Many parents are stretched thin as they work from home and simultaneously help their children with virtual school. It's not an easy task. In today's post, I hope to help in a small way by sharing fun ideas for at-home PE during the virtual school year. Many of these activities will cover a PE class period. They may also be scaled to shorter or longer sessions. In addition to PE, we try to take short breaks to move around throughout the day. I recently read that a sedentary lifestyle is the new smoking. That is, smoking used to be a leading cause of cancer, but now a sedentary lifestyle is contributing to many cancers. It's so important to practice healthy habits while we are working from home. The list of ideas below will help you and your children to keep moving!
Before I share the list of ideas, let me start by sharing that good shoes are a foundation of our active lifestyle. My husband and I need good quality running shoes. Our 40-something year old bodies feel the difference. We both prefer ASICS brand shoes. In particular, we love the ASICS Gel-Nimbus 22 line of shoes that provide the support that we need. My husband has worn shoes from the ASICS Gel-Nimbus 22 line for years. I remember the first time that he bought a pair of ASICS Gel-Nimbus 22 shoes because he told me that he would never buy any other brand of running shoes again. Sure enough, he has stayed true to his preference. He currently wears the Gel-Nimbus 22 Knit Men’s Running Shoes in Magnetic Blue/Black.
The ASICS Gel-Nimbus 22 shoes are the ultimate high mileage shoes for neutral runners. You'll notice in the photo above that they are crafted with knit fabric that helps to provide comfort and airflow. This show uses proprietary FLYTEFOAM & FLYTEFOAM Propel technology in the midsole for a more comfortable bounce. Special foam in the midsole helps to reduce the severity of harsh impacts. The TRUSSTIC technology under the arch of the shoes provides lightweight support and stability. These high performance runnings shoes provide soft cushioning. They are meant for high mileage runners and are very durable.
I wear the Gel-Nimbus 22 Women’s Running Shoes in Black/Bio Mint. Similar to my husband, I love the ASICS Gel-Nimbus 22 line of shoes. Nothing is better than running in a good quality pair of shoes that absorb impact.
My oldest son just received his first pair of ASICS shoes. He is a tween and recently showed an interest in running. We wanted to set him up for success, so good quality shoes were a high priority. He wears the GT-2000 9 Men’s Running Shoes in Grey/Black. The GT-2000 series has been around for 30 years. This line is popular for everyone from casual weekend runners to serious marathon runners. We chose this style because our son is just getting into running and is known for a good fit and support. The upper material is reinforced in key areas for added support as the foot rolls through the gait cycle. The FLYTEFOAM technology and GEL technology cushioning in the midsole help to reduce the overall shock from impact. They are also lightweight. My son loves them and raves that they are comfortable. I appreciate that the shoes boost his self esteem and make him feel like a runner.
Now that I've told you about our favorite shoes for running and PE activities, let me share 10 Tips for PE during virtual school days!
Tips for PE During Virtual School Days
1. Take morning walks.
My preschooler wakes up between 5 and 6am. He hops into his jogging stroller and we run to the park with him. He loves taking a flashlight on our walks and spending special time with us. The park is empty in the mornings, so he is able to have it to himself while my husband and I stretch. It's a great way to start the day together.
2. Speed clean together.
This is exercise that every parent will get behind! Play some music and set a timer for everyone to clean as quickly as possible. We race to put toys and other items away. We clean baseboards, vacuum, start laundry, and more. You'll be amazed at how different your home looks after only 10 to 15 minutes of speed cleaning! It's a win-win to exercise and clean.
3. Play outdoor bingo.
Have your children create bingo cards that contain different items around your neighborhood so that your family is able to go on a walk and mark squares on their bingo cards when they see different items. Example items to put on bingo cards include trees, benches, neighbor's wind chimes, dogs, birds, and more!
Place a line down the middle of a room with masking tape. Have your children gather stuffed animals and place them on the line. Set a timer for both of them to simultaneously try to throw all of the stuffed animals to the other player's side. They must each stay on their own side of the line, but are welcome to throw anything to the other side at any time. The goal is to achieve putting all of the stuffed animals on the other player's side without any stuffed animals remaining on your own side. While they play, my children giggle and yell, "Tossing the Trash!" It's a fast moving game that gets everyone's heart racing as the stuffed animals fly back and forth!
5. Have your children create an obstacle course.
Obstacle courses are a fun way to exercise! My children create obstacle courses by drawing hopscotch challenges with chalk, setting up tents to crawl through, setting up limbo challenges, and more!
6. Combine art and PE with kindness rocks and maps.
My preschooler is our little artist. He loves crafts. We painted a batch of kindness rocks to hide. His older brother created a map of our neighborhood. They worked together to identify hiding places for the rocks. On one of our evening walks, we placed the rocks according to the map. In subsequent walks, my children kept a fast paced walk because they couldn't wait to track which rocks were found.
7. Combine math and PE.
As I mentioned earlier, my tween has taken an interest in running. We have him record his distance and time for each run. He practices math by computing averages. He also creates bar graphs. It's fun for him to visualize his progress while also getting ahead of the curve in his math class. He hasn't learned to compute averages at school yet, so this is advanced knowledge for him. Not only is he learning the topic at home before it is covered, but he is also experiencing a real world application of the value of computing averages.
8. Give them balloons to keep in the air.
Blow up a few balloons and tell them to keep the balloons in the air. The floor is lava, so they have to race around to keep them in the air!
9. Have a dance party.
Both of my children love our dance parties. We move the furniture around in our living so that there is plenty of space to dance. We then play our favorite pop music and dance around the room with silly dance moves.
10. Play the Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure game.
The Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure combines video games and exercise. It's a new generation technology that our family loves. For instance, explore plains by jogging in place and attack enemies with overhead shoulder presses. You may refill your health meter by striking yoga poses. This game is a lot of fun!
It's important to find fun ways to incorporate physical activity into our daily routines during this pandemic. I hope that these ideas help you and your children to stay active!
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