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| GoNoodle HealthTeacher Newsletter: Idaho Connecting Fitness with Academic Performance |
| posted by: Melissa | August 22, 2014, 07:58 PM |
|
Teachers are often like magicians working through different subjects during a day. With added pressure to perform well on tests, time for PE and recess is shrinking. But physical activity and core subjects don’t need to be rivals—in fact, the body and brain are determined to work together. In southwest Idaho, two health-focused organizations are working to improve the way core-aligned classes, health and fitness interact in classrooms.  Saint Alphonsus and the High Five Children’s Health Collaborative, powered by the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health, are funding two programs that blend valuable classroom instructional time with physical activity. The programs are GoNoodle and HealthTeacher. HealthTeacher is an online curriculum that includes lessons and interactive presentation tools that help teachers incorporate health into any classroom. GoNoodle is an interactive website where kids get to play active, educational games at their desk called “brain breaks.” These five minute bursts of physical activity breaks are shown to improve classroom behavior, focus, cognition and academic achievement. Many teachers use brain breaks as rewards or transition tools between lessons. See it in action with this video. These programs are preparing to reach Idaho schools for a second year. After launching these resources in the 2013-14 school year, data showed Idaho schools utilized 2,552,731 minutes of GoNoodle physical activity via 48,067 brain breaks through 2,600 registered teachers. GoNoodle and HealthTeacher are free to K-5 teachers in charter schools, school districts, libraries and after school programs in southwest Idaho. To sign up or learn more about either resource, contact Aimee Stein at Saint Alphonsus or Sophie Sestero at the High Five Children’s Health Collaborative. 
 Photo Caption: Students at Amity Elementary School in Boise, Idaho participate in a GoNoodle Brain Break with visit from Olympic athlete, Ashton Eaton in 2013.
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