Healthy = Happy

Michigan February Fitness

waiting for for spring fun

“Because it’s fun to run and jump and play catch and I can’t wait for the ice to melt so we can swim at the beach too!”  … When I overheard a 6 six year old student make this comment it got me wondering why many forget how fun it is to exercise?! When did exercise become a task on the to-do-list instead of a playful activity one looks forward to participating in? I got my answer when a 10 year old student said “I love to play sports, but hate to exercise.” Perspective.  When we PLAY it’s fun, when we only look at it as a task that needs to be completed the enjoyment fades.

summer time at the splash pad

fall fitness

All year round we enjoy fit-fun activities.  This month we have been learning about healthy bodies and the students agreed that when they feel healthy they are happy  We looked at concepts of food and fitness with the Mother Goose Time curriculum and found ways to encourage each other to try new foods and new activities. We talked about how we’re growing bigger every day and charted our heights and weights.  We talked about other ways we grow and how we learn to do new things.  From getting self dressed and using the potty to learning how to read and write and ride a bike …we had quite a list of accomplishments!

year round – indoor gym and super hero training

healthy food circle time – presented by a student

Adventure Academy provides childcare, tutoring and developmental services. Some of our students are participating in developmental assessments and small motor/ large motor skill evaluations this month.  If you’d like your child to be evaluated or are seeking referral services for developmental assistance feel free to email Christi@MiFamilies.com.  Mi Families has many resources for families and those who work with families – Adventure Academy is just one of our resource programs.

racing through reading activity

draw how you can be a good sport

This week at Adventure Academy we focused on large motor skills such as running, jumping, kicking, throwing/catching … and stretching. Yes these are forms of exercise, but we didn’t look at it like that and instead just played.  Through playing games we are having fun, while learning skills one’s development can be observed without them feeling assessed.  Parents and providers can request such playful assessments at any time and every 6 months our current families are reminded of such services and often take advantage of the opportunity understanding the importance of early intervention.

Leap frog activities – Saving frog piece for our LEAP DAY event 🙂

daily lessons are easy to follow with MGT

EVERY child, every person has something they can work on.  Often we note areas of struggle or times to challenge a child through simple observation.  Adventure Academy participants get a portfolio to take home daily with notes about the child’s day and samples of the child’s work.  This portfolio is a great way to show development and monitor behaviors that keep getting mentioned in daily notes.  The portfolio also proves that every child is gaining skills during their time in the program.

still story building activity from MGT

example day bag from MGT

Adventure Academy monitors the physical development of each student, their academic progress and also their social / emotional growth. Parents and Providers can request trainings on our monitoring methods, which is simply an observation through play technique.  When a child is enjoying activities in a natural manner you gain better insight into the child’s interests, talents and needs then in a sterile testing manner.  For more information on observation through play, trainings and programs offered take a look at the Mi Families website.

we love that we can keep the MGT activity cards for future use

so excited to play the stretching game

For opportunities to network with our team, other providers or parents find us on LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube… Also subscribe above to see what activities we’ll be keeping busy with as we continue to learn about being happy by growing up healthy! Feel free to steal our ideas and share your own! Feel free to adapt ideas for all ages in your program or at your home – even adapt them for yourself to become a happier / healthier you! Decided to make time to play today – don’t think of it as exercise – that’s the first step! The next step is to exercise your brain – how fast can you do simple learning games?