Active for Life Role Model Spotlight
Saturday, May 14, 2016
As a teacher and a mother of two young children, I value the importance of regular physical activity and have witnessed first hand how physical literacy plays a crucial role in the development of a child’s skill set and self-confidence. With that said, I couldn’t be more thrilled to align myself with a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of physical literacy - Active for Life.
Active for Life is the place where parents go to learn about activities for kids. Physical education leads to physical literacy, which is critical for child development. Physical literacy also gives active kids the best chance to someday compete in high-performance sport. Kids activities are organized here by age and gender, so parents can find fun and engaging ways of making sure their children get the recommended daily amount of physical activity. Activities for toddlers are aimed at the development of fundamental movement skills, while activities for children build on the fundamentals to establish more complex sport skills that can be used to play any number of sports and activities. Exercises for kids enhance their physical development. In the early stages of child growth, early childhood development is dependent on appropriate exercises for children. Because kids play is good for kids health.
I am a firm believer that one of the best ways we can educate our children about physical literacy is to provide them with a model. With that said, I am by no means an athlete nor am I in the best physical shape but I do enjoy a variety of physical activities such as bike riding, going for a walk and even running. In fact, the kids and I recently participated in a 5k run hosted by their school in support of Free the Children, and in a few weeks, I will be participating in my third Warrior Dash. I've even attempted wall climbing as well as treetop trekking and the high ropes at Blue Mountain. Last fall, I signed up for boot camp with fellow colleagues and it has proven to be quite an experience. Since starting boot camp, I have managed to increase the number of regular push-ups I can do from two to 20! We sometimes share the gym with the after school daycare and I often catch some of my students peaking through the divider but I have to tell myself it's okay for them to see me all fatigued with disheveled hair. Because really, they need to see that physical activity is important at every age. Finally, one of my all-time favourite ways to get active is through yoga. While I don't practice as regularly as I used to, I find the sum of my experiences has made me more aware of my posture and breathing. And yeah, I have pretty much mastered the Sirsasana II, also known as the tripod headstand.
Head on over to activeforlife.com to learn more about physical literacy and to read their latest Active for Life Role Model Spotlight featuring yours truly. Namasté!
27 COMMENTS
Good for you! I do admire your yoga pose. :) I doubt I could do that one. I am a newbie to pilates, but so far I am loving it.
ReplyDeleteMy sister is extremely interested in yoga.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could do yoga! I have a sister who is a yoga nut!
ReplyDeleteRafflecopter Name is Anne Taylor
I don't think I could get into that pose. I do try to be active but it involves walking, some biking and swimming once the weather gets warmer. (Judy Cowan)
ReplyDeleteYou are an inspiration! And way to go on that yoga pose - holy moly that must take balance and core muscles.
ReplyDeleteI love yoga too and agree that we parents have got to be role model to our kids.
ReplyDeletewow! Recently I started practicing yoga,but I cant imagine staying in that pose which you have shared.Really inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI am working at yoga but I do not know if I could do that pose. I just use my invers ion table to get upside down. Meditation forget it My mind wanders to everything I should be doing. LOL
ReplyDeleteI've never tried yoga but niece loves and lives by it
ReplyDeletewow great! I'm more into physical activities and exercises now than I had before I have my baby. And I love it, maybe I should try Yoga sometimes :)
ReplyDelete♥ from www.expatpetite.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing this! I hadn't heard of Active for Life before. What a great program! I love that they have lesson plans for all the kids ages and that they are all broken up into different movements! I'm so looking forward to trying some of these with my daughters tomorrow morning!
ReplyDeleteyou look like a pro with that second yoga pose. I really enjoy yoga these days, it's so relaxing.
ReplyDeleteI've never learned yoga. I love your pose! I don't think I am flexable enough to do that one. Have a terrific afternoon!
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to do yoga, but I can't even get down onto the ground, my knees and back are in rough shape, I could probably get down there, but wouldn't be able to get up!!
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried yoga but I do try to stay flexible by doing stretches and I go on a long daily walk!
ReplyDeleteholy!! I cannot balance on my head like that. you go girl. I do live an active lifestyle (I have two children under 4) but although I have wanted to, I have never got into yoga. I have done it before but not anytime recently
ReplyDeleteThis was so inspirational to read! I would love to do yoga, good for you!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I want to be a role model for my boys too. I'm running my first marathon in October. I would love for my boys to run with me one day.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this.I love yoga and that pose is exceptional!
ReplyDeleteThat's impressive.I'm not as good as you but still like doing different
poses and enjoy running very much too.
Yoga has never been my thing.
ReplyDeleteinspiring to see moms getting their live in balance with all the hard work needed being a mom!
ReplyDeletepat
Yoga has healed me from many prolonging aches from stress. way to go !
ReplyDeletepat
Amazing pose! It's great that you can inspire your students!
ReplyDeleteWow you are good at yoga. amazing. I am trying to find a good beiginers yoga CD. Any good ideas?
ReplyDeleteWow you are good at yoga. amazing. I am trying to find a good beiginers yoga CD. Any good ideas?
ReplyDeleteI enjoy doing some yoga if I can find the time.It helps to relax me but still can't do that pose.LOL
ReplyDeleteInpsiring, I do yoga some times, it's a good way to stretch and calm mind and body.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to leave a comment here on Toronto Teacher Mom. Hope you have a great day!