January Newsletter

8 ESSENTIALS FITNESS PROGRAM

Week One

REACH TO THE SKY AND BACK

Stand with your feet apart. Lift your arms over your head and put your hands flat together. Hold this position for 30 seconds and then put your arms down.

Next hold your arms out to the side. Slowly move both arms behind your back. Feel the stretch in your shoulders.

Try and hold your hands together behind your back and then hold this position for 30 seconds. Put your arms down.

Tip: Make yourself as long as possible when you reach up.

PICK YOUR TOES STRETCH

Stand with your feet apart.

Slowly bend forward and try to touch your toes.

Slowly count to 8 bending forward a little more each time.

Tip: Do not bounce and be sure to keep your knees slightly bent.
CLAP RAP

Lift one leg up keeping your knee bent.

Reach under your leg and clap your hands together.

Change legs and do the same thing on the other side. Do this 8 times. Rest and do it 8 more times.

Tip: Try to clap a rhythm that you can hum to.
TUMMY CRUNCHES

Lie on the ground, bend your legs and place your feet flat on the floor. Stretch your arms forward so your fingers rest on your legs and point towards your knees.

Lift your chest towards your knees until your shoulders come off the floor. Your hands will slide up your legs.

Once your shoulders come off the floor, lie back down gently to your starting position. Do this 8 times.

Tip: Try sucking in your tummy muscles during this exercise.

AROUND THE WORLD SWINGS

Stand with your feet apart and hold your arms straight out to the side at the same height as your shoulders.

Move your arms forward slowly in small circles 4 times. Now try 4 medium size circles. Next, do 4 of the biggest circles you can do.

Now move your arms backwards starting with the big circles, then the medium circles and finish with small circles.

Tip: When you are doing the big circles, try and shout out names of different countries as if your arms were traveling around the world. To make this exercise harder, try to make faster circles.

DOWNHILL DRAG

Keep your feet together and crouch down as if you are skiing down a hill.

Jump up, keeping your body tucked each time.

Jump from side to side as if you were downhill skiing. Do this 8 times. Rest and do it 8 more times.

Tip: Remember to suck in your stomach muscles. Do not move forward. You must always return to the same landing position. Don’t forget to say "swoosh"!
TWISTING THE NIGHT

It’s time to dance the night away! Twisting from your waist, move to the right.

Then kick your one leg out to the side.

Repeat in the opposite direction. Do this 8 times. Rest and do it 8 more times.

Tip: Make sure you hum and keep to the beat!
LEAPING LIZARDS

Crouch down with your hands on the ground in front of you.

Leap up into the air by pushing off the ground with your hands and legs.

Land back down into the crouched position without moving forward. Do this 8 times. Rest and do it 8 more times.

Tip: Stick out your tongue as a lizard does, you never know what you might catch!

Week Two

VIOLIN STRETCH

Stand up and try to touch the sky. Stretch your whole body as if you were the strings of a violin.

Slowly let your fingers go loose, then your wrist, your elbows, your shoulders, your stomach and flop forward.

Hang there for 8 seconds and remember to take deep breaths.

Tip: You can warm-up your voice by making the sounds that a violin creates when it is being tuned.

CLOCK STRETCH

Start by slowly swinging your head across your chest from one side to the other. Do this 8 times.

Now let your shoulders join the swing. Do this 6 times.

Next, let your waist join the swing (4 times), and finally the hips (2 times).

Tip: Imagine where the numbers 3 and 9 are on a clock. Swing up to those positions on each side.
KNEE BOPS

Stretch your arms in front.

Lift one leg up keeping your knee bent.

Bring your knee up to your hands. Change legs and do the same thing on the other side. Do this 8 times. Rest and do it 8 more times.

Tip: To make this exercise more difficult, try doing the knee bops faster.
PUSH-UPS

Hold your body above the ground with your knees and hands on the floor. Your arms should be under your shoulders.

Slowly lower your body close to the ground by bending your arms at the elbow.

Slowly straighten your elbows straight up to starting position. Do this 8 times.

Tip: Do not let your back bend while doing push-ups. You can also try this one with your toes on the ground rather than your knees. Remember to count out loud, it will help you breathe and work as a team.
GIANT STEPS

Take a giant step forward with one leg.

