Instead of a New Year’s Resolution, how about asking your family what they’d like to do or learn this year? Resolutions are great, but a desire to learn something new or ‘do’ or ‘make’ something special are longer-term goals which can be focussed on and put to one side at times. A ‘project for new Year’
Continue reading »Category Archives: "Active Kids"
All articles that cover activities and keeping kids active. Indoor and outdoor play, including tackling obesity, sport and games, and the Sports Premium Funding.
The Importance of Den Building
Making dens is a serious business in my household: barely a day passes without sofa cushions and blankets being rearranged into a den! We live in a flat with no outside space to call our own. Despite park trips and sports clubs, there remains plenty of energy, so in the absence of a garden our inside
Continue reading »Combating childhood obesity
Do we have a role in combating childhood obesity? How do you tackle childhood obesity in your setting? Does it genuinely impact on daily life or does it feel tokenistic? Is there a holistic approach or is it yet another strategy to implement? According to the Government’s plan for action to combat childhood obesity, nearly
Continue reading »The benefits of play on mental health
We know play is important. It is a child’s work. But is there more to it? With current media awareness around mental health, we reflect on how play can make a difference for a child’s long-term mental wellbeing. Mentalhealth.org tells us that 1 in 10 children and young people are affected by mental health issues.
Continue reading »Warm up to the Winter Olympic Games
Inspired by the Winter Olympics, Kitcamp’s ‘Active Schools’ Toolkit #iamplayingwintersports brings the world of winter sports to your school. The Winter Olympics are officially in full flow in Beijing. Much as we long for spring here in the UK, we are still in the grip of winter! But snow and the Winter Olympics introduce new concepts
Continue reading »Now fall off…
Now fall off… As a kid, at the end of a riding lesson I was always encouraged to fall off my pony, learn to tumble, and getting up unhurt, dust off my knees and get back on again! What I was learning was that falling off wasn’t a big deal. For kids, learning to “fall off”
Continue reading »I rarely say “be careful” to my kids…
I rarely say “be careful” to my kids… only “concentrate” or “awareness…” (in a sterner voice). It’s the most effective way of getting them to slow down and think about what they are doing. I don’t want to make them fearful of what they are doing. Moreover I feel it puts the responsibility in their
Continue reading »When football is not just a game
Usually when we post a blog it is with reference to a western understanding of childhood and playfulness. Capturing hard evidence of free play’s benefits can be hard, though. Much of it is subtle and intangible, with it filtering through in the child’s character as they mature. Without doubt, the impact of creative free play on
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