COVID-19. Social distancing. Outbreak. R-naught.
These buzzwords and phrases are new to all and scary to many in 2020.
“Flatten the curve” is another phrase that you might be familiar with. The intent is for individuals to use smart self-care practices and self-isolate by physically distancing themselves from others.
These practices are anticipated to reduce the number of people infected with Coronavirus, allowing the health care system to keep up with demand, even though the curve will be spread out for a longer period of time.
So now, we are all home from school, worried about our students. Are they healthy, happy and safe? Are they learning? The Internet is one way we can continue to communicate with our students and families while this horrible pandemic sweeps the globe. Let’s use it for good. Following are some great activities to share with your students, families, school, and community to keep them active during these turbulent times.
Physical Activity Experiences at Home
Perhaps the fastest growing hashtag for physical activity experiences at home is #hpeathome. It condenses a plethora of activities that physical education and health teachers are sharing with the intent of helping students to receive their health and physical education content at home. Many of the ideas are perfect for the students to complete indoors or in small spaces, ranging from active videos and worksheets to blogs and vlogs.
I suggest perusing the #hpeathome posts on Twitter, but if you become flustered, here are a few others on which you can focus and share with students/parents/families during the “social distancing” period.
- GoNoodle: Videos created by experts to get children moving.
- Home Activity Packet: Visually appealing posters for activities and circuits.
- SHAPE America: Resources for health and physical education posted by the Society of Health and Physical Educators.
- Gopher: Blogs and videos of physical activities to perform inside and outside.
- Scholastic: Kid-friendly yoga videos that help students calm down, boost energy, improve focus, and more.
If that’s not enough, explore the vast amount of teacher-created YouTube videos to get children moving. A few of my favorites by Brandon Herwick are Dice-Roll Warm-up, Follow the Scarf, and Creative Shuffle.
Whatever your situation, help #flattenthecurve by encouraging your students to be active during their time at home. Additionally, let us all try to “flatten our own curves” by participating in these physical activities ourselves!
Heather is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky. She is a former physical education teacher, and co-author of Dynamic Physical Education for Secondary School Children, 8ed. Heather was also the recipient of the NASPE Curriculum and Instruction Young Scholar Award and a AAHPERD Research Consortium Fellow.