AAA State of Play is dedicated to promoting healthy and happy habits for children and families. We recognize that sports and games provide fun outlets that can improve physical fitness, social skills, and even help kids in the classroom. We have collected a variety of articles and fun graphics that can help schools, parents and guardians, clubs, and organizations provide high quality games and activities for children to play and provide resources for child safety.
Playground Games and Activities
One of the best ways to make friends and build community is through games. Find exciting new twists on old games, such as zombie tag, or incorporate schoolwork into activities, like creating a math-based treasure hunt! Looking for more fun ways to blend school and play together? Playgrounds are a great place to conduct science experiments. Take a mini field trip outside to learn about soils, insects, plants, and leaves or roll different sized balls down slides to learn about the concepts of gravity and momentum.
We offer a myriad of ideas for field trips and great ice-breakers to keep kids entertained and get them talking with their peers. These team-based activities can build communication, organization, and problem-solving skills that can help kids develop social and classroom skills while creating lifelong friendships.
Sports and Training
Sports and physical activities are superb ways to get children to exercise and learn life lessons about teamwork, diligence, time management, and sportsmanship. By having children getting involved in a sport or physical activity, so many of these skills can and will be used throughout the rest of their lives. Being able to socialize with other children and learn how to work together to complete a task will contribute to new emotional tools as they grow up into unique individuals. As good as they can be on the field, these are great skills that easily transfer into the classroom and beyond!
Get kids into the sports world by teaching them the essential rules and strategies to popular games such as soccer, basketball, or even skiing! You can find some basic drills to help kids practice and improve the quality of play.
Safety
It’s no secret that participating in sports and games can help improve physical fitness. However, it’s important to know the proper form and techniques to maximize the benefits of play while also reducing the risk of injury. Warming up, stretching, hydrating, and even eating healthy are easy starts towards injury prevention. Wearing protective gear such as helmets, pads, and mouthpieces are essential for safety, especially for more demanding, fast-paced sports. It’s also important to provide proper time for rest to allow the body time to recover after strenuous activity. After all, staying on the field or court is the best way to ensure you get all the benefits from playing sports.
Find these tips and more in the resources below to keep kids safe while playing to allow them to reach their maximum potential.
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