Why physical activity in the classroom?
Even just 20 minutes a day has positive mental health and academic peformance benefits for children. Kids who move their bodies on a regular basis experience both personal and social benefits from working through the variety of challenges and feelings they experience during moderate-vigorous physical activity. All of these benefits translate directly to the classroom and academic achievement.
Why Marathon Kids?
Marathon Kids is one of the only evidence-based youth physical activity programs in the United States that is proven to help increase a child's daily moderate to vigorous activity.
Tips and Tricks!
- Use Marathon Kids for brain breaks, PE and recess!
- It doesn't have to take a lot of time. Marathon Kids counts 5 minutes of heart-pumping activity as a quarter of a mile.
- Soon enough those minutes turn to miles and miles turn to marathons!
- Work as a class to reach a team goal!
- Working as a team increases a sense of belonging. Engaging in shared physical activity with other young people can give them a sense of community and belonging while alleviating social anxiety. After all, it's always easier to connect with others around a shared project or goal.
Teacher Testimonials
I feel that movement is so powerful and it's important for kids to understand that we all move in different ways, different speeds. It truly was a beautiful thing to see the kids coming together- moving together, keeping one another accountable, and encouraging each other to keep crushing miles. The best part of Marathon Kids was seeing the development of the runners as the accumulated miles. They were getting stronger, faster and 100% more confident, not just as runners at Marathon Kids club time, but also just as young people. And, as a coach, that development of a kid is why we do what we do.
I know Marathon Kids is such a great program that it is well worth my time to be part of it.
Source:
- Physical Activity Facts, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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