It's amazing how children, even as young as 1 years old, have the ability to move their bodies to the sound of a beat. They make it look so easy and fun. Flexibility is also no problem for them as they seem to just move in any way they please. Even without actually learning to do it, it's just a rhythm they have built-in and aren't shy to use it.

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Children should enjoy moving and activity as play, not exercise, so they will make physical activity a habit.

Classroom teachers can integrate movement into their teaching of academic disciplines and can contribute to students' knowledge base regarding the importance of an active lifestyle to the maintenance of health.

Inactivity is associated with numerous chronic conditions, including cardiovascular diseases (high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes), some types of cancer, weak immune system, osteoporosis, and obesity, as well as depression and other emotional and mental problems. Physical activity during childhood can prevent the onset of, or alleviate, the conditions that may become a serious health threat in adulthood. Positive behaviors are promoted when individuals perceive that benefits are greater than the effort expended.

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Classroom teachers can help to reduce sedentary behavior by teaching students how an active lifestyle can help reduce their (and parent's) risk for disease. They can also incorporate developmentally appropriate movement within subject-matter learning. Learning activites can be created so that parents will be active with their children.

Activity: Movement Sentences and Spatial awareness

Incorporating Language Arts
Establish a clear start and stop signal. Discuss with the class the meaning of the period, comma, and exclamation point before doing this activity.

Session 1: Shrinking Space (will work well with music)

1. Clearly establish the boundaries. In this activity, children may not go out of bounds.
2. Explain that the general space where the children are traveling will shrink. Children must continue to move safely in this shrinking space.
3. Stand at one end of the general space area. Explain that you (the teacher) are a wall extending from one sideline to the next. As you move forward, the general space shrinks. The children must stay in front of you and in bounds.
4. When the space gets too small, have children freeze and check to see that everyone is in his or her own self-space.

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Session 2: Movement Sentences

Grades K-1

Have the children act out punctuation marks in general space. For instance, while children move through general space, call out "comma". The children are to pause until the count of five, then continue their movement through general space. If you call out "period", the children freeze where they are and wait for the teacher's signal to continue. If you call out "exclamation point", the children freeze with strong force and await your signal to continue. Children ma use a variety of locomotor skills during this activity.

Grades 1-4

• If children are reading, have them construct movement sentences. All sentences must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The teaher or the children may list several locomotor skills on an index card or a piece of paper. Each locomotor movement is separated by a comma, and each sentence must end with a period or an exclamation point. For example, a movement sentence may read: "I will walk, gallop, slide, hop, and run!" The child who reads this card then performs these motions safely in general space.

• Create a number of movement sentences of index cards and spread those cards around the movement area. Children select a card and perform the movement. When they are finished, they replace the card and select another.

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