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Fun Fitness Games for kids!

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Very young children are usually interested in running, jumping and physical play. But as sedentary activities such as watching TV or playing video games grab their attention, they may not perform the 60 minutes per day of physical activity recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Fun Instructional Stretching Song!

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Get This Song on CD or MP3: http://havefunteaching.com/songs/fitness-songs/ The Stretching Song from Have Fun Teaching. The Stretching Song is a Fitness Song for Kids that teaches stretching and how to stretch. Stretching Song. Stretch Song. Action Song. Movement Song. This is a song for stretching, working out and fitness.

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Short Cartton encouraging walking!

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http://www.cardioville.com Cardioville: Animated Series Episode Title: Step It Up! In this episode, Charlie helps Morgan win a pedometer contest. To learn more about Cardioville, visit http://www.cardioville.com

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Fitness Crafts for Children!

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If your teen is interested in weight training, dumbbell exercises are a fine place to start. Dumbbells come in a variety of sizes for all fitness levels and many exercises don't require extensive technical knowledge. With the right set of exercises, your teen can even get a total body workout with just one fitness tool.

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Book about Physical Fitness for Toddlers!

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How can families be healthier?

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Involving the whole family is the best way to promote better eating habits and healthy activities for your kids.

A whole-family approach simply means that everyone - parents and kids alike - works together as a team to achieve good health and well being. As with any team, there's a leader or coach - and that's you!

Lead by example. Adult family members are important role models for healthy eating and exercise. Talk about why you eat fruit as a snack, take an exercise class, or go for walks.

Start 'em young. Don't wait until your child is at an unhealthy weight to institute good eating and activity habits. It's much easier to maintain a healthy weight than to lose pounds later.

Be active together. Make it usual for the family to be active, not sedentary. Being active as a family allows kids to expend energy in a positive way, and adults get the health benefits, too.

Cook together. It may not be possible to do it every day, but invite kids into the process of preparing food. Little kids can learn math skills by measuring and they'll begin to understand the chemistry of cooking. They'll also gain an understanding of healthy ingredients.

Older kids will enjoy having the authority to choose and prepare foods they like and will be more likely to eat what they've made. It might even inspire them to make healthy choices on their own.

Eat together. Eating a meal as a family sends the right messages about nutrition. Kids will see their parents eating healthy food and may want to try new foods. They'll also see mealtime as a time for socializing and sharing. Parents get a chance to offer nutritious food, note their kids' likes and dislikes, and talk about daily triumphs and troubles.

Family Goals Chart

If you're trying to build healthier family habits, a goal chart is a good way to keep score. A chart, posted on the refrigerator or other highly visible spot, can remind family members to pay attention to eating and exercise habits.

Choose family goals, such as exercising every day and eating fruits and vegetables. Keep track of and praise those who meets their goals. And when the whole family achieves the goals, do something fun together to celebrate.

Click here to print a family goals chart.

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Involving the whole family is the best way to promote better eating habits and healthy activities for your kids. A whole-family approach simply means that everyone - parents and kids alike - works together as a team to achieve good health and well being.

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Health and Fitness books for kids

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Technically, this book isn't a fiction book. That is, it doesn't tell a story. But it does present math in a creative and verbal way. In a series of rhyming riddles, the author provides tips for fast addition. As the author says:

The challenge is to find each sum
WIthout counting one by one.
Why not count? It's much too slow.
Adding is the way to go!

On one page of the book is a colorful drawing - a school of fish, a "parade" of snails, grapes on a vine. On the opposite page is a riddle that provides a hint on how to determine the number of items without counting each one individually. It's really fun since it's not just about counting the items, but figuring out the riddle to get the addition tip!
Ages 7 and up

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Fiction Books Can Help Children Become Better at Math

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Technically, this book isn't a fiction book. That is, it doesn't tell a story. But it does present math in a creative and verbal way. In a series of rhyming riddles, the author provides tips for fast addition. As the author says: The challenge is to find each sumWIthout counting one by one.Why not count?

