It's beginning to look like the winter is rapidly approaching us. The colors are changed, the weather is cold and pretty soon the snow will be here. At least in some parts of the country!

This month we are focusing on two winter activities that you can use in your elementary classes to remain active indoors during our cold winter months. Remember that with a little variation, almost any activity can be made possible. Just have to use the imagination!

Another reminder of 10 Essential health tips is also featured in this section. We can never be reminded enough the importance that activity has on our overall lifestyle. Take these 10 tips and see how many more you can think of. Challenge your students to come up with other health tips for your classroom.

The ice will be coming soon, so remember to watch your step when you are outdoors walking with your class. Take a look at the walking web site listed this month for more tips on implementing a walking program in your school.

Lloyd Gage
PELINKS4U Graduate Assistant

Walking is one of the easiest ways to be physically active. You can do it almost anywhere and at any time. Walking is also inexpensive. All you need is a pair of shoes with sturdy heel support. Walking will:

1. Give you more energy
2. Make you feel good
3. Help you to relax
4. Reduce stress
5. Help you sleep better
6. Tone your muscles
7. Help control your appetite
8. Increase the number of calories your body uses.

For all these reasons, people have started walking programs.

Check out this site for more information on walking, such as: How to start a program, how to warm-up, and safety tips.

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We've all heard them over and over again throughout our lives. And yet some how, our nation is failing to recognize the importance of keeping our bodies in tip top shape. So here they are once again...

10 Essential Health Tips
(The Basics to Practice Every Day)

"He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything." -Arabian Proverb

1. Move More
Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it's a stress buster. Think 'move' in small increments of time. It doesn't have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that's great when you're up to it. Meanwhile, move more. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!

2. Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one! More...

3. Quit Smoking
The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we've seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or 'tough guy' stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one. More...

4. Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.

5. Protect Yourself from Pollution
If you can't live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It's a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: 'Smoke gets in your eyes'…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily. More...

6. Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.

7. Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it's because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don't? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body's boss.

8. Avoid Excessive Drinking
While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.

9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There's a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can't be unhappy when you're smiling or singing. More...

10. Choose Your Parents Well
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn't mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.

Courtesy of Health and fitness tips

Name of Activity: Winter Wonderland Stations

Purpose of Activity: To reinforce previously learned concepts in a fun holiday station set up.

Prerequisites: throwing/catching how to hold a hockey stick and hit a puck cooperation

Suggested Grade Level: 3-5

Materials Needed: Scooters, cones, beanbags, hockey stick, pucks, ring toss, titles of Christmas songs cut-out, "snowballs", bowling pins or other targets, team skis, etc.

Description of Idea

Winter Wonderland Stations

For the following stations it is best to have less than 6 students at a station. Please set the stations up with maximum safety in mind including written rules at each station. These need to be shown and explained as well by the teacher.

1. Fun at the Ice Rink:

Students use hockey sticks to strike pucks into a goal, between two cones, or into another target (e.g., bowling pins).
SKILLS: Striking with an implement

2. Snowball Toss:

Students use white rolled up socks as snowballs to throw at a variety of targets that are on the floor or on the wall (e.g., bowling pins, hoops, pictures, etc.). As long as it is safe let students decide if they want to throw overhand or underhand.
SKILLS: Throwing under and overhand.

3. Christmas Song Scramble:

Students have a starting point and move (we suggest using locomotor skills other than running) from that point to a hoop that contains words that make up the titles to Christmas songs (e.g., Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, etc.). They pick up one word and run back to their starting spot. Students may only pick up one word at a time and run to the sorting spot. You could also have them choose letters instead of words.
SKILLS: Aerobic activity

4. Ring in the New Year:

Students toss Deck Rings onto Ring Toss poles, or other targets you have set up.
SKILLS: Underhand throwing.

5. Ski the Slopes:

Students work together to move on Team Skis to a designated area
SKILLS: Cooperation

6. Santa’s on His Way:

Students use scooters to move through an obstacle course of cones to pick up “toys” (e.g., bean bags, etc.), then back through the course to “deliver” them.
SKILLS: Muscular Strength

Teaching Suggestions:

Make sure you watch for safety during the activity especially with the scooters.

Have students wear pedometers to see how active they were during the period.

More Holiday Activities at PE Central