Simon Says...Exercise!

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Understand why exercise is important.
• Know how often they should be exercising.
• Identify different ways to get their bodies moving and make exercise fun.

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Materials

For the group:

• 2 pieces of chart paper
• Markers
• An open space to play a game of Simon Says

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Preparation

• Read through and familiarize yourself with the activity.
• Gather all materials.

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Activity Steps

1. Begin by having the children do a series of movements in place. Have them complete 10 jumping jacks, 20 seconds of running in place, and 3 hops.
2. Tell the children that today they will be talking about exercising. Begin by asking the children what exercise is (moving your body). Then ask why they think exercise is important. Record their answers on a piece of chart paper. After they have finished sharing, make sure that the following points have made it on the chart paper:
   
   • Feel good about themselves
   • Have energy throughout the day
   • Build and keep healthy bones, muscles, and joints
   • Sleep better at night
   • Maintain a healthy weight
   • Feel ready to learn in school
3. Ask the children how many minutes a day they think they should be exercising (at least 60 minutes). Point out that exercise can include many types of motion, from walking and dancing to climbing stairs and doing sports, jumping jacks, and push-ups. Ask what kind of exercise they enjoy the most.
4. Tell the children they will be participating in a game of Simon Says. Explain that they will be coming up with the activities/movements that will be used in the game. Have the children volunteer ideas and add them to the second piece of anchor chart paper.
5. After gathering all ideas, begin the game of Simon Says. You will be "Simon" first. Explain to the children that they will be doing the movements they came up with and recalling information about why exercise is important from the beginning of the lesson.
6. Go over the rules of Simon Says in case there are children who have not played before. If an instruction is preceded by "Simon says," children should follow it. If it is not preceded by "Simon says," anyone who follows the instruction is out.
7. Begin the game. In between asking for movements, ask children to recall information. For example: "Simon says, whisper to me how many minutes a day you should exercise." Or "Simon says, turn and tell your neighbor 1 reason why exercise is important."
8. After you have played a round as Simon, choose a child to be Simon. At this point, they will only focus on movements. Tell Simon that he or she does not need to ask the other children any questions. Try to give each child a chance to be Simon.
9. To wrap up the activity, have the children sit in a circle and lead a discussion using the following questions:
   
   • How did you feel after exercising in the game?
   • Can you remind me why exercising is important?
   • What fun ways could you get 60 minutes or more of exercise daily?

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Variations

1. If children are strong readers and writers, have them write their movement on a slip of paper, and Simon can draw them from a pile.
2. If you have extra time or want to switch activities, you could ask the children for other examples of ways they could exercise in this space. For example, they could play games such as Sharks and Minnows or Red Light, Green Light.

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