It’s hard to believe it’s almost back-to-school here in Oakville. It’s so easy to get trapped in the rush around mentality of daily life.
What if we told you there is 1 thing you can do to help your child focus in school and help with their learning?
Have your child exercise before school.
This doesn’t have to be punishment. You can participate also. You may find that you’re more productive and efficient in your day also!
Studies have shown that concentration and learning increase after exercise. A wonderful book that outlines this is SPARK, by Dr. John Ratey. In this book he introduces some examples of this. You can catch a snippet on this youtube review of the book. There is also a great Ted Talk to access where Dr. John Ratey speaks!
Unfortunately schools limit physical activity and even with recess, not all children participate, especially as they get older. Getting the heart rate up is the important part.
A barrier to the above suggestions would be that your child needs to sleep in, or like to sleep in. I would suggest an earlier bedtime and an earlier technology cut off time.
Ideas to Get Moving Before School:
- Walk – Walk briskly to school. Time your walk and see if the time can be beaten. There so much technology today to track numbers. You can create a graph with your kids etc. You can keep this going in chillier weather with appropriate clothing!
- Bike – As weather permits bike to school and lock them up.
- Play in the park – if you have to drop your kids off for school so you can leave for work in a car, get to school early and play in the park!
- Play a sport / Game– bring a soccer ball or play another sport and simply play before school.
Unfortunately, even with this information, exercise like this doesn’t occur consistently in schools generally. Help set your child up for success in school by helping facilitate exercise before school.
Take the challenge! Let us know how you’re doing with this.