Dear Parents,

For the next five weeks, we will have a special edition of our weekly newsletter. In class,
students have been learning about how to be healthy and active during each season
of the year. It is so important for children to participate in physical activity every day,
and I am recruiting your help to encourage that outside of class as well. In these next
newsletters, we will learn about why it is important to be active and ideas of different
ways to be active at home. Thanks for your help and support! --Ms. Shier

Why Be Active? How much activity?

-Age appropriate physical activity is
recommended for everyone- no
matter how old
-Among children ages 6-11, 15.8% are
overweight and 31.2% are at risk for
being overweight
-Physical activity helps to boost kids
self-esteem
Children should exercise for at least 60
minutes a day (moderate to high
aerobic intensity). During our average
school day, there is one 15 minute and
one 25 minute recess where students
have the opportunity to be active, but
that might not always happen. It is
important that they are also staying
active at home.

-Physical activity can help depression, motivation

anxiety, and mental well-being in
general
-Healthy habits children form will likely
carry with them into adulthood
Coming up in the classroom
Making physical activity fun and
enjoyable is important! If children feel
competent when participating in an
activity, they are more likely to enjoy it,
raising both their interest in physical
activity and self-esteem! Try to find
activities to do with your child that
encourage these things.

March 24: Field trip permission slips due
March 31: Field trip to the museum
April 3: Parent teacher conferences
Pate, Russell R., Michael G. Davis, Thomas N. Robinson, Elaine J. Stone, and Thomas L. McKenzie.
"Promoting physical activity in children and youth." Circulation, 11 Sept. 2006.
Bushman, Barbara A. "Kids and physical activity- who, what, why, and how." ACSM's Health & Fitness
Journal, vol. 18, Sept. 2014.
Tremblay, Mark S., J W. Inman, and J D. Willms. "Pediatric exercise science." Human Kinetics Journals,

April 6: Science fair vol. 12, no. 3, Aug. 2000.

Fox, K. R. (1999, May 7). The influence of physical activity on mental well-being. In Cambridge.
Dear Parents,
Last week we learned about why it is important for children to stay active at home and
that they should have at least 60 minutes of activity (moderate to high) a day. This
week, were learning different ways to do that in the fall. However, most of these
activities can be used in any season of the year! --Ms. Shier

Around the house and

community
Backyard activities
-Have your child help out with chores
by raking the leaves in the yard. Let
them have fun jumping into the leaf
Inspire some healthy competition and
pile, but then make sure they rake
have fun as a family with backyard (or
them back into a pile at the end.
local park) tournaments! Try:
-Go for a walk and look at different
-Kickball: Do you have a kickball or
trees and their many colors. Students
volleyball that would work for this? Pick
could collect different leaves and
areas or landmarks in your yard that
learn more about them. Another idea
would make good bases, or make
is to make a scavenger hunt where
some using tshirts, cones, leaves, or
kids have to find a certain amount of
anything that can mark the spot. Split
leaves of different colors.
up into two teams and have fun!

-Capture the flag: Make a boundary

that cuts the yard in half (maybe back
yard and front yard?). Have each
PHysical Activity Fun Fact
team hide a specific object on their Did you you know that eating breakfast
side. When the game begins, the enables you to burn more calories
teams will try to find and capture the throughout the day?
other teams object and run it back to
their own side. When you step on to
the other teams side, they are Coming up in the classroom
allowed to tag you, sending you to a
March 31: Field trip to the museum
jail where you must be rescued by a
April 3: Parent teacher conferences
teammate.
April 6: Science fair
Cho, S., Dietrich, M., Brown, C., Clark, C. A., & Block, G. (2013, June). April 10-14: Spring break
The effect of breakfast type on total daily energy intake and
body mass index. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 22(4).
Dear Parents,
The first newsletter in this special five part series discussed the importance of physical
activity and that children need at least 60 minutes of moderate to high physical activity
each day. We will be looking at activity ideas for you to do with your child to keep
them active at home. Last week, we saw ideas about what to do in the fall. This week,
we will explore the opportunities winter has to offer. While winter is normally a season
when students prefer to stay inside and out of the cold, there are so many ways we can
still stay active and have fun. --Ms. Shier

Indoor Activities
-Too cold outside? Physical activity
can happen indoors too!

-Look up exercise videos on Youtube

Backyard activities
-Do you have a hill close to your house?
Go sledding! No sleds? Things like lids
from plastic containers, cookie sheets,
and tarps can be used as quick
makeshift sleds. Going up and down
the hill is great exercise and its fun too!
-Play typical back yard games in the
snow! Running through deep snow
adds even more physical activity.
Games like capture the flag, tag, red
light green light, and so many more
can be played outside in the snow.
to encourage physical activity inside.
Try Just Dance videos or one of the
many others out there!
-Set up an obstacle course in a safe
space of the house using various
household objects.
-Hide clues around the house and
have kids go on a treasure hunt. To
add extra physical activity, you could
have them do a specific exercise in
order to get the next clue.
-Do you have hardwood floors? Put
socks on and skate around!

Coming up in the classroom Whats happening?

March 31: Field trip to the museum
April 3: Parent teacher conferences
April 6: Science fair
April 10-14: Spring break
In science class, we have been talking
about the solar system and the stars. We
will have a star lab set up in the gym this
Wednesday, and students were able to
go in and take a look into outer space!
Dear Parents,
The first newsletter in this special five part series discussed the importance of physical
activity and that children need at least 60 minutes of moderate to high physical activity
each day. We will be looking at activity ideas for you to do with your child to keep
them active at home. Last week, we saw ideas about what to do in the fall and then in
the winter. This week, we will explore many options for activity in the spring. Winter is
ending, and the weather is warming up, which means it is the perfect time to get back
outdoors and get some fresh air! --Ms. Shier

Around the community
- Take a walk or bike ride to your local
library! It will encourage both physical
activity and reading.
- Do you have a dog? Take it for a long
walk around the area. You could also
ask neighbors if they would let you walk
their dogs!
- Make a scavenger hunt where you
must find different kinds of bugs,
animals, flowers, plants, and more! You
outdoor activities
- Have you ever thought about
having a garden or a flower patch? A
great way to get kids moving is to pick
a spot in your yard (or use pots or
planters if you dont have a yard) and
help your children plant a little
garden. You could even plant some
vegetables to encourage healthy
eating!
- Use sidewalk chalk to draw on the
cement and play the classic game of
hopscotch! You can stay busy and
active by seeing who can draw the
longest one and then finish hopping it
the fastest.

could also research different facts
about all of these things and have a
great learning experience!
Coming up in the classroom
April 3: Parent teacher conferences
April 6: Science fair
April 10-14: Spring break
April 17: Easter egg hunt
Whats happening?
Last week we had a wonderful field trip
to the Field Museum. Students were
assigned different groups with a
chaperone, and each was given a
paper listing many things they could
learn about in the museum. They went
around taking notes, and at the end, we
all met to hear what everyone learned. It
was an educational and fun day!
 Dear Parents,
The first newsletter in this special five part series discussed the importance of physical
activity and that children need at least 60 minutes of moderate to high physical activity
each day. Weve looked at different ways to be active in fall, winter, and spring, and
now we are ending with summer, but keep in mind that most of these things can
actually be done in any season. I hope these have given you some ideas on how to
keep your family active. Thanks for all that you do! --Ms. Shier

Sun Safety
- Spending too much time in the suns
UV rays while unprotected can cause
skin damage, eye damage, and also
skin cancer.

Outdoor Activities - Put on a sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher

any time you are in the sun.
- Do you have a hose at your house or
- Wear a hat, sunglasses, and cover up
access to one somewhere? Water
whenever possible.
activities are a great way to get kids
moving in the summer while staying - Even when it is cool and/or cloudy,
cool. Try having races while running you still need protection. Clouds do not
through sprinklers or just turning on a get rid of UV rays and their dangers.
sprinkler and letting children run around.
- Try to do outdoor activities earlier in
A 2-liter pop bottle with holes poked into
the morning or later in the evening
it can make a great last-minute sprinkler!
when the suns rays are not as direct.
- Fill a large bucket with water and

sponges. Kids could play a game of
catch or just have fun splashing water.
Coming up in the classroom
April 17: Easter egg hunt
April 21: Half day of school
May 9: Spring musical at 7:00pm in the
school gymnasium (see attached flyer for
more information)
Whats happening?
This week we are starting a new unit in
Language Arts using Readers Theater.
Students will be split into different groups,
and each group will read a different
chapter book. When they are finished,
they will make a play summarizing the
book and will take turns performing it for
the class. It is a fun way to work on
reading comprehension!