Falling in Love with the Outdoors…Again

written by Clive Hickson, Brent Bradford, and Ashleigh Evaniew, University of Alberta

Depending on your geographical location, the fall season can be the prelude to the arrival of more harsh weather to come or just a cooler spell following a long hot summer. This month, we want to share with you some fall activity ideas regardless of the weather or temperatures you might be facing.

For many of us, the comfortable temperatures of fall provide some wonderful opportunities for expanding our physical education and extra-curricular programs. It's a great time to encourage students and their families to be physically active and especially to get them outside and developing a love and appreciation of the outdoors.

Extra-curricular programs allow us much greater freedom when choosing activities and for making community connections. If we truly want to get students to be physically active for at least 60 minutes daily, the time immediately after the afternoon school bell rings is a critical time to provide opportunities to keep children moving. After-school clubs and extra-curricular activities are a wonderful way to do this because many students enjoy the less structured type of activities that physical educators can present at such times.

Although after-school or extra-curricular activities do require a time commitment (sometimes but not always paid!) from physical educators, the benefits can be immense for both students and teachers. For example, students get the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities that they might not be able to afford outside of the school environment. In addition to increasing their skill repertoire they have time to socialize with others beyond their typical classmates. Educators, also have the chance to observe and be with students outside of the regular learning environment and to create relationships with students that are different than those developed during the regular day-to-day school interactions. Often, many students and teachers report that it is the extra-curricular times spent together that are quite unique and develop long lasting relationships.

A suggestion we have is that instead of choosing an extra-curricular program that is heavily reliant on the traditional sports that are commonly offered to students, why not consider some less traditional physical activity offerings that utilize the outdoors? For example, a walking or biking club might capture the interest of students not interested in traditional team sport style activities. An in-line skating team can also be exciting! By expanding our extra-curricular offerings, we have a much better chance of getting students active who might otherwise not choose to engage in a physically active lifestyle.

Fall season is a wonderful time to teach students the benefits of physical activity and to show them how their communities can offer great "playgrounds." Something else to consider is giving physical education homework that requires students (and their families) to spend time outdoors and be active with friends or as a family. There are several benefits of such an activity: It can promote a sense of belonging, build relationships, and contribute to personal fitness. For example, you can encourage your students to…

• Enjoy a walk or bike ride in or around their community.
• Participate in a family game of softball, tag football, or bocce, or just to play catch with a sibling or friend.
• Play driveway basketball or hockey with a group of friends.
• Create a hopscotch or 4-square game area on their driveway.

For those of us living in more northern areas, the cold weather usually arrives earlier to our communities. The fall season may have arrived and left while those in southern areas may still be basking in warm sun. In colder climate zones, there might be a tendency to change our thinking toward indoor activities. However, there may well still be opportunities for outdoor activities before the extreme cold temperatures of December and January hit your community. For example, you can encourage your students to participate in activities such as…

• Ice skating.
• Cross-country or downhill skiing.
• Snow shoeing.
• Tobogganing.

Regular participation in these kinds of activities can help our students to embrace a lifetime of outdoor physical activity. Once snow and ice accumulations and temperatures are right, we can still think beyond our normal gymnasium-based activities and expose students to an outdoor world of activity that they might not be used to or with encouragement will want to access.

An important consideration that is easily overlooked, but one that we must not forget in our plans and ideas to promote outdoor activity, is the important issue of student safety. Safety is important in every season. With fall outdoor activities, remember to consider the following:

• Layer for the weather – As fall temperatures can range from cold to very warm, we need to encourage students to dress in layers.
• Sun safety – Regardless of the season, we always need to ensure that students wear sunscreen.
• Hydrate – By the time students feel thirsty, they are likely to already be dehydrated, so encourage students to have a water bottle and drink plenty of water.

If we truly want our students to lead physically active lives we can't let limited facilities or weather variations stop us. Wherever you live, there are enjoyable health promoting activities students and their families can do in the outdoors. There's nothing wrong with traditional afterschool extracurricular programs, but it's important for us to remember our responsibility to serve the needs of ALL of our students. Athletes and non-athletes alike can enjoy non-traditional types of physical activity. And providing students with a wide variety of physical activity options is the best way to capture their interest and motivation to become and stay physically active.

Give it a try. This fall choose something new to introduce to your students. Perhaps, select something you wish you had the opportunity to try as a child. Something that will spark the interest of your students, motivate their learning and encourage their continued participation.

Last but not least, this fall we encourage you to do like us. Take the time to rake up some large piles of leaves or a mound of new, soft snow, and then enjoy the thrill of jumping onto the piles! That way, this fall season we can all fall in love with the outdoors again!

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