There are many ways to incorporate movement into the school culture with little change to structural spaces or school routines. When schools combine movement with academic studies, there are higher rates of retention, increased attention, increased participation, and more joy in learning! Here are a few ideas from an occupational therapist:
- Movement Paths: decals on the floors and walls of a school hallway.
- Activity Stations: posters along a hallway illustrating an exercise.
- Exercise schedules: developmentally effective exercises that a class can do together at selected intervals of time throughout the day.
- Yoga wall: a wall of illustrated yoga poses that are easily visible in an inviting space.
- Tapes course: an obstacle course made out of tape.
- Portable obstacle course: can be made using an agility ladder, floor spots, cones, and hoops placed across the floor.
- Chair workouts: exercises that can be done at the desk.
- Animal walks: full body activities across large indoor spaces
- Relays: can be incorporated into a class lesson. Examples of relays in a class are backward walking, single leg jumps, hopping, and even scooter board races to complete an assigned task.
- Scavenger hunts: are great ways to add movement to a lesson by looking for a category of items.
- Positioning: writing spaces on the walls or floor can increase muscle activation demands.
Here is an example of a school movement path. Purchase on Amazon here.
To create a customized movement program for your school using developmentally appropriate activities, considerations for child-specific needs, and tools tailored to your school environment based on an Occupational Therapy assessment- visit www.AnnaGoldenberg.com