Transcript from the video...
How do I fit more activity into the primary school day?
So, another the question we get asked is, “how do we fit all this activity into the day?” Teachers tell us they understand and see the benefits of getting the kids active, but what should they do if they didn't have time to prep?
There are lots of ideas you can use.
So maybe start with an active register where the children are standing up to say their name. It’s quick wins like this that you can use to start to build up your active 30 minutes, and it’s that which is your main target, the 30 minutes of extra activity every day.
Another one is what I call random postmen. Essentially each child is given a book that belongs to somebody else in the classroom as they come in from playtime. I have the box of books in the doorway and they just take the one that's on the top, then they go around and they deliver it to whoever it belongs to. It takes 60 seconds, but it's a minute of them being active that they wouldn't have done before, and there is literally no prep for that, well, the only prep is you need to put your books in place for them.
Another quick win is using standing in line activities. It's so easy to get them active during that time where they're just standing in line, usually they're fidgeting and we all know it's just a good time to be naughty. You can get them focused and doing something in that line. It's so easy and again, no prep.
Another idea is to change the furniture within the classroom, you can change to yoga balls when they’re sitting, or change to standing tables. We have standing desks in our classroom, which we bought 2 years ago, and now because they are there, the children will automatically decide to use them by saying, “I'm going to go on the standing desk for this lesson because I want to stand up, I want to stretch out and I don't want to be sat down.”
So, things such as how you can change your environment, using equipment or furniture, can make a real difference as well.
And we know when you feel that brain fog coming on, you know when it's happening to your class because the energy in the room is just not where you want it to be, and that can be either too much or too little energy. So, if I feel that moment is starting, I say, “let's do a quick little activity” and I’ll put on some circus music and I randomly choose someone to come to the front and we're juggling balls or whatever, I find all the children are lifted. I’ll get three or four different children having a go at it, and it lasts 30 seconds per child which is enough to snap them straight back out of it.
And then you get to carry on the with the rest of the day. So small, quick wins to start with and you’ll so much benefit as the children will become more focused which improves the time they’re spending on a task. This results in better behaviour and a calmer learning environment, and all because you energized them regularly throughout the day for a few short minutes each time.
