Kids Learn, Move and Stay Fit: PE Is Not The Only Place To Move

I saw a news report tonight that showed a school who is taking a proactive approach to childhood obesity.  They are incorporating exercise in with their learning.  For instance, no more just sitting at your desk with hands crossed while quietly listening.  Instead, they may learn the names of the months of the year by putting them to rhythm and dance.  They line up in the hallway and do pushups to warm up.  Other methods they use include sitting on workout balls, or bounding off of a workout balance ball.  It got me thinking of other ways to teach facts while moving and staying fit.

• Count 1-10 with situps
• I love the exercise ball as kids seems to have trouble sitting still as it is.  Why not put their energy to good use.
• Use good old line dances to teach facts.  The Macarena is one that can be multi-purposely used.  Put the facts to rhythm as you dance.
• Raise your hands, or raise your foot to answer a question.
• ABC jump - Jump after singing each pair of 3 letters.  Like this:  ABC - Jump - DEF  - Jump - GHI - Jump and Spin - JKL - Jump - MNO - Jump PQR - Jump and Spin - STU - Jump - VW and - Jump XYZ - Jump and Spin!

Use your imagination.  The sky is the limit to how much learning can take place while getting little bodies into shape and preventing childhood obesity.

Free today on Amazon: An eBay Seller's Secrets: 20 Essential Household Items

I did it!  I publishsed my very first e-book on Amazon, available for download on Kindle readers (or, you can download the Kindle for your PC for free as well and read it on your computer).

The book includes 20 essential household items I have found useful for cleaning, repairing, removing stains, and repurposing items for resale on eBay.

Today only - The book is being offered as a free download.  Get your free copy here!

The process was not overly diffiult, but does require some amount of education in writing, formatting, and uploading for publication - Not to mention designing the cover (which I changed from the original, but the changes have not yet shown up publicly for some reason.  I'm hoping they show up soon.)  I must admit that I am looking at this book as my training wheels book to help me learn the ropes of publishing.  I thoroughly proofed it, and carefully uploaded it only to find some places I would like to tweak and edit.  However, overall I'm happy with the result of my first published e-book.  And, thanks for reading it.  I hope you enjoy the read.

Growing Interest in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Girls in STEM

Female workers make up half of the workforce. But, when STEM programs began, they made up less than 25% of careers workers in science, technology, engineering, or math fields. The US has lost ground with other progressively-moving countries in the fields of Science and math. While these subjects are taught in school, little progress seemed to have been made. That's where after school programs stepped in. These programs make learning subjects like science, technology, engineering, and math fun. Not only fun, but promising. With the downturned economy, careers in IT technology have remained a viable option. However, without the training, these jobs are difficult to land.
Started out of an effort to draw girls, in particular minority girls, into careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), after school programs were started. Today, interest in the programs soar. Read more at:

Out-of-School Time Drawing Girls Into STEM

Snow-Making Science Project

"Is it snowing yet?  Snow, will we get snow?  Snow, tomorrow?  Why didn't we get a white Christmas?"  These are all questions my 9 year old asked this year as we continue to experience an unseasonably warm winter so far.

If you were lucky enough to have a white Christmas, you may not need (or want) to produce your own snow.  For the rest of us (who rung in the new year at 60 degrees), you just might want to experiment by making your own pretend snow.

Try this experiment from the folks at Kinder Art.com.

All you need are a few items (mostly found in your kitchen or bath room).  You might not be able to build a snowman, fort, or have a snowball fight with your home-made snow.  However, it will be a fun learning experiment.