Walking, Walking, Walking

08/11/2008

Being mindful can increase mental and emotional well-being.
Psychologist Elyssa Barbash, Ph.D.

During "National Fitness Month" last May, the Milton Area School District in Pennsylvania participated by having its students take part in the annual "All Children Exercise Simultaneously" walking event, reports Jeff Shaffer in the Milton Standard Journal.

The walk was first started in 1989 by New Jersey physical education teacher Len Saunders and claims millions of participants nationwide and in other countries. Its premise is that children are motivated by the knowledge that others are exercising alongside them - something that could mitigate the near-epidemic nature of childhood obesity in this country, where a generation of students are already exhibiting risk factors for heart disease.

Some teachers in the district are finding enterprising ways to engage children in physical activity. Kara Steck, a teacher in Baugher, Pennsylvania, is having her students measure their steps to collectively "walk" the 2,175 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Resources for Promoting Play

We have bundled together a variety of practical resources on play and are selling them at a discounted package price. Our Play Tool Kit contains the following items:

Play: A Beginnings Workshop Book
The Power of Play: How spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children by David Elkind
Exchange Article Collection #8 – Play CD

Plus three Out of the Box Training Kits:

"Play and the Outdoors"
"But They're Only Playing"
"Supporting Constructive Play in the Wild"

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For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.