We distributed material that had practical suggestions for parents as to how to help promote an active lifestyle for "todays child". Parents played along side their children and participated in the activities that they had learned in Physical Education class.

In our 2 week Heart Unit, our students learned about what the heart is and does, how the heart works, why exercise is good for your heart, and how to make your heart beat faster.

We used poetry to explain how to make the heart beat and played games that integrated "heart facts". We substited our own movement words in the poem and checked to see if it made our heart pump.

One tag game was called the "King and Queen of Hearts". The Kings and Queens sat on "thrones" (chairs) and if someone was tagged, they would report to the king or queen by kneeling and listening to a heart message. Then they could return to the game. Older children who were tagged had to answer heart questions, before they could re-enter the game.

Our 4th graders pretended they were blood cells and travelled through the heart. During our Healthy Heart Night parents followed their child through the heart.

Email this best practice!