We Like to Move It! Move It! (Mrs. Grooms' Room)

Hey y’all!!  I hope everyone is having a great March!  I love this month’s post!! (We have had so many awesome posts lately!)  

I think every teacher in the world knows how important movement in the classroom is for students.  If we don't have recess for more than a day?  Bless.  

  We try to get movement in our day in all kinds of ways. 

In the mornings, when we do our calendar time, we practice our time on the clock.  I love to give my students a minute of exercise. (I tell them that I think it’s important to know what a minute feels like.)  During our minute, we also count by tens when we do jumping jacks, or we do toe touches when we count by twos.  We do a variety of things that I think we may need to work on.  It’s really a great way to practice counting and to GET it in!!! 

One of my favorite ways to include exercise is to play Hop on Odd and Hop on Even!  I use it with odd or even, of course.  I give my students a number and they either jump on one foot for odd numbers since one foot is odd and they jump on two feet for even numbers since two feet are even.  If they say “8” then my students jump all the way to 8 on both feet.  If they say “3” then my students jump to three on one foot.  It is a game they can play together or with a partner. 

Another game that we like to play is In the River, On the Bank.  It’s been around for a while and I wish I could say that I had created it but...I didn't.  Props to the creator...whoever you are!! You rock!

To play, you will need a tape line or a line in the classroom.  We use the plastic strip where the carpet and the tile meet.  One side of the strip or tape is the bank, and the other side is the river.  I like to post these signs to help my kids remember so they know which side is the bank and which side is the river.  

For example...if the river is for true answers and the bank is for false answers, students will answer the question by showing where they hop…on the bank (false) or in the river (true).  You can use it for odd or even, fact or opinion, tens and ones, yes or no, or any answer that has an opposing view.   I just write the answers in the space below the sign.  

I have a free copy for you in my store.  I hope you LOVE it like we do!!  You can also hit this website to read about this game and get specific directions for In the River! On the Bank!

If we have a spare minute in class, we use our fitness dice.  My “coach” for the week picks up our fitness dice and my kids start sweating to the dice! I have had mine forever…the lazy in me thinks they look like possible pillows.  You can find them on Amazon.  If you are interested, just click on the picture above.

We love to GoNoodle everyday as I am sure most teachers do. “Kitty High-Five” is burned in my mind.  (I will always Kitty High-Five!!)  But the videos on GoNoodle that I really love are the yoga and meditation videos.  I think these are very helpful in creating a calm and focused atmosphere in my class.  

An activity that a fellow teacher taught me is called “Zoom!”  Zoom is made to encourage teamwork, listening, and paying attention.  Kids of all ages love to Zoom!  Shoot!  Even I love to Zoom! 

Here’s how you play: Everyone has to sit in a tight circle (criss-cross, and knee to knee).  One person will begin by turning their head to the right, looking into the eyes of the person on their right, and saying Zoom! The person on the right will do the absolute same action.  Everyone will do the same until everyone in the circle has had a turn.  The goal is to Zoom! around the circle until everyone gets a turn and the Zoom! is completed perfectly.  To do that?  You have to pay attention and you have to focus as a team. The kids get so excited when they finally Zoom! perfectly!  And it looks really, really cool...like a chain reaction!  

Later you can create challenges where Zoom! changes directions in the circle.  

Speaking of Zoom....PBS Kids has a great sight for game ideas for kids!

These look like soo much fun!!

What kind of movement do you do in your classroom?  I know it seems daunting but just changing simple activities and adding fun movements can really help students get that extra energy out and learning in!  

Have a wonderful March!!