4 Fun Outdoor Winter Activities For Kids & Their Adults

February 21, 2017February 20, 2017Leave a comment

I’m very excited to be teaming up with the Physical Activity Resource Centre (PARC) as a guest blogger, supporting them in developing content on a variety of topics, but all around the idea of physical activity for all. Here is a post I wrote to to support families to get out and move this winter – even when the temperatures drops and all you want to do is watch Paw Patrol on Netflix. View the original post here.

Cold weather doesn’t mean you need to keep the family fun indoors. With the appropriate clothing and a sense of fun and adventure you and your family can have a season of excitement. Here are four ways you and the family can move more this winter. Give one a try this weekend!

Hit The Ice.

Whether you’re a family of seasoned skaters or just getting started, many municipalities offer free skating events over the winter. Dress for the environment, particularly if it’s an outdoor rink, and bring along some healthy snacks, and some water for a mid-skate break.

Take A Hike.

Put on your winter woollies, pack a couple healthy snacks, and head out to explore a locally marked public trail or walk way. There is no need to search to far in Ontario with the Bruce Trail spanning 890km from Niagara to Tobermory. Be sure to stick on the path following the well-marked trail blazes, and take extra care where the trail is rocky, icy, or where it passes by caves, cliff edges, or crevices. For more information on the Bruce Trail, check out the Bruce Trail Conservancy website.

Enjoying a staycation? Explore a new hiking trail in your area or discover new routes around your neighbourhood. Keep an eye out for local wildlife and record what you find! Maybe it’s a neighbour’s dog, a squirrel that’s searching for hidden acorns, or a bird that hasn’t migrated. Look them up when you get home to identify the species and learn more about the local ecosystem.

Overcome This Obstacle.

Keep the fun local to a park nearby, or your own back yard, and create a fun winter obstacle course for both you and the kids! With 5 or 6 small stations, have fun racing through them all as quickly as possible, or for those with a taste for competition bring along a timer and race kids vs adults. In the end, be sure to keep it fun and safe for all. Station ideas might include:

Create 5 snow balls and accurately hit a target (tree, sign post, X marked in snow) nearby.
Run to a tree in the distance then run around it three times.
Slide down a hill and climb back up returning to the top as quickly as possible.
Make 4 snow angels in different areas of snow.
Pull a sibling or parent on a toboggan to cross the finish line!

Evening Flashlight Walk.

With the sun setting earlier and the dark nights lasting longer the winter months are a perfect time to see your neighbourhood under a new light, the moon. Head out for an after dinner family flashlight walk. Provide each family member with a working flashlight and venture through a local park, along your street, or even exploring your own back yard. Use your flashlights to explore by night and keep safe while doing it. Be sure to stick to a route you are familiar with and have traveled on during the day.

4 reasons to get students active this winter!

January 26, 2017January 25, 2017Leave a comment

The following post is one I wrote for the Ophea Blog published January 13th. View the original post here.

Photo via Ophea Canada

Winter is here! With the days shorter and the recess colder, even the best of us [or our students] can get a little blue. Did you know that “more than one in five boys and one in three girls report feeling depressed or low at least once or more on a weekly basis?”[i] Luckily, moving more and sitting less can help to prevent the blues and help our students get back to their normal self. To help ward off those winter blues, this month’s #FactFriday brings you four reasons why it’s important to encourage your students to get physically active this winter and all year long:

Physical activity has been found to improve mental health conditions, particularly anxiety, depression and general well-being.[ii]
Physical activity was associated with a decreased likelihood of depression in a survey of 9,938 school-age children.[iii ]
The rise of mental health challenges faced by Canada’s children and youth is matched by a decrease in physical activity participation levels.[iv ]
Physical activity, sport and exercise is positively associated with mood, emotion and psychological wellbeing.[v]

Getting students physically active and to engage in regular daily physical activity not only decreases their risk of chronic illness but also supports their emotional well-being. The four reasons listed in this blog are mere examples of the positive impact regular physical activity has. It’s important to reflect on these benefits with students and help them to better understand the impact it has on their health.

