PE to Your Family Week'
Active Schools is a national movement to help schools provide at least 60 minutes a day of physical education and before, during, and after school for all students. This year, they are sponsoring Bring PE to Your Family Week, October 19-23. As an Active Schools partner, ActivEd encourages families to save the date, and continue reading to learn what it is and how you can get involved.
How It Works:
- Families conduct their PE lessons at a time of their choosing. This will allow all family members to participate.
- Students can showcase their age-appropriate leadership skills by planning and facilitating a lesson with guidance from their teacher.
- Interested families and educators can sign up using the link below to get access to fun and engaging instructional content to help students bring PE to their families. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJP26KB
- Follow along on social: Use the hashtag #FamiliesLovePE for additional resources and activities!