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Yoga for kids

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Yoga for Kids offers private Yoga Therapy to infants, children and teens with special needs and professional development workshops for adults which qualify as Continuing Education Units (CEUs) through Yoga Alliance. Yoga is an ancient science and philosophy that has been practiced for thousands of years.The popularity of Childrens' Yoga is increasing. It can be found in after school and lunch time programs, special education classes, pre-schools, daycares, yoga centers and dance studios. Yoga for kids combines dynamic movements, postures, breathing exercises and meditations of Kundalini yoga and Hatha yoga into an integrated and holistic program of physical fitness, education and social and self-awareness. Fitness for Kids. With yoga, your child can bring the world inside to life and let his or her imagination free to come out. The easy poses of Yogasanas and easy-to-follow instruction of Yogic Techniques can increase your child's concentration with a sense of playfulness, freedom and imagination.

There is always a complaint that the child / students dose not understand what is taught to them. So we try different methods of teaching and apply all the techniques possible to improve the teaching process. But practically, every kid / student understands as per his capacity and grasp. The ability to teach and the ability to learn / understand, both are two different issues. But when the understanding capacity of a student increases, it indirectly means that there is improvement in the way of teaching. Hence we should try to improve the memory, concentration and understanding capacity of every kid / student. It is not sufficient by improving the teaching techniques. We need to make efforts to improve the child's memory and concentration.

Yoga, adapted for pre-school children, develops body awareness, language, good listening skills, cooperation and powers of observation. It teaches pre-school children about nature, their environment and inspires their imaginations. It prepares them for breathing techniques used in yoga. They learn by playing, singing,
moving and imitating. This is an ideal time for children to begin a yoga practice. Yoga has great benefits for growing children and it is a lots of fun. At yoga classes for kids, children learn to stretch, breathe deeply, relax and concentrate and they teach children's yoga for peace, health, literacy and FUN. Yoga develops correct posture, body awareness and self-confidence and helps children to become more calm.

Yoga is a powerful technique for children to begin moving their bodies in ways that feel good and help them look good. Even if your child is of normal weight, yoga can help her become stronger, gain endurance and flexibility.

Yoga with school aged children balances quiet and active poses with game playing, singing, storytelling, drawing, simple breath meditations and rest.

Children can easily follow the teacher's instructions by learning the names of different body parts, their locations and function. As children learn the names of the postures and movements they develop a yoga vocabulary.

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Yoga for Kids offers private Yoga Therapy to infants, children and teens with special needs and professional development workshops for adults which qualify as Continuing Education Units (CEUs) through Yoga Alliance. Yoga is an ancient science and philosophy that has been practiced for thousands of years.The popularity of Childrens' Yoga is increasing.

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Exercise game for kids

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Kids can move, groove and learn to improve as they dance along with their Nickelodeon friends -- Dora, Diego, The Backyardigans, and The Fresh Beat Band.

This new dance game is designed to help kids stay physically active as they twist, shake, and shout to original Nickelodeon songs and popular favorites too!

Kids can really get their heart pumping with the super cool fitness feature for more heart healthy fun with the Nickelodeon gang!

Nickelodeon Dance Features

Kids will bust a move and show their fancy footsteps while actually dancing along with Dora, Diego, The Backyardigans, and The Fresh Beat Band

Features 30 songs, including theme songs from favorite TV shows Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, The Backyardigans, and The Fresh Beat Band; and other popular hits sung by Nickelodeon characters

Dance routines developed in collaboration with an expert children's dance choreographer. Additionally, special exercise-focused routines encourage active play and promote fitness

Multi-player mode encourages fitness, fancy footwork, and a whole lot of laughs for the entire family

Kids can move, groove and learn to improve as they dance along with their Nickelodeon friends -- Dora, Diego, The Backyardigans, and The Fresh Beat Band.
This new dance game is designed to help kids stay physically active as they twist, shake, and shout to original Nickelodeon songs and popular favorites too! Kids can really get their heart pumping with the super cool fitness feature for more heart healthy fun with the Nickelodeon gang!

