Active Kids
We are passionate about ALL kids learning to be active, loving being active and feeling confident in being active. We all know that exercise makes us physically strong & feel good (thank you endorphins!) but it also plays a huge role in cognitive function and learning.
We are passionate about teaching everyone to have the best quality of life possible for their whole life. Many school systems require that kids are at school for very long days, which means that many kids don’t get enough time to play & run around.
Lack of facilities at schools or where they live can also mean that kids don’t get the opportunity to develop the fundamental movement skills that they need to shape their life into an active and healthy lifestyle.
ALL kids should be doing 2 - 3 hours of activity a day and at least 60 minutes of this should be high intensity. Are our kids getting this amount of activity?
Play, movement and activity that gets our heart rates up is important for all of us! For kids, it’s more than just cardio - vascular health & reducing risk of illnesses. It’s essential to develop our fundamental movement skills. These are key to a child’s:
• Physical development
• Cognitive development
• Social development
Without these skills the trajectory of your child’s life could be significantly different. Kids may not develop the physical skills they need, and studies show that when children don’t get enough physical activity and enough high intensity activity, it can be difficult to sit still, concentrate, focus and follow instruction. Exercise is directly linked to learning. A Californian study * which tested a million children (grades 5, 7 & 9) over a 12 year period, found that the more physically skilled children are, the better learners they are.
Kids who don’t develop fundamental movement skills typically develop bad habits, they may get embarrassed in the playground/ PE lessons or with their friends when they struggle to do something well. This may lead to them shying away from physical activities as soon as they have the choice.
We would love to see a shift in our younger, device driven generation. We want to see happy, physically strong, mentally healthy, socially interactive and well behaved kids. We believe that learning the fundamental movement skills that enable kids to become physically literate are key in making exercise a life skill that becomes a regular part of everyday life.
We will be releasing an online program for home - schooled kids, kids desiring a program in addition to what they do at school and for kids with learning difficulties and dyslexia. Coming soon - watch this space!
As we want to reach all school age children, we also work with schools, helping them develop active brain break sessions and active playgrounds relevant for their space. Please contact us if you would like more information on this.
*Run, Jump, Learn! How Exercise can Transform our Schools: John J Ratey, MD at TEDxManhattanBeach
Videos - kids 4-7 years
This video will test & teach your child age 4-7 fundamental footwork & proprioceptive skills. If you measure the number of correct repetitions you get per exercise, you can use this as a re - test to show improvement. Using the mat with colours and numbers will help your child with cognitive function too. If you don't have a mat don't worry, you can use masking tape to set up in a similar way.
This hand-eye co-ordination video is aimed at 4 - 7yr olds to help them develop their cross- lateral movement patterns which improves their hand- eye co- ordination. The cross- lateral movement results in your kids accessing parts of their brain which facilitate cognitive function too.
This short video is geared for kids aged
4 - 7 years. It takes them through fun moves that will start to develop their agility and strength as well as priming their brains for learning. If your child is completing this easily, you may want to try the KS2 videos geared at kids aged 8 - 12.
Geared to kids ages 4 - 7 years, this video will take your child through proprioceptive skills needed for eye- foot co- ordination. We've interspersed the ball drills with some heart rate raising exercises too to make sure the body and brain get maximum benefit out of it!
Videos- kids from age 8 upwards
This video will take kids aged 8-12 through a high intensity, multi- directional agility routine. Kids should aim to first master the skill slowly before taking the pace up to do each drill as quickly as they're able to do it correctly and accurately. This routine is great for all kids wanting to improve fitness and speed (especially enjoyed by aspiring footballers!).
This video will help your kids develop their hand- eye co- ordination while also working on their strength using balls. You'll need a football for this routine!
Working on balance and proprioception is as important for the body as high intensity exercise. This short video will take your kids through a fun "tightrope" sequence.
This high intensity video is aimed at kids aged 8 year and upwards. Your child will learn foot - eye co- ordination through various exercises with a football/ similar sized ball, interspersed with familiar heart rate raising exercises. There are set rest periods within the video, so try to work as hard as you can until the break comes!
This video will take kids aged 8-12 through agility and foundational strength moves. A quick fun routine to do with a sibling or parent, aimed at raising heart rates quickly, increasing fitness and priming the brain for learning!