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With schools in the United States cutting back on physical education in order to meet the goals of "No Child Left Behind", studies are starting to show that this is a move in the wrong direction. For example, a study involving 163 overweight children in Augusta, Georgia, reported in Education Week (February 13, 2008; www.edweek.org) supports the cognitive benefits of exercise:

"For that study, a cross-disciplinary research team randomly assigned children to one of three groups. One group received 20 minutes of physical activity every day after school. Another group got a 40-minute daily workout, and a third group got no special exercise sessions.

"After 14 weeks, the children who made the greatest improvement as measured by a standardized academic test and a test that measured their level of executive function �" thinking processes that involve planning, organizing, abstract thought, or self-control �" were those who spent 40 minutes a day playing tag and taking part in other active games designed by the researchers. The cognitive and academic gains for the 20-minute-a-day group were half as large."

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Exchange has over 60 Out of the Box Training Kits to help directors and trainers organize training sessions on a wide variety of curriculum topics including the following ones related to getting children outdoors and active...

• Using Your Senses to Adapt Environments
• Supporting Constructive Play in the Wild
• Designing and Creating Natural Play Environments
• Great Places To Be a Baby: Infants’ and Toddlers’ Learning Environments
• Using the Power of Nature to Help Children Heal

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