Indoor Recess Game Packet Freebie

Here are a few freebies that work great for indoor recess when you need something in a hurry. They would make a fun back to school gift for teachers – print them off, toss them in a file folder and teachers have some “go to” activities for when the weather takes a turn for the worse.  You can download the entire packet here – http://www.yourtherapysource.com/indoorrecess.html

1.  Imagination Action Journey Triathlon – encourage literacy and physical activity with the imaginative movement journey.  Download here http://www.yourtherapysource.com/imaginefree.html
2. Q and A Body Game – Promote body awareness, motor skills and listening skills with this simple game that requires no equipment.  Print the directions here http://www.yourtherapysource.com/files/Quick_Brain_Break_Q_and_A_Body_Game___YourTherapySource.pdf
3. Peanut Butter and Jelly – Grab a soft ball  and encourage eye hand coordination, motor timing and motor planning.  Practice self regulation skills as well with this fun but challenging game.
4. Roll Some Brain Breaks – Roll some dice and get moving.  Great activity for small spaces and to keep everyone active.  Download the activity here http://www.yourtherapysource.com/rollsomefunfree.html
5. Be A Robot – Cut out some circles, grab a partner and start some motor planning and physical activity.  Download here http://www.yourtherapysource.com/freerobot.html
6. Color Ball Game – Encourage following motor commands, motor memory and coordination skills.
7. Social Red Rover – Promote motor skill development, cooperation and social skills with this active group game.
8. Listen for the Code – Encourage listening skills, following motor commands, self regulation skills and left right directions.

Want to download ALL of these indoor recess games at once???  Head on over to Your Therapy Source to get your copy to distribute to teachers or go to http://www.yourtherapysource.com/indoorrecess.html.

Listen, Follow and Move

Purpose: Encourage listening skills, following motor commands, self regulation skills and left right directions.

Materials: small object i.e. toy car, small doll, etc.

Activity:
Before you start establish what the movement pattern will be.  Try to write it down so the
children can refer to it if necessary.  For example a pattern could be the following:
clap one time to move forward

clap two times to turn to the right
clap three times to turn to the left
slap knee one time to move backwards

Pick one child to be “it”.  This child will have to listen to a pattern to determine where to
go to find a missing object.  The child needs to close his/her eyes while someone in the
group hides the object away from the child who is “it”.

Make sure all the children keep calm during the game since it does take some
concentration.

Once the object is hidden, the child who is “it” can open his/her eyes.  Now the group
must direct the child to the hidden object only using the established code.  No talking
allowed.  You can have them take turns to clap out commands or agree to the code and
then all clap together.   Once the child finds the hidden object take turns letting the
other children be “it”.  Try changing the code every few rounds.

Want to make it harder?:  Play music in the background so the child has to filter out
the background noise and concentrate only on the established code.  Blindfold the
child and they have to feel for the hidden object.

Want to make it easier?  Limit the code to very simple directions – clap once to move
forward and clap twice to move backwards.  Use verbal directions for right and left.

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25 Instant Sensory Motor Group Activities - Find out more at http://www.yourtherapysource.com/instant.html

Extra Physical Activity and Academic Achievement

Research on the impact of physical activity intervention program on academic achievement was published in the Journal of School Health. The study provided 408 twelve year olds with an additional two hours per week of extra play and motion activities. The control groups were three different schools (matched for male/female ratio, average level of income, education and unemployment of parents) who did not receive the extra two hours of physical activity per week.

Academic achievement was tested four years prior to the study and five years later. The results indicated the following:

1. Higher proportions of students in the intervention school achieved the national goals in all 3 subjects compared with the reference schools after initiation of the intervention program.

2. The odds for achieving the national learning goals in the intervention school doubled.

3. The odds for achieving the national learning goals did not change or decreased in the control schools.

The researchers concluded that promoting physical activity in school by means of a curriculum-based intervention program may improve children's educational outcome.

Reference: Lina B. Käll PhD, Michael Nilsson MD, PhD, andThomas Lindén MD, PhD. The Impact of a Physical Activity Intervention Program on Academic Achievement in a Swedish Elementary School Setting. Journal of School Health Volume 84, Issue 8, pages 473–480, August 2014. DOI: 10.1111/josh.12179



Need some easy ideas to squeeze in physical activity and play time?  Check out Roll Some Fun at http://yourtherapysource.com/rollsomefun.html

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Research: Children Are Significantly Less Fit than Decades Ago

Photo by Chucka_NC on Flicker Creative Commons License

The American Heart Association presented research on 50 studies on running fitness between 1964 and 2010 that involved more than 25 million kids, ages 9 to 17, in 28 countries. Most of the studies measured cardiovascular endurance by how far kids could run in a set time or how long it took to run a set distance. The tests typically lasted five to 15 minutes or covered a half-mile to two miles.

The results indicated the following:

• cardiovascular endurance declined significantly within the 46 years 
• average changes were similar between boys and girls, younger and older kids, and across different regions, although they varied from one country to another
• today's children are about 15% less aerobically fit than children 30 years ago i.e. about 90 seconds slower when doing a timed mile.

Reference: Douglas, C. Kids' Aerobic Fitness Said to Decline Dramatically. Retreived from Runner's World on the web on 11/20/2013 at http://www.runnersworld.com/health/kids-aerobic-fitness-said-to-decline-dramatically.

Get Moving Flashcards - Powerpoint and PDF

Get Moving Flashcards is a collection of 5 physical activity breaks (jogging in place, marching, squats, jumping jacks and trunk twists) randomly placed between flash cards.

Find out more information.

DCD and Physical Education Class

CanChild, Centre for Childhood Disability Research has published a great flyer to provide to physical education teachers of students with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Then hand out explains DCD, describes the symptoms, and offers teaching tips. Check it out below or here.