Move Your Body
A template for success in the gym
By Charles Giuffrida
So what makes our camp so incredible when it comes to programming for physical activities or gym class? We operate with a philosophy that kids are happiest when they are consistently active and playing appropriate games in an appropriate way. Quality recreational programming doesn’t just happen. Youth activities are not inherently good or bad. Providing a basketball for a group of fourth graders and instructing them to play does not automatically lead to increased positive attributes for the participants. Instead, it is through quality recreational instruction and appropriate activities that kids benefit.
Photo: © Can Stock Photo / Zinkevych
Three words were emphasized in that opening paragraph—happiest, active, and appropriate—and together they form the core of our philosophy.
Happiest. We want kids to be happy at camp; this is a moral imperative. Additionally, happy campers mean returning campers. Happiness is merely a release of chemicals by the body in response to some sort of catalyst. At its most fundamental level, happiness is directly tied to the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. The two most common ways these happy chemicals are released are through exercise and accomplishment. This is important to remember because the gymnasium is one of the few places where exercise and accomplishment can happen simultaneously.
Active. Kids can’t find happiness at camp if they’re stationary, so we play games that keep kids moving, and we don’t play games that eliminate children (forcing them to sit on the side and watch). An elimination portion of a game could be modified by making children do an exercise or some sort of task to get back into the game. The elimination portion should be maintained only as a mechanism to transition from one activity to the other (for example, once a kid is eliminated, he or she can drink some water, and get ready for the next activity).
Appropriate. Know your audience. To be brief, our staff members are trained to understand that different age groups have different needs. For example, older kids can handle team-based games, but kids in kindergarten through second grade are often egomaniacs. Everything about that group is inward and self-focused, so we play games that emphasize the individual, such as “Tip it over, pick it Up” or modified tag games. Also, remember that the younger the child, the shorter the attention span. Keep game rounds to 90 seconds or less, and embrace playing upwards of a dozen different games each class.
These central themes have been woven into a class template developed over the course of 12,000 hours of facilitating physical activity in summer camp and out-of-school programs. This template maximizes fun and plays to the strengths of kids and humans in general. While we use the template for a gym class or day camp, the same methods can be used for overnight camps. The official formula is as follows:
Welcome And Get Loose
Set the tone by greeting each child upon entering. Make eye contact and be welcoming. Make the individual feel recognized and appreciated. After this, kids need an easy stretch or get-loose routine that’s easy to do and easy to teach. Focus on slow, gentle movement, brisk walking, jogging, or running in place, arm rolls, side-to-side movement, jumping, and then static stretches after the muscles are warm. For a 60-minute program, a 4- to 6-minute warm-up is appropriate.
*My favorite get-loose game is called “Running through the Forest.” It involves loosening the kids up through voice commands and imagination. Children follow the instructors’ commands, such as “There’s a wizard chasing us, run in place to get away from it! Wait! Jump over the river, now jump over that log, use your arms to climb the tree, really extend those arms up as you grab the branches, okay, keep running in place!”
Warm-Up Game
Keep warm-up games simple and relevant to the standard gross- and fine-motor skills of gym class (running, jumping, hopping), while incorporating specific skills that may be needed for games that day (perhaps facilitating a game with lots of throwing, which means the focus is on getting arms and shoulders loose). Play three or four warm-up games for 15 to 20 minutes to get everyone moving.
*Our best warm-up game is a Playworks one called “Drop that Cookie.” Begin by showing players the “cookies” (half-cones or small dodge balls), handing out cookies to about one third of the group, and telling those players who do not have cookies to chase the ones who do. When they tag them, they yell “Drop that cookie!” The player who is tagged must drop the cookie and run away (becoming a tagger). The tagger picks up the “cookie” and then is chased by the other players. Play three or four rounds (45 to 70 seconds per round).
Game Of The Week
This is where traditional gym games are incorporated; our game of the week block is a great time to introduce games that have multiple layers. Start with one part of the game on Monday and then add to the unit each day.
* “Blaster Ball” is a great example of a game of the week. Divide students into two teams. Standard kickball rules apply. One team plays the field while the other bats. There are four bases, and kids kick the ball and run the bases. Standard three outs do not apply. The entire lineup gets a chance to kick each inning. Campers kick the ball and run the bases one at a time. They continue running until they reach home and score a run. Players on the defending team must retrieve the ball and complete five passes before the runner touches home plate to prevent the run from scoring. If they make five successful passes before the player touches home, the run does not count. If they do not make five successful passes, then the run counts. Once the lineup has finished batting, the team at bat will play the field, and the team playing defense will go up to bat.
Cool Down
Cooling down is intended to assist the body in returning to its normal resting state. Activity should be continued, but at a lower intensity. Focus on activities that lower the heart rate and include gentle motions. Children should concentrate on breathing very slowly. By the end of the cool-down, all children should be breathing normally. Stretching is a valuable part of the cool-down also.
*The go-to cool-down game is “Night at the Museum.” This game begins with each player standing on a line as a statue facing the nighttime curator. The curator then turns away from the group and begins walking. As the curator walks away, the statues may move forward. At any time, the curator may turn back to face the “statues.” The statues must stop as quickly as possible; if the curator catches them moving, they must return to the starting line.
Good Bye!
Do not let campers merely leave the gym at the end of class; stand by the door and say goodbye to each child—make sure they had a great class or ask for their input for next time! Feel free to incorporate something fun like High-Five Fridays or singing to someone who has a birthday to end the class on a high note.
Charles Giuffrida is the Assistant Director of Revere (Mass.) Parks & Recreation, a Certified Park and Recreation Professional, and a graduate of Endicott’s Van Loan School in Athletic Administration. Reach him at cgiuffrida@revere.org.