Don't know where to begin? Here is a list of 21 activities to get you and your students started!
1. Whole School Walk/Run
Inside: walk hallway loop, jog 3 laps in the gym
Outside: loop of grounds, could include forested areas, over hills,
through play structures, incorporate fitness challenges in all seasons.
2. Rainy day? Crazy windchill? If you have a whole school Active Start it's tough to have everyone in the same space, divide things up so half school is in the gym, other half is doing activities in the classroom or hallway.
3. Set up soccer, basketball or football games outside. Give students the option of choice! Involvement in a sport specific activity or to walk and talk!
4. Create grid for each class and have them play an active game inside their grid (ie. tag games, )
5. Play "Fox and Geese" after a fresh snowfall!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veFbCLrpDv0
6. "Rabbit Run" on circuit
Hand out relay batons to a number of students. They attempt to get rid of them by passing them to someone without a baton, the object of the game is not to be holding a baton when time is up!
7. Relays
Inside or outside, relays are a fantastic way to get students moving! If your inside use the volleyball court as a "racetrack", get students in groups of 3-5 and have them race around using different movement skills (running, hopping, skipping, galloping etc.)
8. Challenges
Run to touch a baseball backstop, a soccer post, a tree, around the play structure etc. in any order you wish, then run to give your teacher a high five.
9. Tug of War
Have class vs. class showdowns or even see if one grade can challenge another!
10. Incorporate things such as Fit Deck to help generate activity ideas. (i.e. students can be doing muscular strength or endurance exercises during the relay while their other partners are running) You can find fit deck on playing cards, in the app store or create your own using wooden sticks!
11. Incorporate equipment (if space allows!) Get students to focus on skills that require movement such as a give and go’s with a partner or games such as dribble wars with a basketball!
12. Have a huge game of "Capture the Flag" outside. It could be a class vs. class or grade level showdown!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h_xjCEHEOs
13. Create 30 or 60 second workouts (as seen in Spark) or check out the link below for activity ideas! Students are active for 30 or 60 seconds (at a maximum intensity) and do as many exercises as they can handle!
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1658
14. Get dancing! (ie. Hamster Dance, La Raspa, Cha Cha Slide) Use your oldest class as leaders.
15. Moving Musical Chairs
Set up groups of 3 or 4 in a row inside the “racetrack", when music starts, the first person in line heads out for one lap, then tags off the next person, etc. movement can be jogging, galloping, skipping, hopping, shuffling sideways, grapevine,etc. (Students can run with a partner to stress pacing and to be able to talk as you jog.) When the music stops it's a race back to your relay line! The last group back has to do 10 jumping jacks, squats, burpees etc.
16. Use workout videos or other apps to help lead groups of students. Apps like Nike Training Club, Free Fitness Workouts, Fitness Buddy, Ultra Trainer HD, FitQuest Light, Smart Fitness Workout, Yoga Fitness (just to name a few) can all help create an awesome workout for your students to follow along to!
In the Classroom-- move the desks and chairs back to get moving!
17. Check out videos on youtube to help get the kids moving! Dance videos such as DDR or Just Dance are easy to find and are non-intimidating for students!
18. Create your own 30 second classroom workouts with exercises suggested and lead by the students!
19. Jump Rope in the hallways: Jump to the Beat
20. Use your noodle! Check out www.gonoodle.com and sign your class up! Go Noodle has already done all of the work for you and created huge video library of activities for your students to follow along with. It's user-friendly and FREE!
21. Create your own classroom workout using Fit Deck Jr. www.fitdeck.com
22. Swork it App and coming soon is Swork it Kids! Find it in the app store
23. Set up a tabata workout! 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest--try and do 8 rounds!