Furthermore, by supporting student well-being through daily physical activity, the 2015 Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum explains that, “behaviours promoting mental health are not always correlated with the prevention of mental illness. However, learning about mental health and emotional well-being helps students understand and manage the risk and protective factors that are in their control so that they will be better able to build and maintain positive mental health.”[vi] As such, supporting student well-being and promoting regular self-care where physical activity takes lead can help students beyond the walls of the gym or classroom –It prepares them for life.

Looking for resources to help encourage reflection and start conversations? Ophea’s All About H&PE resource is a free online resource developed to support educators implement the Health and Physical Education curriculum (1-12), and provides the tools educators need to strengthen understanding and knowledge of the five Fundamental Principles.

Check out All About H&PE today!

[i] The Health Of Canada’S Young People: A Mental Health Focus. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada, 2017. Retrieved January 10 2017 from http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/dca-dea/publications/hbsc-mental-mentale/assets/pdf/hbsc-mental-mentale-eng.pdf

[ii] Schmitz, N., Kruse, J., and Kugler, J. (2004). The Association between Physical Exercises and Health-Related Quality of Life in Subjects with Mental Disorders: Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey. Preventive Medicine, vol. 39, pp. 1200–1207.

[iii] Goodwin, R.D. (2006). Association between Coping with Anger and Feelings of Depression among Youths. American Journal of Public Health, vol. 96 (4), pp. 664–669.

[iv] Canadian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines. Ottawa: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2017 from http://www.csep.ca/CMFiles/Guidelines/CSEP_Guidelines_Handbook.pdf

[v] Physical Activity and Mental Health. Toronto: Physical Activity Resource Centre, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017 from http://slideplayer.com/slide/6630417/

[vi] Ontario Ministry of Education. (2015). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1 – 8 (revised): Physical Health and Education Curriculum. Retrieved January 10, 2017 from www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health1to8.pdf

Have fun with Ophea’s 50 Fitness Activity Cards this summer!

June 23, 2016June 20, 2016Leave a comment

The following is a blog post I wrote for Ophea Canada on how educators and parents can get kids active using the Ophea’s 50 Fitness Activity Cards. These easy to use cards are available for order here, or can easily be made by writing your own favourite physical activities on index cards or theme card cut outs.

CC_50fitblog_15JN16 With warm weather here to stay, it’s the perfect opportunity to add some fun and play into your everyday activities. Here are three new ways you can use your favourite Ophea 50 Fitness Activity Cards.

Beanbag Balance

Adapted from Ophea’s workshop DPA: Getting Active in Any Space

Participants move around the classroom with a bean bag balanced on their shoulder. Leader periodically calls out a change in locomotor movement.
If the bean bag falls off, they must perform a 50 fitness activity on the spot until one of their classmates comes over to them.
Their classmate must bend down and pick up the bean bag and put it back on the shoulder of the participant who dropped it.
They must balance their own bean bag at the same time.
If one participant’s bean bag falls off while trying to replace the beanbag, they must both perform an on the spot 50 fitness activity until someone comes and replaces their beanbag.

Tail Chase

Adapted from Ophea’s PlaySport.net

Participants place a streamer/bandana/ribbon in the side of their shorts.
Pairs attempt to grab each other’s “tail” without having their tail grabbed by their partner.
If a tail is grabbed the participant who lost their tail selects one 50 fitness activity for both participants to perform. They both start off performing one repetition of the activity. Each time a tail is grabbed they add one repetition on (e.g., the first time they perform one chicken jack, the second time they perform two chicken jacks, the third time three and so on). The tail is then returned and the game continues.

Fire 5/10

Adapted from Ophea Ambassador Cindy Merritt.

In pairs participants face each other with 1 or 2 hands behind their back.
On the signal “1, 2, show” participants reveal their hands with any number of fingers showing.
Participants add up the fingers of both/all hands as soon as possible, with the goal to shout out the correct answer first.
Participants perform a 50 fitness activity based on whether they shouted out the correct response first. Shout out first: “Chicken jacks”, Shout out second: “Squat kicks”, Tie: Coffee grinders

View the original post here.