Archive for the ‘physical activity’ Category

5 Fun Physical Activities to do for National Get Outdoors Day!

Friday, June 12th, 2009


Tomorrow is National Get Outdoors Day (June 13, 2009). Here are 5 fun activities to do with children outdoors.

1. Go to the playground - go visit a local playground and explore all
the climbing equipment, swings and slides. Supervise and assist
your child as necessary. Sometimes all a child needs is some
verbal reminders of how to use the equipment such as “try moving
your foot to the next ladder”. If your child is fearful of
movement, let him explore at his own pace. If your child has
decreased safety awareness, review all playground rules before
play and supervise closely.

2. Hit the pool or lake - Swimming is a wonderful fitness activity
for all levels. It is a great way to strengthen muscles and improve
overall endurance. Practice balance and jumping skills in the
water, it makes it fun if you do fall!

3. Take a hike - Go on an adventure in the woods. Look for hiking trails appropriate for children – level and smooth. Many trails that are handicap accessible are perfect walking trails for younger children. Create a list of things to look for on your hike such as three birds, one squirrel, turtle, yellow leaf, etc. See how many you can find.

4. Play games in the yard - Here are several fun games for the backyard:

Scavenger Hunt – ask your child to find three things in the yard such as brown leaf, green leaf and white rock and bring in back within one minute.

Green Hunt – cut up green construction paper into one inch by 8 inch strips. Hide the green paper strips in the grass. The child must find all the strips that you have
hidden.

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles – practice blowing bubbles and chasing them. Blow bubbles, catch it on wand and child can clap or kick the bubble to pop it.

Sidewalk Chalk Games – Hopscotch is always a great physical activity to practice jumping, bilateral coordination and motor planning. Draw long, twisty lines with the
chalk and child can try to walk on line without stepping off.

Ball games – play catch with a different sized balls, beach balls or even better water balloons. Practice dribbling a ball with your feet – use a beach ball or balloon for easier control to start.

5. Go letterboxing - Visit www.letterboxing.org to read clues to hidden boxes near your home. Follow the directions to the hidden boxes (usually on hiking trails, in parks and on bike paths). Once you find the box, open it to find a stamp. Stamp the image in a small notebook and you sign into the log book. This is great fun for all ages!

REMEMBER – HAVE FUN AND BE SAFE!!!!!

Check out Sensory Motor Activities for the Summer.

Posted in children, gross motor skills, physical activity | No Comments »

Benefits of Short Bouts of Physical Activity

Friday, May 15th, 2009

A recent study in the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity offers some exciting research regarding physical activity in boys. The researchers studied physical activity levels in 47 boys(ages 8-10 years old)using accelerometry for seven days. After the seven days they measured waist circumference, aerobic fitness and microvascular function. The researchers discovered that the boys performed short physical bouts of activity rather than long, sustained periods. This was consistent with previous research which indicated that children normally perform short bouts of physical activity. The frequency of short bouts of physical activity was associated with waist circumference, aerobic fitness and microvascular health. There was no correlation with blood pressure. The researchers recommend further studies to determine if overtime the results remain and if the physical activity patterns are the same for girls.

Here are some suggestions to apply this research:
1. Encourage children to participate in any amount of physical activity (short or long).

2. Research has shown that children normally move in short bursts therefore keep that in mind during sporting practices if children are losing their focus.

3. Break up sedentary time with movement breaks whenever possible. Try our Mini Movement Breaks – this is a collection of physical activity breaks for children that can be performed with no equipment indoors or outdoors. Below is a video of how to create the mini movement break notebooks or shoe boxes. Download the breaks and create these notebooks to pass out to teachers and parents. Even better, have the children help to create the notebooks or shoe boxes to include fine motor skill development practice!

References:
Stone et al. The pattern of physical activity in relation to health outcomes in boys. International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, 2009; 1 DOI: 10.1080/17477160902846179

University of Exeter (2009, May 13). Sporadic Play Activity As Beneficial To Child Health As Continuous Bouts Of Exercise, Study Suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/05/090511101652.htm

Posted in obesity, pedaitric occupational therapy, pediatric physical therapy, physical activity | No Comments »

Inclusive Sports Participation

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly reports on research indicating that persons with intellectual disabilities frequently join inclusive sports but do not continue with the inclusive sports overtime. Parents reported rejection by staff and other participants. In addition, parents felt there was a lack of contact and understanding of people with intellectual disabilities.

Physical activity for persons with disabilities is extremely important. It is disappointing to hear that parents find inclusive sports not appropriate for children with intellectual disabilities. School based occupational and physical therapists can be instrumental in promoting physical activity for the disabled. Try to schedule a presentation on inclusive sports for your community or school. Here are some tips to help any children with disabilities participate in inclusive sports programs:

1. First and foremost make sure that the sports program is accessible for the child. If not, offer some modifications that can make the program accessible.

2. Educate the coaches and volunteers on the child’s disability. If a coach does not know what to do this can make participation very difficult.

3. If any modifications require adapted equipment, make sure all sports staff know how to use it.

4. Offer suggestions on how to present the directions or rules in different formats instead of just verbally. Maybe the coach could provide written rules or visual demonstrations.

5. Inform sports staff that the child may need accomodations such as more time to complete a skill.

6. If a child requests additional help, perhaps assign a partner (peer or adult) to help.

7. Do not assume a child can not do a task. If possible and safe, always let them try first before determining that something can not be accomplished. Most likely, sports staff will be amazed at what children can accomplish.

8. Remind staff of safety precautions that be necessary for specific disabilities such as a visual or hearing impairment.

