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EXERCISE FOR KIDZ THEME

CRAFTS:

Charting Exercise
Draw a large graph on posterboard, of your children's favorite exercises. Get them to help you graph out which day you'd like to do each exercise, and keep track of the ones most enjoyed, and how many times each week you do them.

GAMES & ACTIVITIES:

Aerobics
Play music and have the children do aerobics or dance with you. 

An Odd Walk
Set up a trail through the woods by hanging messages asking Children to do certain activities at each one of your 10 to 12 stations.  Some of the messages might be: say the Child Law, Promise, Motto; stand on one foot and rub your tummy while patting your head; sing a song; join hands and dance around a tree; pick up a piece of litter; and so on.  The range is limitless.  Keep it active and varied, and remember to remove your messages when you are finished.  At the end of the trail, have a picnic with good things to eat and drink!

A Child's Fitness Routine
Stand your Kids in a circle around a leader. Spread the circle wider by having them lift their arms from their shoulders and stand fingertip to fingertip. In the circle (with arms now lowered), use each letter of the word "Kids" to start the exercise. Try the routine below, then see if the children can dream up their own exercises for each letter. B - BEND at the waist and touch your toes. (5x)E - ELEVATE your arms and stretch them to the front. (5x)A - Loosen your ANKLES by shaking your feet. (3x each)V - VIGOROUSLY run on the spot. (30 seconds)E - EXERCISE your neck by rolling your head. (5x)R - RISE up on your toes and REACH for the sky. (5x)S - SIT on the floor and have a rest After all this exercise, it's the perfect time to tell a story or sing a song.

Break the Hands
Equipment: One toy stuffed animal
How to play: All Children except one (who is IT) should stand in a circle holding hands . IT goes around the outside of the circle and gently breaks apart the hands of two players. The two Children whose hands were broken apart must run around the circle in opposite directions. IT stands in their spot with his legs open. The first child to make it around the circle, crawls through IT's legs and grabs the stuffed animal in the middle of the circle. That child becomes IT for the next round.

Ball in Tube Game
Attach a large bead to the end of a string. Tie the other end of string to the top of cardboard tube. Flip bead on the string and try to catch the bead in the tube. 

Body Builders
Use this game to discuss healthy food choices. Make sure you emphasize that cakes, cookies, and pop are fine occasionally, and as long as people are eating their proper daily intake of healthy food.
Equipment: boxes; food containers, or pictures of food
How to Play: Divide your group into teams. At the end of the room place a large box full of empty food containers or pictures of food cut from magazines. (Let your Children help you prepare for this game by cutting out the pictures.) Include a mixture of both nutritious and junk foods. For example, include empty milk cartons, egg cartons, chocolate bar wrappers, a picture of a fast food hamburger, a cake box, and more. The first child in each team runs to the box, and chooses a food. If the food is nutritious, then he'll have energy to run full steam back to his team. If the Child chooses a junk food item, then he has to crawl slowly back to his team. (Make sure all teams have to choose one or two junk food items.) When players return to their team, they tag the next member who races for the food bin.

Co-ordination Game
Read slowly the first time, then faster and faster.
Hands on your hips, hands on your knees,
Put them behind you, if you please.
Touch your shoulders, touch your nose,
Touch your ears, touch your toes,
Raise your hands high in the air
At you sides, on your hair.
Raise your hands as before
While you clap: one, two, three, four.
My hands on my head I place,
On my shoulders, on my face.
Then I raise them way up high
And make my fingers quickly fly.
Then I put them in front of me
And gently clap: one, two, three.

Circle Tug of War
Equipment:  A rope tied in a circle (wide enough in diameter for the entire group to fit around it)What to Do:  Divide the group into teams and have them stand around the circular rope.  Place an object five feet behind each team.  On a signal,  team members try to pull the rope in the direction of their object so one of their members can reach it, and pick it up.  Continue to play until each team has picked up its object.

Cross the Rice Field
Equipment:  ropes or masking tape
How to Play:  Line the Children up in teams of two, forming two or more columns in relay formation. On the word "rice", the first team in each column forms a wheelbarrow and races across the rice fields to the river (two parallel ropes or masking tape) marked out on the floor. At the edge of the river, player "A" climbs onto the back of player "B" and is carried across the river. On the bank, they change places for the return journey across the water and then wheelbarrow home again to start the next pair in the relay. Play continues until everyone has crossed the rice fields. This game really gets the adrenaline pumping!

