Take It Outside! Week

The week of October 19-23 has been designated as the inaugural Take It Outside! Week.

To increase outdoor play while celebrating the environment, child care centers are invited to join Head Start Centers across the country in participating in the Inaugural Take It Outside! Week, October 19 – 23, 2009.  Presented by Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS), the national initiative is sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR). Its purpose is to get children outside, connect with the natural world, and increase physical activity.

According to Center Director Karin Spencer, Ed.D., “Outdoor play is associated with greater amounts of physical activity in children, and research has shown that opportunities for whole body exercise has a long lasting influence as preschool physical activity tracks throughout childhood."

"Unfortunately children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation," added Spencer. "We want to help Head Start and all early childhood education and care staff to discover the benefits of outdoor play across developmental domains and learn about the features of high quality outdoor play spaces that promote movement opportunities for children of all ability levels. When adults model and teach the importance of physical activity, young children are more likely to adopt a lifetime of healthful practices and behaviors."

HSBS will provide programs with everything they need to celebrate Take It Outside! Week including activity ideas, tips for facilitating play, and suggestions for enhancing the environment.  From Books That Move You to 15 Simple Ways to Get Moving, the activities are designed to increase physical activity for young children and promote family involvement. For a wonderful array of free resources about Take It Outside! Week, visit www.headstartbodystart.org. 

 

 

Comments

[r4 dsi]

Wow thats amazing, i think that would have been a great week overall. Well thats really great if we can celebrate these and spread awareness about the same by running a campaign every year. Wouldn't it be a fun and productive enough.

[Belly Burner]

Its great that you are encouraging children to spend more time active and less time indoors. Great post.