Why Only Do "Healthy Hearts" in February?

Why limit your kids to only one month when it comes to a health heart? I don't know either. I'm sure that you agree that this is something that deserves our attention all year. It's nice to focus on it foe February. After all, Valentine's Day is too good of a tie-in to pass up at the elementary level. But resist the temptation to "go on to the next topic" once March rolls in.

Many of us use heart rate monitors. They are certainly a very useful tool. Don't be discouraged though, just because you don't have them. Teaching our kids to manually take their own pulse is simple and in many instances, just as effective. After all, we are not really looking for a 100% accurate reading (Although that would be nice. We certainly don't want to purchase anything that is fallible). At this level, we are concerned with teaching the concept of the relationship between effort and heart rate. We are beginnng to teach our students that there is a reason that they come to our classroom (besides to have fun). It is our job to show them that they can and will benifit from all of the things that they are exposed to.

Begin by putting it into a context that your classes can relate to; if they make their hearts work hard today, they will be rewarded with a stronger heart tomorrow. This concept can be related to all of your activities: if you make your muscles tired today, they will be stronger tomorrow when they wake up!

Talk about getting your kids excited about exercise. You have now bypassed all of those fears and concerns that some of your students may have. They no longer have to be worried about making mistakes in front of others. While they are still working on their skills, their other focus is to work hard enough to feel tired, because they know that they will be stronger tomorrow as a result.

Here are a few ideas to make this happen with your classes:

Sweat Trophies
The idea hers is to work hard enough that a bead of sweat forms on your face. These are very valuable so NEVER wipe them off. The toughest ones to get are the ones that drip right down your nose!

Target heart Rate
I use 140-180 with my 3-4th graders. We take our pulse both manually and with a monitor. No matter what activity we are in, I will stop the activity at any time and have everyone take their pulse. If it is within the "range," thay are told that they are playing the game at the right speed. They will be stronger as a result! I tell them that even if they missed every shot they took, they were playing the right way. Now, everyone realizes that the emphasis is on fitness and not on "winning."

Hugging Muscles
Muscle overload is not something to be taught only at the high school. You can do it easilly right now. You can do it in the context of stations right before a holiday when families traditionally get together. Make stations that all target the upper body. Tell your classes that they are getting ready for giving grandma and grandpa a big strong hug when you see them at Thanksgiving (or any other time that is appropriate). Put the upper body muscles in the context of their "hugging muscles." That is something that they can relate to right away. They all know that grandma and grandpa want to give them all big hugs when they see them. Why not get ready to give them a big strong hug in return?

What Muscles Did This Game Use?
All of us use tons of low organized games withour classes. Why play a game only to develop skills? Why not also play a game for fitness reasons too? After a game of "Snake in the Grass" with your 2nd graders, ask them what muscles they used if they were a snake (arms to slither along the floor with), or if they were trying to get away from a snake (legs to run anj jump away). If they made their arms (or legs) tired then they will be stronger tomorrow. Use this to make the emphasis on fitness.