Father Abraham
March around together as you sing. Each time you sing a verse, add different parts of the body at the end.
Father Abraham, had seven sons, sir (Salute)
Seven sons sir, had Father Abraham
And they never laughed (Mimic laughing)
And they never cried (Wipe eyes)
All they did was go like this:
With a left (Circle left arm and start song again)...With a left and a right (Circle both arms, sing again adding indicated actions for each new verse)...With a left and a right and a foot...With a left and a right and two feet...With a left and a right and two feet    and a head...With a left and a right and two feet   and a head and a hip...With a left and a right and two feet   and a head and two hips...With a left and a right and two feet   and a head, and two hips and a MARCH!

Funny Runs
These ideas can be used to get the whole group moving around the hall, or to set up a relay between teams. Either way, they're great energy burners.
Equipment: none 

GAWKY RUN
How to play: Players bend down and grab the left heel with the left hand and the right heel with the right hand. The challenge is to move along from one end of the room to the other as fast as possible. No wonder the game is called "Gawky Run.

"BUNNY HOP
Children hop from one side of the room to the other by placing their arms between their knees and touching their hand to the floor each time they hop. You could try making this into a non-competitive relay race.

RIGID LEGS
Run a race along the length of the room, but here's the challenge: players must keep their legs absolutely straight while running or walking. "Look at me! I'm a robot."

Go Tag
Equipment:  None
How to Play:  Arrange the group in a line facing one way and then tell every other player to turn around and face in the opposite direction.  On a signal, the two children at  each end of the line start chasing each other around the line.  At any time, either one of them can tag someone who is standing in the line and take that player's place.  The tagged person must start running in the direction he/she is facing.  If one of the runners is caught, both take a place in the line and the two children at the ends start the chase again.

Jump Up and Down
(child's name), (child's name),
Jump up and down, Jump up and down, Jump up and down,
(child's name), (child's name),
Jump up and down, now sit back down
Variations:
replace "act like a clown" or "spin all around" for "jump up and down"
replace "child's name" with "everybody" or the name of your class, eg "Tot 2"

Obstacle Course
Create an obstacle coarse for the children to go through. 

Ring Around the Rosie
Ring around the Rosie
Pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashed
We all fall down 

Stretch It!
While sitting in a circle ask the children to do the following motions. Reach up with your arms as far as you can. Stretch! Sway from one side to the other. Stretch one arm up high. Now stretch the other up high. Alternate stretching first the other arm (to the count of 8 (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8). Stretch your arms out to the side. Stretch your arms out in front of you. Stretch your arms behind you. Ask the children to move other parts of their bodies, such as make your hands, move your elbows; try your shoulders; move your head from side to side. 

The Painters Dance
This activity allows children to imagine they are artists who can draw with every part of their body. It's a great way to encourage them to move their whole body and activate their imaginations. Tell your children they are going to pretend to paint a huge picture on the side of the wall. It's going to be a beautiful picture but they only have a short time to paint it. Therefore they are going to paint with both hands as well as other body parts. First of all activate the children imaginations by asking them what type of picture they would like to draw (animals flowers Etc.). Next have them begin to paint this picture in the air with one hand after 10 to 20 seconds switch to other ways of painting:
forehead
nose
jaw
one ear then the other
one shoulder than the other
one elbow then the other
stomach
hips
one knee then the other
both knees
one foot then the other
both feet (on their backs)
Then say: "Oh no time is running out so let's paint faster how about painting with"
both hands and nose
both elbows and jaw
both elbows and knees
both shoulders and hips
nose and knees
jaw and hips
one ear and one foot
one ear and the other foot
both hands and one foot
both hands and the other foot
Finally have your children lay down on their backs and paint with both feet, both hands and their nose. After 5 minutes their bodies should be all warmed up and a masterpiece will be created in their minds.

SONGS:

Stretching
(Tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")
Everybody reach up high, Stretching, stretching to the sky
Swaying left and swaying right,
Swaying to the sky at night.
Everybody reach up high,
Stretching, stretching to the sky.

STORIES:

Have any good stories? Let us know!
 

FOOD SUGGESTIONS:

Have any good food ideas? Let us know!
 

TIPS/NOTES: