By

JJ Gasner,   Oakland Elementary School

Play:

Walk this Way — Start a Walking Club

Topics:

Physical Activity Participation

We asked for a track to get our kids more active at recess and to use for Brain Breaks for the kids, and we got one!! It is a simple one, but the students love it! If students want to talk to friends all recess we encouragre them to walk and talk and they do! Every student is active at recess, and if teachers take them out for Brain Breaks, they want to run around the track! I have a few students who run 7 laps, if not more, each day (it is 5 laps to equal a mile on our track) They are easily up to 100 miles for the year and more and more kids join them every day. Our special needs students love it too! They have a path to follow and run around each day!

What improvements have you seen at your school?

Kids are choosing to run/walk the track by themselves and loving it. We have seen some students' weight go down as well. A lot of students who had some sitting still issues are able to sit down and focus better. Teachers are seeing how physical activity helps them in the classroom.