Based on your own expereinces, what have you done to support inclusive sports? Please comment.

Reference: Eva Hiu-Lun Tsai, Lena Fung. Parents’ Experiences and Decisions on Inclusive Sport Participation of Their Children With Intellectual Disabilities
APAQ, 26(2), April 2009.

Posted in pediatric occupational therapy, pediatric physical therapy, physical activity, school based therapy | No Comments »

Are Schools Exacerbating ADHD?

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Previously, I have discussed how important physical activity is for school children (podcast, articles and blog posts). In my opinion, physical activities are being ignored as a potential reason for decreased test scores and behavioral problems in school districts. When children are made to sit all day long, they will act out, be inattentive and their minds wander. Sedentary lessons ignore kinesthetic learners and students with bodily kinesthetic intelligence (Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences). This is for typically developing students. Now let’s consider students with ADHD and sensory seekers. It makes it even harder to pay attention and learn while having to sit still most of the day.

It appears as if this situation is only getting more dire than better. The Center on Education Policy as part of No Child Left Behind, reported in February 2008 that schools are shifting to more instructional time on English language arts (ELA) and math. This of course occurs at the expense of other subjects. The report shows that on average, schools have decreased recess time by 28% and physical education time by 35%.

Let’s now take a look at ADHD rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rates of ADHD have increased on average 3% per year from 1997-2006. As of 2007, 4.5 million children have been diagnosed as having ADHD. This brings us to the question is decreased physical activity time exacerbating ADHD symptoms? Some recent research helps to support the idea that sitting in school all day is detrimental to overall learning.

Neuroscience reports on a study of 20 children who did treadmill walking followed by cognitive testing. The results indicated that following 20 minutes of treadmill training, the children exhibited improved attention and academic performance. Research has also indicated a relationship between amount of time spent outdoors and improved attention in children with ADHD. To view even more research regarding this topic go to www.YourTherapySource.com/articles and click on the Bulk Up the Brain article.

So what can we do? Let’s join the No Child Left Inside (NCLI) this April. Go to the website to find the details and suggested outdoor activites for students of all ages and subject matter. Spread the word and let’s get all children moving and outdoors!

Need activity ideas for in the classroom or group activities? Check out our Sensory Motor Activity books.

Reference:
C.H. Hillmana,M.B. Pontifexa, L.B. Rainea, D.M. Castellia, E.E. Hallb and A.F. Kramera The effect of acute treadmill walking on cognitive control and academic achievement in preadolescent children Neuroscience Volume 159, Issue 3, 31 March 2009, Pages 1044-1054

Center on Education Policy Instructional Time in Elementary Schools
A Closer Look at Changes for Specific Subjects retreived from the web on 4/1/09 at http://www.cep-dc.org/_data/n_0001/resources/live/InstructionalTimeFeb2008.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ADHD Data and Statistics retrieved from the web on 4/01/09 at http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html

Taylor, A. Kuo, Sullivan COPING WITH ADD The Surprising Connection to Green Play Settings. Retreived from the web on 4/1/09 at http://www.cbf.org/site/DocServer/Coping_with_ADD.pdf?docID=13323

Join Us for No Child Left Inside Days

Posted in ADHD, pediatric occupational therapy, pediatric physical therapy, physical activity, school based therapy | No Comments »

Preschoolers and Physical Activity Time Tip

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Pediatrics reports that children in preschools with high quality scores, less fixed playground equipment, more portable playground equipment, less media time and larger playgrounds experienced more moderate/ vigorous physical activity per hour and fewer sedentary minutes compared to other preschool children.

That seems like a simple way to increase physical activity time in any preschoolers we may be working with to develop gross motor skills. Perhaps suggest to the preschool director more portable playground equipment i.e. balls, jump ropes, etc rather than always relying on fixed playground equipment for gross motor time. This would help all children in the class. With our extensive problems with childhood obesity in this country, this simple addition to play time may encourage more moderate/vigorous activity in children which is a huge plus.

Does anyone else have any simple suggestions to increase physical activity time in preschoolers? We have several electronic books and articles at our website www.YourTherapySource.com to promote physical activity. We would love to hear from you and what you do in your therapy practice to encourage physical activity. Please comment.

Reference: Dowda, Marsha, Brown, William H., McIver, Kerry L., Pfeiffer, Karin A., O’Neill, Jennifer R., Addy, Cheryl L., Pate, Russell R.
Policies and Characteristics of the Preschool Environment and Physical Activity of Young Children Pediatrics 2009 123: e261-e266

Posted in pediatric occupational therapy, pediatric physical therapy, physical activity, preschoolers | No Comments »

Sample Activity from Play Strong

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Here is a sample activity idea from our electronic book Play Strong – Activities to Promote Muscle Strengthening in Children Through Play

Posted in Uncategorized, pediatric occupational therapy, pediatric physical therapy, physical activity, school based therapy | No Comments »

Recess Time and Behaviors

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

Pediatrics reports that 8-9 year old children who receive at least 15 minutes of daily recess had better teacher’s rating scores of classroom behavior. The New York Times wrote an article on this topic yesterday. Read more at the New York Times. There is a great discussion that follows. This is a informative article for any therapists working in the schools to help us promote increased physical activity time. Want to promote more physical activity in the classroom? Check out our article entitled Therapists as Advocates for Physical Activity in Children and print out our free hand out to increase activity time in the classroom.

Reference: Barros, Romina M., Silver, Ellen J., Stein, Ruth E. K. School Recess and Group Classroom Behavior Pediatrics 2009 123: 431-436

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