The Benefits of Exercise

Sometime in January, one of our 3^rd graders began greeting me each morning, asking if she could run some laps in the gym. She seemed anxious to channel her pent-up energy and prepare for her school day. Aaaah, winter.

I had my regular routine for Morning Work in place (often Language Arts activities) and felt I could delay the start of that work for a few minutes. “Go ahead!” I’d say. Quickly, this became a daily request and her classmates were also moving in to the gym as they arrived. I’d watch from the gym stage, getting my paperwork ready, and see the shining faces of my students as they chased each other or just ran laps. It became apparent to me that something really important was happening. My students needed something to kick off their day that I wasn’t providing.

Darcy DeMaria, our P.E. & Health teacher, has talked to me over the years about the research that has shown how exercise improves school performance. That made perfect sense to me. My colleagues and I celebrate our cherished two-a-day recesses in the lower school. I have always worked movement and brain breaks in to our school days, especially when I see fatigue or lack of focus set in. But starting our school day with full-fledged exercise was something the children had to lead me to embrace.

Recent studies have employed M.R.I.s to look closely at exercise's relationship to brain development and cognitive performance. A New York Times blog item featured the results of a study from the University of Illinois: 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/phys-ed-can-exercise-make-kids-smarter/ 

Since mid-winter, we have kicked off our school days in the gym. We're usually in there a bit after 8:30 and spend at least 20-30 minutes running around. The children move from free play into something organized like tag games or Pop Up Penguins when enough children have arrived to make those activities viable. Middle schoolers typically arrive in the gym before we leave and join us for a few minutes. 

Last week, the gym was occupied on several days by special activities for the middle schoolers and our visitors from Spain. So we went outside to enjoy the freshly fallen snow (Happy Spring!) and some sledding. Once spring has settled in, we should open our days outside whenever we can. 

I see a huge social benefit from these active gatherings. I also see elevated moods and energy that the children carry into their school day. And, my teacher self knows that we still have time for snack and some focused D.E.A.R. or writing. A win-win.

Winding down with our middle school friends