We live in a "cupcake culture" that celebrates everything with food - often food that’s not good for us. That’s one of the reasons that the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for children ages 2 to 5 and 12 to 19 in the past 30 years, and more than tripled for kids ages 6 to 11 during that same time span.
Jenine De Marzo is out to change that culture. She provides all the tools you need to do so in Healthy Breaks: Wellness Activities for the Classroom. This book is filled with teacher-tested 5-to 10-minute activities that take little preparation time and can be done in the classroom, not just in the gym or outdoors.
Healthy Breaks promotes healthy lifestyles, beginning with daily wellness activities in the classroom. The activities supplement the physical education and health education programs by promoting natural activity throughout the day. De Marzo also provides suggestions for using these activities in place of the food-centered celebrations that occur throughout the school year.
Healthy Breaks presents the following features:
Tools for kindergarten through sixth-grade classroom and health teachers to promote wellness and provide health-related activities in the classroom
Activities for before- and after-school program leaders to increase physical activity and wellness
Clear and concise instructions that make it easy for any teacher to engage students in physical activity and academic learning
Tools for meeting objectives of national wellness policies set by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
Schools are uniquely positioned to influence students’ health and wellness. With this resource, classroom teachers can easily integrate activities in their daily schedule. Not only are the activities fun, but they also address the problem of childhood obesity that is rampant in North America. They also aid in meeting objectives of wellness policies set by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
Healthy Breaks can be used as a supplemental guide for classroom teachers who want to integrate health, wellness, and movement within their classrooms, as well as an additional guide for physical educators who have limited gym space and resources. And, perhaps best of all, the resource can be used in transforming our “cupcake culture” into a health and wellness culture.
Chapter 1. Quieting and Meditative Activities
Chapter 2. Esteem Builders
Chapter 3.Social Wellness Activities
Chapter 4. Cooperative Games
Chapter 5. Inclusion Games
Chapter 6. Energizing Activities
Jenine M. De Marzo, EdD,is an assistant professor in health studies, physical education, and human performance sciences at AdelphiUniversity in Garden City, New York. She has taught and coached children from preschool through college age. She has taught health and physical education from K to 12 and has taught preservice undergraduate and graduate health and physical educators. In addition, she has presented the “healthy break” concept to numerous community school districts.
De Marzo is a health and physical educator for the New York City Board of Education and is president of the Higher Education Section for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, New York. In her leisure time, she enjoys running, playing and coaching soccer, and playing outside with her three children and her husband.