Get Your Kid Active

Greetings!  Summer…freedom…play and fun!   Here are some ideas from your resident PE teacher to keep your child active and ready for school when it starts.  Some of the ideas are specific to students with special needs…but most of them can be modified for any/all kids (and adults!). Quickest note….your kids want to be active with YOU!

Kids with ADD or ADHD do better when they are active in the morning.  I have suggested to parents of younger students when their child is diagnosed with ADD or ADHD  that they start their day with some activity.  One great idea is to give your child some quick fuel with a banana, apple or some juice and head outside for a 20-30 minute walk, run or bike ride.  This burns off some steam that will help them concentrate the rest of the day.  This is a great habit to get into during the summer…and I strongly suggest that you do it during the school year so that your student has the focus that they need early in their school day.

If they had PE over the school year ask THEM to show YOU their warm-up routine.  Most school PE programs start with some kind of warm-up routine.  Let them come up with one for your time together at home and let them actively teach you what they did and know.  Do the exercises with them.  Come up with some of your own….do them every day.  Instead of TV!

If they are able to do cardio…walking, biking, running. It’s easy to start a chart to track how far they run or how many minutes.  Have a reward at the end of a certain milestone. Maybe a family goal? Time together for a special activity or a medal or certificate.

Turn the local park/playground and park equipment into an obstacle course.  Bring some flags/cones/ribbons and let your child mark a route to take. You’ll probably attract other kids so it can be good social time, too. Time them…kids love to be timed and try to beat their times.

Invite other kids over for game day.  Tag can be adapted for any ability.  Kids love LOVE relay races.  Come up with goofy things for them to do/carry/walk with.  Hop on one foot.  Have them go down and back around a marker backwards.  Bouncing a balloon.  Speaking of which; balloons are a great way to get a kid out and active.  Blow one up…tie to a string (or don’t) and watch them play!

KITES!  Go fly one. Good for any child with every ability.

Have all kinds of stuff around that they might need to be active.  Balls, jump ropes.  Make sure that the bike tires are pumped up, or have the push trikes ready to go. Getting your kid active could be as simple as letting them pull a wagon around…collect sticks, rocks or leaves along the way (great for gross motor fun!) or be brave and let them pull you!