How to Get Your Kids Off The Couch

It may seem impossible to keep your kids active in a not-so-active world. However, there are some things you can do to change that.

What many of today’s parents seem to forget is that they have to lead by example when it comes to getting their kids active. Kids look up to their parents as role models and base a lot of their behavior after what they see and hear. Participating in playtime with your kids make getting active a lot more fun.

Simply going outside and teaching your kid how to ride a bike can be extremely beneficial. You get some quality bonding time in with your child, and you teach your child the importance of physical activity. Kids need at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. This is a crucial first step in ensuring your child can maintain his or her health further into the future.

Next time you’re sitting at home and see your kid has been sitting inside for hours playing on the X-Box or sitting on their phone, ask them to come outside and throw a baseball around. Your child is guaranteed to benefit from the activity and you may just establish a closer relationship with your son or daughter.

1. Plan a family outing that revolves around physical activity such as going to the park, hiking, swimming, playing soccer, or a variety of outdoor activities. 
2. Create a space in your house specifically for getting active. Have supplies in this area such as hula hoops, a basketball hoop, tennis rackets, balls and more. 
3. Set limits to how much time your kids can spend on devices or in front of the TV. 
4. Teach your kids one of your favorite childhood games such as Kick the Can, Freeze Tag, or Hide and Go Seek. 
5. Have a dance party! Who doesn't feel like moving when fun music is playing? 
6. Have a family contest to see who can get the most steps in one day. You can do this by wearing a FitBit or with a step counter on your phone. 

Make memories with your kids this summer and drop that remote and get active! Follow School-a-Thon on Facebook page for more summer fun ideas.

Family Fun for Labor Day

Labor day is a holiday held on the first Monday of September and celebrates the working class. Labor day weekend is, for many, the last big hurrah of summer. Fall is on its way, school begins again, and there is less time to spend outdoors before the winter hits. To make the most of your labor day weekend, we’ve compiled a list of fun activities for you and your family:

Visit the Park

The U.S. has some absolutely beautiful state and local parks. Discover a location nearby that you have never visited, or take a trek to a nearby state. Plan a weekend-long trip or take an afternoon walk up the street to your neighborhood park. Summertime is littered with hiking, biking and having fun outdoors and a park is a perfect place to squeeze in some last minute fun.

Outdoor Staycation

Combine everything that summer means to your and your family into one night from the convenience of your backyard. Catch fire bugs, build a bonfire and roast s'mores, sleep in a tent, and watch the stars. Teach your kids about the constellations and where their names came from or make up your own!

Catch a Baseball Game

Nothing says summer like an outdoor baseball game. Encompass all that is summer in one afternoon by taking in a day at the ballpark. Check your local ticket provider for last-minute seats, or attend a local minor league or summer league game. Don’t forget the peanuts and cracker jacks!

Play Games Together

Nothing brings families together like a good old-fashioned family game night. Take the old favorites down from the closet, or start a new family tradition with minute-to-win-it games or lawn games like bean bags, giant Jenga, or yard dominos.

Host a Water balloon fight

Gather your family and friends and host an all-out battle royale water balloon fight! Since summer is winding down, now is the best time to have one last splashy bash and use up your aquatic supplies from the summer. If you don’t have any left, check out this cool idea for DIY Sponge balls.

Summer might be coming to an end, but there are plenty of ways to celebrate Labor Day weekend with your family. What are your favorite Labor Day activities? Comment below!

Why You Should Encourage Your Kids to Join a Sports Team

Have you ever thought about sports as more than just a game? The core  goal of sports is to support being active and having fun, but do you ever think about all the life lessons that are taught through competition and sports? Here are some reasons why you, as a parent, should encourage your child to join team sports!

Being a Part of Something

There aren't many things that feel better than a sense of belonging. A fear of rejection is a basic human instinct, but we have a bigger fear of our children being rejected by their fellow students and peers. Having your son or daughter play team sports will enable them to mingle with more kids, create a larger friend base, and eliminate or lessen the chances that your child ever feels lost or lonely.

Supports an Active/Healthy Lifestyle

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 17% of American children are considered obese. Don’t let your kid become a negative statistic! When you encourage your child to play sports, you are also encouraging a lifestyle that will impact his or her life forever!

No Time for Trouble

It’s no secret that children who play sports are less likely to get into trouble. In fact, there is an old saying about idle hands that correctly interprets exactly what can happen if an impressionable youth is left to their own devices too often. With a kid’s time being occupied by practicing, training, or playing a sport, there just simply isn’t time for them to contemplate irrational decisions that will drive you crazy.

Sports Create Leaders

It doesn’t matter at what age or level your kid is playing at, they learn leadership skills in a hands-on format. If you child is shy, they may learn how to be a non-vocal, lead by example leader. If your child is outgoing, they may learn how to use their voice to inspire and motivate their teammates. Regardless of the personality type of your son or daughter, they will take the leadership skills they learned from their youth sporting experience into their future life experiences.

