Get the wiggles out!

We have a pretty large, long back yard, which can come in handy to get the wiggles out so my 8 year old can focus on school work. I have him run back and forth 3 times; he typically giggles through the 1st run and then picks up speed on the 2nd and 3rd time. ;)


I don't have him run every day (he's pretty active on his own), but do this as needed to help get him to the point where he can do what we need to cover. If needed, I will interrupt school time to have him run; when he comes back to his work, he can think much clearer and our school time goes much better...plus he's getting in better shape for Upward basketball.

If it's a rainy or particularly cold day, some indoor things I've done with Josiah are:

1. Jumping jacks, running in place, sit ups, or other exercises that don't require a lot of room or equipment. I think last year Josiah's record for jumping jacks was 112...whew! (And he did those on his own. I would ask him to do 30-50, which he can easily do.)
2. Running or briskly walking back and forth down the hallway a certain number of times. Depending on the layout of your home, you may have a nice little "track."
3. Using a deck of cards, you or your child(ren) assign a simple exercise to each suit. For example, diamonds are jumping jacks and clubs are sit ups. Draw a number card and have your child do that many of the exercise...so if you drew a 4 of diamonds, you would say, "Do 4 jumping jacks." The randomness of this makes it a little more fun. I wish I could remember where I heard of this hint, because I certainly didn't make it up. :)

After burning off some energy, we can move through the seatwork much faster and he is paying attention...and that works for me!


This post is also linked to Helpful Homeschool Hints, hosted by Angie at Many Little Blessings.