Review
Little Breaks Big Impact F.I.T. Breaks helps teachers sneak a little more physical activity into the day The Beachboys song Surfin USA rings through a grade 2 class room and, despite the rain outside, inside it s all sunny California as the kids twist, hop, crawl, jump, hang 10 and paddle their way through a 3-minute surfing adventure. Dr. Larry Katz watches the fun with a smile and says, You have to lose the notion that the only physical activity worth promoting in schools is a one hour gym class. There are many ways to sneak a little more daily movement into every day. Canada s latest report card on kids and activity is out and, as usual, we aren t doing well. Ninety percent of Canadian kids don t get anywhere near the amount of exercise required for healthy development. Not surprisingly, statistics also indicate that 30% of Canadian kids are also overweight or obese. This is where F.I.T. Breaks (fun innovative time) comes in. F.I.T. Breaks is a new book, DVD, and CD audio package developed by Katz, an educational psychologist, and Kinesiology researcher and children s fitness expert, Dr. Tish Doyle-Baker. The idea is fairly straightforward: children listen to a piece of music then a couple of leaders create an imaginative adventure and lead the kids through it. We don t believe that jumping around for a couple of minutes every morning and afternoon is going to have a big impact on a child s fitness, says Katz, however, studies show that little bursts of activity can make a big difference in improving kids concentration and keeping them focused when they return to regular schoolwork. The other important benefit is that it provides an avenue for creativity and imaginative play and encourages the students to work together as a fun team, and develops leadership skills. Doyle-Baker points out that this kind of incremental approach to fitness can have a big payoff. A recent study done by the University of British Columbia called Bounce at the Bell had children jump up and down every time the bell rang at school. This simple jumping activity was shown to increase bone density by the end of term. Again, I don t want to say we ve solved the lack of physical activity and obesity crisis, says Katz with a laugh, but, at the end of the day it s an inexpensive, fun way to sneak a little more movement and energy expenditure into the day. It fires up the kids imaginations, develops leadership skills and improves the class-room dynamic all of which supports learning. The teachers and kids we ve worked with so far, love it and I think everyone who uses it will have the same experience. --Press release, University of Calgary, 2009
J. Finlayson, Resource Teacher, Elementary School, Alberta I am writing to you in support of the Community Initiatives Program application from Dr. Larry Katz entitled F.I.T. Breaks. It is well known that many of our children lead very sedentary lives. Not only are they inactive at home but even at recesstime, children often walk around the school grounds with no idea how to fill their time. Children who are not physically active often are restless and fidgitty when working in the classroom. Many schools have limited gym space and often classroom teachers find time for gym is short. Rather than miss it altogether F.I.T Breaks is a quick and easy way to add fun physical activity in to any school day. Five classes of students, from kindergarten to grade six, took part in the F.I.T. Breaks testing trial at our school. The teachers and the children enjoyed the music and the exercise. The children wanted to continue with it even after the trial was completed. It was easy to take part in and required very little planning. We all highly recommend it. Please consider supporting its implementation in more schools throughout the city. Yours truly, J. Finlayson --Letter to Savvy Knowledge
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