Sports have been known to bring families closer, show kids the true meaning of determination, and help set children up for successful futures. Encouraging your child to participate is a very important thing because sometimes all a kid needs is a push in the right direction to realize what they want to do. Just ALWAYS remember this one rule: Don’t push your kids too hard with sports, because eventually it puts a lot of pressure on your child and they will eventually quit having fun. With fun, any added experience is lost on a child.

Fresh Springtime Money Saving Activities for Family Fun

Springtime is finally in full-throttle! How can you make the most of exciting and memorable experiences with your family without draining your wallet? While camping, baseball games, frolicking on the beach, and barbeque cookouts are what come to mind for spring and summertime activities, what other opportunities can you enjoy?

Get Outdoors

After a long and cold winter, what better way to spend time with your family then to get outdoors and bask in the sun. Walk to your neighborhood park. Find the best local nature preserves to walk, hike, swim, and explore. Visit botanical gardens. Camp in your own backyard on a clear spring night. Checkout if there’s geocache excursions available in your area for a fun, nature-filled scavenger hunt.

Explore Local and New Cultures

Culture and new experiences are all around you. Help your family embrace culture by visiting museums and walking around local festivals. Both museums and festivals often offer school vacation discounts or admission based on a small donation. Explore the farmers’ market, and try out local delicacies. Rather than adventuring to a new (and perhaps pricey) ethnic restaurant, pick out a dish to create in your own kitchen.

Explore Your Backyard

Your own backyard can hold a treasure trove of activities for you and your family. Think big and finish plans for a brand new tree house or play set. Try creative, smaller projects and build a birdfeeder, wind chime, or compost bin. Paint your mailbox a brand new color or have your kids paint garden stones for your garden bed. Teach your kids about sustainability by having them help plant vegetables for your garden.

Good Ol’ Spring Cleaning

While some people love cleaning, others will want to save this project for a rainy day. After freshening up your backyard, take the productivity inside and tackle spring cleaning. Clean out closets, and get rid of excess junk. See what you can renovate and reuse, and what you can recycle or donate. Put your family to work and let your house breath lighter. Not only is this project free, you can actually make some money if you sell what you don’t want in a garage sale!

Do Some Good

Volunteering is an excellent way to spend time together as a family. Organize a neighborhood or park cleanup and get the neighbors involved, or pick a cause you support as a family and find ways you can help locally. Adopt a pet from a shelter or encourage your kids to become mentors to other kids in your community.

Teach Your Kids

Just because school is out doesn’t mean that your kids can’t keep learning. Teach them how to swim, swing a bat, or ride a bike. Take a step in the silly direction and learn with them how to juggle, how to make a mud pie, how to plant a fairy garden, or how to speak a gibberish language.

Let Your Kids Teach You

Connect with your family and find your inner child by enjoying carefree, nostalgic activities. Cloud watch, bird watch, play in the rain, run through the sprinklers, fly a kite, create sidewalk chalk art, chase bubbles, puddle jump, make pinwheels, braid flower crowns, pick wildflowers, tie dye something- tie dye everything! The opportunities are endless. Don’t miss a chance to be with your kids and let them remind you how fun it is to be a kid again.

Stretches for Before and After Sports Practice

Exercise at any age is beneficial to your health- both mental and physical. It is equally important to encourage stretching before and after sports practice and games to keep kids' muscles limber and avoid or reduce soreness. Here are a few simple stretches for kids to do before and after taking part in sports activities:

Spine Stretches

• Put your hands in the air and reach as high as you can.
• Hold your arms above your head and lean to your left side and hold for ten seconds, repeat on the right side.
• Keep your legs straight and spread them shoulder width apart. Lean over and reach down to your left foot for ten seconds. Repeat on your right side.

 

Upper Body Stretches

• Cross your left arm across your chest and hold for ten seconds. Repeat with your right arm.
• Lift your left arm behind your head and touch your right shoulder. To deepen the stretch, hold your elbow and pull lightly with your right arm. Repeat on the other side.
• Put your arms behind your back and interlace your fingers. Bending forward at the waist, lift your arms up until you feel the stretch. Release after ten seconds.
  

  

  
  
  

Lower Body Stretches

• Stand on your right foot and bend your left leg and hold your ankle with your left hand. (Be careful, this stretch requires balance). After holding for ten seconds, repeat on the other side.
• Sit down and put the bottoms of your feet together in front of you. Pull your feet in closer for a deeper stretch. Hold for ten seconds.
• While sitting, put your feet straight in front of you, lean over and try to touch your feet. Spread your legs apart and reach for the left leg and hold for ten seconds, repeat this on the right leg.

