The last few weeks at Activate Kids have been really exciting. Two of the main highlights were our annual Halloween party as well as our Bring a parent day.
Halloween
The Halloween party was a blast as always, the kids really outdone themselves with their costumes this year. One costume in particular which stood out was a 7ft+ inflatable dinosaur (check out our socials to get a glimpse of the beast!). We incorporated plenty of Halloween themed games into our session and of course had some treats together at the end of class. This was our last class together before the midterm break, so it was great to end on a high note before the week off.
Bring a Parent Day
We have always run Bring a Buddy Days quarterly at Activate Kids and it is one of the highlights of the terms for the kids. At the end of term last spring, we decided to trial a Bring a Parent Day and it was a massive hit so we decided to do it again! The kids are always dying to show off their newfound skills to their peers, but even more so to people older than them, in particular parents / guardians and other family members. They were all so proud showing their ‘buddies’ how to do movements, how to use the equipment properly and safely and more than anything their ‘skin the cat’ progress, which was our gymnastic focus last month. Thank you so much to all the buddies who made the effort to make it, it made the day really enjoyable.
What Gets Measured Gets Managed
As always, we are planning ahead for the next few weeks of our Kids’ classes. There is a big number of kids in class this year which has made classes busier but all the more fun. It is important that we continue to monitor each child’s individual progress in class as our group expands. One component we tested last month was the broad jump. We measured in centimetres each child’s maximal jump for distance (broad jump) and collected all the results. Since this we have done a lot of technical work around improving technique and incorporated the movement into many different aspects of our workouts and games. In the coming weeks we will be re-testing the broad jump to see how each child has progressed. This is just once example of how we measure progress in our classes. What gets measured gets managed, at Activate Kids.
Social Media Focus
As you all know it is our goal to increase physical literacy and athletic capacity in your children while considering the whole child. As well as this we aim to educate parents and guardians in a range of different topics. We do this by creating content around relevant topics on our social media pages. A big problem in youths and kids in Ireland is obesity, and we shared some tips that you can do at home to help combat this problem. Here is an example of steps you can take:
- Set a good example (food and lifestyle).
- Have healthy snacks available.
- Give child-sized portions.
- Do exercise / activities together.
- Limit screen time to no more than 2hrs per day.
- Choose non-food rewards. Promising sweets for good behaviour is a bad idea.
- Be sure your child gets enough sleep.
To see the post in full check out our socials.
In the coming weeks we will be sharing information on many topics including growth and maturation, Peak Height Velocity (PHV) in boys and girls, de-bunking myths around strength training in children and much more. To access this information all you need do is follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Activate Youths.