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Kids can move, groove and learn to improve as they dance along with their Nickelodeon friends -- Dora, Diego, The Backyardigans, and The Fresh Beat Band. This new dance game is designed to help kids stay physically active as they twist, shake, and shout to original Nickelodeon songs and popular favorites too!

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Teach your kids to be physically fit!

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*This is a sponsored post for Oceanview Wooden Swing Set from Leisure Time Products™. All opinions are my own. Basically, this swingset rocks.

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Does anyone else feel like our children are eating more junk food, playing computer and video games too much, and spending less time outdoors?

Winter's chill only makes matters worse. Even in sunny Las Vegas, this winter has been long and cold.

But it's not just the weather that makes my kids want to stay indoors. They also have a lot of homework, dance practice, music lessons and many other activities to add to their busy school schedule. With all these activities, I figured my children had just one day a week to plan play dates. So I decided to sit down with my girls and make sure that we spent that one day outside and enjoying the great outdoors.

Our Oceanview Wooden Swing Set is my family's favorite spot to get active. Seeing my children play on it has inspired our family's fitness project.

The first thing we decided to do is start a health club for our family and friends. I saw this idea on The Biggest Loser. This year, along with their usual contestants, they have been helping three children get fit and lose weight. They challenged the kids to get out of their shell and exercise as a group. Bingo, one of the child contestants, decided he was going to start a health club after school and play sports. I thought it was such a great idea. So my girls decided to start their own club and name it "The Healthy Banana Club."
- Playing in our Own Backyard
I Love It!!! We planned out specific events to help keep us on track.

First we decided to make a family commitment to playing more with each other in our own backyard. This one was easy as my kids love to find any excuse to play on our Oceanview Wooden Swing Set by Leisure Time™. It's an open airy clubhouse with monkey bars, swings, a 10' wave slide, staircase, and even a hammock! I admit, sometimes you'll even fine me on it!

My personal favorite detail of this darling set is the growth chart. Can I hear an "awwwwwe"?! These sweet babies grow up too fast.

Okay, that's actually my second favorite feature. My first favorite feature is this beautiful staircase! Having this safety feature in a win/win for my toddler and me! I can relax knowing he won't fall from climbing on the normal "ladder system".
- Obstacle Course Relays
Having a quality wooden swing set is such a great investment. Years of fitness, (and memories!), will be had on our Oceanview Wooden Swing Set. You can find this exact model on Amazon, at Sam's Club, or directly from their website. It's truly a great value and quality set.Long story short, swing set playing is fun and healthy!

Then we decided to invite some friends to meet at our neighborhood park and set up an obstacle course for a relay race. You can really use anything you want for your own course. We used cones, soccer balls, jump ropes and bouncy balls. All of these items were just hanging out in our back yard.

Then we split the teams in half. Boys against girls of course.

First, they kicked the soccer ball through the cones.

Second, they had to jump rope ten times.
Kid's Yoga
Then they had to bounce back to the next team member and high five them before the next person could go. It was so easy and fun and the kids loved it when the moms got involved.

The next week we asked my friend Kim to have her family meet us at the park and to teach us some kid yoga.

Wow! I could not believe how much the kids got into it. There was a playground about 10 feet away from us, but they were more interested in holding their poses then going down the slide (although we let them play after the yoga session).

When practicing yoga, children under six can hold exercise poses for up to one minute and children six and above can hold a pose for 1 1/2 minutes.
Back Roll Pose
Always have an adult demonstrate the posture first so the children can do it correctly.
Tree Pose
Great for the back and spine.
Child's Pose
Tree pose is great for balance and concentration.
Bridge Pose
This pose is calming for the mind and relaxes your entire body. It also helps to alleviate stress. This is great to do before they start their homework.
Cobra Pose
This is excellent for building back, arms and shoulder strength.
Leg Lift
This is one of the most important poses in yoga. It stretches the shoulders, arms, chest and abdominal muscles.