Make sure that your knee does not bend past your toe. Your knee should form the sides of a square box.

Use your stomach muscle to help you bring your leg back to the starting position. Repeat the same with the other leg. Do this 8 times. Rest and do it 8 more times.

Tip: Make sure you keep a look-out for Jack and the Beanstalk during this one!
RUSSIAN FOLK DANCE

Crouch down.

Kick one leg out and crouch back down into your starting position.

Do the same with the other leg. Do this 8 times. Rest and do it 8 more times.

Tip: This is difficult so if you feel pain stop.
JUMPING JACK FLASH

Jump in the air. Lift your arm up to your sides and open your legs in a split.

Bring your hands down and your legs together.

Do this 8 times. Rest and do 8 more. If you want to make it harder, criss-cross your legs when doing your jumping jacks.

Tip: Get your heart going faster by touching your hands above your head.

BICYCLE

Sit on the edge of your chair and firmly hold both sides.

Lift your legs up and move them as if you were on a bicycle.

Let them move 8 times forward and then 8 times backward.

Tip: Lean the back of your chair against your desk to make sure it doesn't fall over.

A-R-C spells success for students reading textbooks

Reading a textbook is a lot different from reading a novel. Yet students don’t always know the skills they need to get the most from their textbooks. You can help your child by teaching him the A-R-C method. This three-step process will help your child understand what he reads:

A is for associate. Before your child starts to read, he should think about what he already knows about a subject. Then have him skim through the chapter looking at the pictures, headings and subheadings. Also have him look for words printed in bold type. Have him write questions he expects to find answers to as he reads the chapter.

R is for read. Have your child read one section of the chapter. Then have him stop. Can he tell you, in his own words, what he just read? If not, have him go back and reread. This is the time to have him write down any words he doesn’t know. Can he figure out what they mean? Have him write down their definitions.

C is for connect. Once your child has finished reading, see if he can answer the questions he wrote before he read the chapter. You can also have him answer the questions at the end of the chapter.

Source: “Mastering Your Textbooks,” ProQuest K-12, www.homeworkcentral.com/curr/homework/reference_skills3.shtml.

Teach your child how to avoid a temper tantrum

Elementary-age children have more stress in their lives than most parents realize. When they don’t have the skills to cope with stress, they resort to toddler-style outbursts and crying fits.

To minimize your child’s temper tantrums, first figure out what leads to them. Avoid—and help her avoid—situations that lead to stress.

When your child has a meltdown, suggest that she:

Take time out. Have her remove herself from the situation for a five-minute breather. Let her return when she feels composed enough to talk calmly.

Use calming techniques. Teach her to breathe deeply, slowly counting to 10. Have her dribble a ball, pet an animal, or tell herself, “I can work through this.”

Throw it out. Have her write or draw her angry feelings on paper. Then have her wad the paper up and toss it away.

Talk it out. Help your child become more self-aware. Note when she’s having a bad day. Help her name her feelings.

Reprinted with permission from the January 2005 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2004 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Ann Colin Herbst, “Temper, Temper,” August 2003, Parents (Gruner + Jahr USA Publishing, 1-800-777-0222, www.gjusa.com).

Help your child develop a schedule for book reports

Even kids who love to read can dread writing a book report. But there are ways to make writing book reports easier. Here are some ideas:

Start early. The kids who have the easiest time writing a book report have read the book—all the way to the end. As soon as you know a book report is due, help your child pace her reading. How many days until the report is due? (Subtract a couple for writing.) Divide that number into the total pages she has to read. This will teach time management—and get the book read.

Find out what the teacher wants. Some teachers provide specific guidelines. Others want students to be creative.

Plan the book report. This is a place you can really be helpful. Ask questions: Why did she choose the book? Where does the story take place? What was the most interesting part of the book? These questions will give her the main points of her book report.

Help your child schedule time to write, edit and rewrite.

Source: Cheri Fuller, Teaching Your Child to Write, ISBN: 0-425-15983-3 (Berkeley Publishing Group, 1-800-788-6262, www.penguinputnam.com).