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Here are some ideas to keep the children involved over the summer months
and a carry over to the new school year:
First , peruse the fitness calendars from the links on the left side of the start
page and click on June , July and August calendars.
There is no need to stop the train of learning because of
summer vacation. The best way is to insert the fitness calendar
as a viable means to continue the learning process. During the
school year , the students have maintained this concept ,which
carries over to the summer. Check out some examples from my
webpage by clicking on the Fitness Calendar link from the start
page and look for it from the left pane.
I mentioned to the students to make their own fitness calendars and
continue them until the start of school.This gave them a chance to not
only have fun and be creative ,but also to have them ready the very first
day of school.
The results proved to be very effective . Since ,I lived within the district
it was easy for them to show me their progress and ingenuity. They even
took the calendars on vacation and filled the days in with days at the beach
playing volleyball, frisbee ,walking , running, swimming ,biking ,skate
boarding or any activity that got them moving.
This is where the snowball express came into view. The students involved
the parents with their signature of checking that their child finished the
calendar.Shortly there after ,I started a neighborhood walk that led to a
fitness trail and member of the recreation board in the community. This
carry over (from the parents /PTA) gave me monies to pursue more equipment
and also meant that the lifetime of fitness concept was realized. Of course
it
didn't hurt that grandparents were included in the summer fitness calendar.
So, the adage that learning never stops and fitness for a lifetime proved to
be an exemplary motivator. The calendar is not a unique idea but it gives
the students ownership and shows then how to make an individual plan.In
many cases ,they repeated an activity but tried to improve on a previous
performance.That is, walk a half mile on Monday ,they tried to increase to a
mile on Tuesday.
I gave then ideas ahead of time with any backyard and open areas .It ranged
from anything they did during the school year to making homemade
equipment.I tried to encourage integration with reading and core subject
skills.
SUMMER FITNESS CALENDAR IDEAS
EXAMPLES
- Ride anything wheels today for 30 minutes
- Help mom with laundry , use bath towels for toss and catch game
- Set up a clothesline between trees or house, play baloon volleyball
- DAD'S special day, take him golfing, bowling, walking or play a game of catch
- Toss any type object into garbage cans from different distances(clean the can first and help with garbage detail)
- Gather soda pop cans and stack to play bowling(pyramid shape)
- Walk the beach all day with mom /dad/family
- Play beach towel volleyball with friends or family( toss a ball over a net)
- Play frisbee at the beach or campground/park/with family or friends
- Gather sea shells , toss in sand bucket, repeat for a better score
- Jog in the sand , forward , backward, sideward for 15 minutes
- Make a hop skotch grid and or horseshoe pit and play with family or friends
- Play a game of tag using the sun and shadows(shadow tag
- Hike with family or friends at the community park
- Take in a baseball or softball team and support the local or pro team of your choice
- Make small weights using sand buckets, milk jugs with water and exercise for 15 minutes
- Pile up used phone books and put a golf tube on each end(crawl or jump over 15 times)
- At the beach, pool or backyard=toss water balloons for distance with a friend or family
- Drag a used tire with a rope around the yard for 15 minutes
- Jump in and out of a hula hoop 50 times, repeat for a better score
- Flashlight Tag= shine the light on opponents in a hide and seek night game
- Go to a Senior Center and help them workout/read or walk
- Teach a 'new ' friend while on vacation, a game that you learned in PE class
- Use beach towels to practice stretching skills learned in PE class
- Run or jog back and forth 30 feet( shuttle run), 5 times
- Throw socks(rolled) into the laundry basket , increase distance each time
- Hand volley a tennis ball against a wall 100 times(forehand stroke)
- Use a tennis ball can to toss and catch inside 10 times with each hand
- Play FLINGO( tennis ball inside tube sock) with family or friends
- Attach a coffee can(ask mom to cut open one end) on a tree and shoot baskets with the tennis ball
- Use a blanket(old) as a parachute and exercise or fling equipment off
- Walk one mile with your family , keep heart rate checked
Here are some examples of the program,DARTFISH and what you can do with it.
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