Welcome to distance learning: The importance of physical activity - NRToday.com

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When I first moved to Roseburg, I went to the Sunshine Enterprises store shopping for second-hand furniture and met a sweet lady buying myrtlewood candleholders. She told me to get an Umpqua National Forest map, choose a road, highlight it with a highlighter and then go explore. After that I should choose another one, then another one and to keep doing that until I highlighted all of the routes. Then I needed to go get a different map.

This week’s article looks at ways to do fun movement, physical activity and play. If you haven’t explored the natural areas in and around the Umpqua with your children, now is a great time to make a day of the week when you take off and explore. You can plan car picnics and games to play along the way. Invent an opera with your kids, play I spy, or just listen to music, drive and relax. Take in the scenery and take your mind off of work, chores and school for a while. Then get outside, have an adventure and move!

If you want to find adventures closer to home in Roseburg, Stewart Park is a 236-acre regional park with miles of walking, biking and nature trails. Bring a giant bag of wild bird seed and feed the wildlife at the duck ponds beside Fred Meyer (or just drop the feed cup and run like my 3-year-old does.) With older learners you could take nature walks and collect different-colored fall foliage, or invent “bike days,” where your feet can’t touch the pavement except for at the start and finish of the path; even a “clean up day” and bring garbage bags and gloves to pick up trash on one of the walking paths, which other people will appreciate too.

Visit the City of Roseburg website for a list of parks and recreation areas with maps and visitor information. www.cityofroseburg.org

Umpqua Community College has an obstacle course trail and a river nature trail for explorers. The flat, wide open campus paths are great for learning walkers and toddlers.

The YMCA of Douglas County is offering Homeschool PE for ages 6-18 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, or from 1-2 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Youth memberships start at $18 a month. https://www.ymcaofdouglascounty.org/

If you’re stuck at home with work or school, physical activity can be as simple as jumping up and down in place. Or standing up and laughing. Find silly jokes on the internet and see who can find the best (or worst) one. Being silly is one of the great joys of being around kids.

Another way to stay active at home is cleaning. Not the most glamorous event, but folding laundry and scrubbing dishes has its magic. Cleaning is good for the soul, as the saying goes. It clears your physical space and renews your mental spirit. If you feel out of sorts and need to move, try choosing one part of your home to shine.

Depending on their age, give your kids a cleaning task. Use any non-toxic cleaner — or good, old-fashioned soap and water in a bucket — and set your kids on a task inside or outside the house. Young kids love to vacuum and use tools like a mop and feather duster. Let them use the hose outside and rinse out the garbage cans.

Create a chore board and choose a day of the week to do an activity:

Monday, sweep floors

Tuesday, vacuum

Wednesday, bathrooms

Or, create time in the day when you clean up, put things away and get ready for your next event or activity. I like Fridays for whole area cleaning since it’s the end of the week. Putting things away and cleaning is a nice mental transition to stop school and the work week and start the weekend.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least 60 minutes of physical activity or play each day and time away from media, regardless of age group.

Something as simple as a dance break after a lesson can liven up your body and your attitude. It’s easy to get stuck in the mindset of “I have to do this thing right now” and then we lose focus on the present, and how our bodies and our minds are actually feeling (i.e. hungry, fatigued, sad, scared, excited, happy, mad, lonely, quiet, etc.)

It’s easy to get caught up in not listening to our bodies because we have so many demands on our time and attention. But if we can’t hear what our bodies are asking us about, then we can’t know how to respond. Anything to get the body moving and give the brain a break can be your goal.

As the routines keep adjusting, for things like students possibly needing to transition back to distance learning, as long as you keep your physical routines steady and focused on staying as consistent as possible, your learners will be able to follow through. Follow the same bed times, same wake up times, same meal times and downtime and physical activity schedules. Keep working hard and have fun learning new life tips, tricks and hacks. You’re doing this together as a family and that’s always the best, no matter when life goes straight ahead or sideways.

What mental health resources are available?In the Family Toolkit on the Roseburg Public Schools website, under Health and Wellbeing, is a Family Supports page with details on how to access Compass services for students and families, as well as links to crisis lines and other mental health resources.

https://www.roseburg.k12.or.us/families/2020-2021-reopening/2020-2021-family-toolkit

If families need assistance, a teacher, counselor and administrative staff are the first line of resources. After that, outside agencies and organizations may be connected depending on the student situation and need.

Each school site has a unique plan for student engagement. Every school has student clubs and activities meeting virtually if possible. Counselors are available for one-on-one meetings by phone or online. Principals can have lunch meetings and chats.

If a parent or student is concerned or needs help, their first step is to talk to their teacher, express the need, and start together working from there to find supports.

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