Running and playing are as natural to young children as breathing. I talked about building community and how a shared activity can do that. Fitness and movement are an integrated part of each day in our classroom. Parents tell me stories of how their five year old motivated and inspired them to begin a family fitness time. I know families who have started running and walking together.
Some parents show their support by encouraging their child to do something they enjoy.
There are parents who have come into our classroom just to see that 15 minute segment of our day. They watch as the kids write and draw pictures in their running journal. We write in them daily. We count our minutes of running, list the running games we play and draw or write about how our running made us feel. Everyone has their own journal and they are filled with smiling faces, bodies in motion and words about how running makes them feel.