Get Up and Move!

I’ve never been an exercise junkie. I have friends that are avid runners, pro hikers, and even cyclers. Our family enjoys being active though, just as a family instead of separate pursuits.  While we love the outdoors when possible, many day to day factors may keep us indoors. So it has always been a mental struggle to figure out how to incorporate exercise DAILY in our school environment. In my mind, this should be separate from free play outside in the afternoons, or walks around the neighborhood. I guess making it an intentional “exercise” time really seems to help teach my kiddos how much our bodies need movement. Not to mention, increase in the heart rate and moving around also aids in math concentration for my daughter immediately afterward…

My kids are 9 and 2 years, so we must think outside the box when incorporating exercises they both are capable of doing. Some days we turn up the music and do jumping jacks, squats, toe touches, and arm circles. My older child gets this well. The 2-year-old, however, ends up running around the house in wild abandon! Instead of just listening, what seems to work the best are kids videos with both Scripture and beat. Occasionally, we find children’s videos that lead us through movements too. These can be found on YouTube or a program we use called Rightnow Media. The coolest part is that just like after a Sunday morning at church, the kids and I are walking away from our exercise time singing Scripture under our breaths. 

If you already have a game plan as far as fitting an exercise time into your daily school routine, please keep it up! If not, I encourage you to push both yourself and your children to raise the heart rate, and see how that boosts your times tables learning. Grab a beach ball for tossing to the music, play stop and go to the music, learn some new stretches together, or see who can do arm circles the longest! Even exercise can be fun, and the entire family can get healthy together. Let’s get up and move!

Hi! Laura here, enjoying writing, crafting, baking and outdoor time with my kiddos! Growing up in East TN, I am drawn to the mountains and anything with trees and woods. I am a novice gardener and enjoy experimenting with what will grow in our area. Speaking of, my little family of 4 currently lives right outside Atlanta, GA with our coonhound Dixie. My daughter Olivia (9 years old) and I have incorporated a side business into our school time, making kits for families to get back to hands-on craft time! I look forward to sharing some of our craft ideas and other creative thoughts with you!

Link to our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/133835950644792/

*This is a public group that should be available in the facebook search bar when typing: Kit Crafts*