This pose is great for building core strength.

There are so many benefits for children to start yoga at a young age.

1. Yoga builds self esteem.

2. It helps them to keep calm.

3. It helps them deal with stress easier as they get older.

4. It's great for their flexibility, balance and strength.

5. Don't forget to keep it fun so the kids will want to do it more often.

6. Yoga is a great indoor or outdoor activity.

When my kids get home from school, I always try to have a healthy snack in the kitchen waiting for them. My kids love hummus. It is so healthy and it's great with cucumbers and carrots (the Greek and green olives are for the mommies).

Teaching kids to be fit is more important than ever. According to Web MD the average child spends approximately four hours each day watching television. The American Heart Association reports that about one in three American kids and teens are overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963. Read more at LiveStrong.

Making outdoor exercise a priority for my young daughters will prepare them for a happy and healthy life.

I am hoping my daughters learn to make exercise a priority in their lives. Hopefully The Healthy Banana Club is just the beginning.

What fun play dates have you planned lately to keep your little ones physically fit?
Read all of Ashley's posts
Ashley was born and raised in Boise, Idaho and now lives in Henderson, Nevada. She studied in Germany and created a hand knit hat business in 1998- Mutze by Ashley (meaning hat in German). She is obsessed with her Husband, three daughters, fashion, coconut desserts, and garden gnomes.
*This is a sponsored post for Oceanview Wooden Swing Set from Leisure Time Products™.
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The Healthy Banana Club: Teach Your Kids At a Young Age to Be Physically Fit

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This is a sponsored post for Oceanview Wooden Swing Set from Leisure Time Products™. All opinions are my own. Basically, this swingset rocks. - Does anyone else feel like our children are eating more junk food, playing computer and video games too much, and spending less time outdoors?

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Resource book for Parents/Teachers

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The need for 'practical and commonsense strategies' to attack one of the most critical emerging health concerns of our time has been addressed in the series, 'Healthy Bodies, Happy Kids'.

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Exercise book children can read

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E is for Exercise puts ABC fun into exercise, because exercise isn't hard or boring. Children will see all the many ways to enjoy exercise each and every day with this energetic book. It will leave your child's body feeling good from the inside out!

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Exercise Poem

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Keep exercising every day and increase your longevity. Be responsible and be around for your near and dear ones. Start exercising, start now.

Exercise is easy, exercise is fun,

Exercise is great for everyone,

Run, jog, walk, run or skip,

Make sure you do at least a little bit.

Increase your exercise day by day,

Keep at it and you will find a way,

To be healthy, to be aware,

Exercise keeps you healthy,

Exercise takes care,

Exercise brings benefits,

Many benefits that are free,

Remember with exercise,

You can live long and carefree,

Free of all ailments, free of cholesterol,

Free from all aches and pains,

Be healthy and stand tall,

Get up from your couch,

And switch off the TV,

Put away your games and your PSP's,

Run out, play and celebrate,

The benefits of exercise,

To be healthy and safe,

Exercise and be,

"A" OKAY.

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Keep exercising every day and increase your longevity. Be responsible and be around for your near and dear ones. Start exercising, start now. Exercise is easy, exercise is fun, Exercise is great for everyone, Run, jog, walk, run or skip, Make sure you do at least a little bit.

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Exercise song!

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Short exercise video for for kids!

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Fun Dance Exercises For Kids and Kids Fitness Workout on Video

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http://www.dancexfitness.com/danceX4kids.html kids will have a great time dancing with danceX 4 kids A fun exercise dance video for kids who want to have fun & get a great total body workout. Kids fitness has never been more fun like this kids workout dvd. Can be used for games for children or various children's activities.