When students are dismissed from school and arrive to your program what is the first thing you notice? Give up? The amount of energy they have! The first category of resources I want to share is for physical activity. These students have been sitting at a desk for most of the day receiving a very little amount of time to get their energy out of their systems. At my program I always try to include activities where my students have to get up and move around. This helps them better focus later on when I need them to regroup and focus on something different. Here are my top 4 resources I use when planning the physical activities for my program.
- The Ultimate Camp Resource– I love how this website breaks down all their activities into categories. Weather you’re looking for “Large Group Games”, “Quick and Easy Games”, “High Activity Games” (and so much more) they are all broken down into easy to find categories. Each game also gives a description on how it is played, supplies needed to play and some even offer modifications. The company also offers a downloadable book for purchase so you and your staff will always have access to the games and activities.
- physedgames.com– This website breaks down activities into categories and age groups. It comes in handy when you have a wide age gap between your students and you are looking for activities that are age appropriate for each group. The best part about this website is that for each activity being shared there is a video explaining how the activity is played. It helps to visually see what your students are suppose to be doing and makes it easier for you and your teachers when explaining a new activity to a group of children.
- NFL Play 60– NFL Play 60 is a campaign designed to get children active for 60 minutes every day. On their website you can find lesson plans that can be used and modified to work for your program. The best part about these lesson plans is that it incorporates other school subjects so children usually learn something new without even realizing it. For example: there are lesson plans for games that keep children active while also doing a literacy lesson.
- GoNoodle.com- For this resource you will need a smart board or screen to project the videos for children to see. This website is full of videos that are designed for students to follow along. It is great for when you are stuck indoors but still want to give the children an outlet to relief some of the energy they have. They have Zumba videos, yoga and meditation videos and silly song and dance videos. My students absolutely love this website and get very excited when we start to set it up.
Amanda White is currently the Program Director for the North Branford Family Resource Center. She has been with the North Branford FRC for five years and is currently a Master Student at Sacred Heart University in the Communications.