 

 

 

 

While stretching, it is very important to hold the stretch in place without bouncing. If you are in pain or outside of your comfort level, release your stretch and move on. At School-A-Thon, we believe it is important for students to lead an active lifestyle and learn the importance of staying healthy. For more benefits of staying active or family fitness ideas, refer to some of our other blogs.

If your child has an injury, or is training for a specific sport, consult a physical therapist or athletic trainer to determine the safest and most effective stretching exercises.

Introducing Feed on Fitness

When we formed our Color-A-Thon fundraisers,our goal was a simple one; we wanted to help schools raise money while promoting student health and fitness.

So, in honor of this smashing success, we decided to introduce “Feed On Fitness.”

Feed On Fitness is a brand new Twitter account which functions as a source of exercise and nutrition tips for students. Proper diet and activity isn’t a once in a while thing; it should happen every day! So, to keep you moving in the right direction, we tweet everything from at-home exercises and healthy recipes to motivational quotes and lively activities to do with your kids!
 

Push yourself to see results you will be proud of! #Fitness #Health #WorkOut #Motivation pic.twitter.com/kbGtXma8fO
— Feed On Fitness (@FeedOnFitness) November 14, 2014

Feed On Fitness is a great, convenient way to find ideas to improve your child’s health. If you want to see what we have to offer just visit: https://twitter.com/FeedOnFitness Also, remember to tweet at us using @FeedOnFitness or use the hashtag #FeedOnFitness

Let us know what you think of our Twitter feed by commenting below!

Get off the Couch and Have Some FUN: 10 fun ways to keep your family fit and healthy

Remember the days when being inside meant doing chores? Was it hard for your mother to get you to come inside the house for dinner?

Times have changed.

With all of the entertainment geared at kids through your computer, cell phone, television, or other electronic devices, a huge portion of a typical kid’s day is spent indoors.

We here at School-A-Thon believe healthy, happy kids need quality time outside. So, here are ten exercise activities to do with your kids to keep them active - and having fun while doing it.

1. Take a Stroll to the Park

Spending the afternoon at a park is a great way to get out of the house and burn some calories. Push your kids on the swing set, follow them down the slide or play a game of tag; not only will your kids have active fun, but we’re thinking you’ll be laughing and out of breath along with them.  

2. Have a Water Balloon Fight

Having a good old fashioned water balloon fight is a fun way to cool off and make lifelong memories.

3. Go to the Beach

Pack a picnic and spend a day at the beach with the family. Swimming is a fun way to absentmindedly work lots of muscle groups and have a blast! Don’t forget to bring floaties, snorkels, and a beach ball for water games as well as buckets and shovels to make a mansion of a sand castle.

4. Hit the rides at an Amusement Park

Going to an amusement park can tire a person of any age, but will also be a ton of FUN! Take a day trip and splurge with your family - but don’t forget to bring the sunscreen!

5. Take a hike at the State Park

Enjoy a little nature in the good ‘ol outdoors with a family hike to the nearest state park or any good, local hiking trail.  

6. Play Yard Games

Whether it be jumping on the trampoline, playing hide and seek, building an obstacle course, playing fetch with the dog, jumping in the leaves or playing catch, spending a few hours outside in your own backyard can be great for your health and fun for the whole family!

7. Have a competition

See who can stand on one leg the longest, race them across the yard, have a hula-hoop competition, see who can do the best summersault, cartwheel or dance move; the possibilities are endless!

8. Go to the County Fair

There are so many fun things to see at the fair,  you’ll spend more of the time on your feet. From watching the horse show, touring the animal barns, going on the rides and attending a grand stand event, the calories you burn from walking around are countless. (Just remember not to eat too much deliciously fried fair food.)

9. Go for a Walk

Go for a stroll around the neighborhood. Leash up the dog, push the stroller or just enjoy a peaceful walk in some familiar surroundings.

10. And last, but certainly not least: Visit your Relatives!!!

Whether it be your parents (your kid’s grandparents) your sisters or brothers, aunts and uncles, etc… Visiting relatives is good for your whole family. Watch your kids run around the yard, play a game of charades, tag, a ball game or just visit with family. There are a ton of options here, and the memories you make will be cherished for years to come.

There are many fun activities to do with the whole family that can help to be more fit, active, happy, less stressed and healthier! The list of the benefits could go on and on.

The partners at School-A-Thon want every family to be healthy and happy - so much, in fact, that they decided to create Color-A-Thon.

Color-A-Thon is an educational fundraiser in a league of it’s own. It’s an innovative, profitable, and fun event that schools all over the country are using to put a splash of color into their thon and experience phenomenal profit while providing a unique, community based event for all ages. If you are interested in learning more about Color-A-Thon, liked all of our fun, active family ideas, or have some more ideas of your own, please feel free to comment below and let us know your thoughts! We would love to hear from you.