National Walking Day is on the way (It’s THIS Wednesday, April 5!)! Started by the American Heart Association in 2007, National Walking Day is recognized yearly on the first Wednesday in April. On this day, folks are encouraged to be more active and to experience firsthand the benefits of walking, something our Walking Classroom adopters and their students and program participants already do regularly!
But you don’t have to be a Walking Classroom program adopter to make the most of the day. Download podcasts from our website or get The Walking Classroom app!
You can also extend the celebration by:
- Setting up a “sneaker wall” to keep track of individual walks with a fun visual!
- Tracking the mileage for your class, OST program, or family!
- Starting a walking club to keep your kids on happy trails toward whole child health!
Grab Your Walking Shoes
Of course, we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate National Walking Day — with your class, your OST program participants, or even your family — than by listening to a fun, educational podcast from The Walking Classroom while you take a walk or get active in any way that feels most comfortable for you!
If you opt to walk, you can walk whenever and wherever you’d like! In fact, you may already have some great outdoor options in mind and, if the weather is inclement, you can always walk indoors!
Most importantly, always remember to choose a safe route and consider those walking, listening, and learning with you. After all, you want to ensure happy (and smooth) trails for walkers, rollers, and strollers! Once you’re on your way, you can move at your own pace, and you don’t even need a lot of space — simply repeat your path in the indoor or outdoor area you have chosen.
Get Set to Stroll
Looking to hit the trail with your students or OST program participants? Invite parents or other guests to walk with you and to join in on the follow-up discussion. Helpful hint: Be sure to encourage them to bring along their own earbuds!
Pick a podcast that supports your curriculum or one of the many podcast possibilities aligned with the month of April (It is National Poetry Month, Earth Month, and includes Shakespeare’s birthday, the anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride, and Earth Day, after all!). See all podcast topics here.
You can also encourage individual choice, letting parents and kids pick a podcast on their own or from a pre-selected list. You could focus on the poetry or environmental podcasts or, to reinforce the focus on walking, you could select podcasts that mention exercise and/or walking in the health message! Check out that list of podcasts and you’ll see that there are plenty that do!
Extending the Lesson
If you have parents or guests in attendance and you’re all using WalkKits, it would be helpful to split into two groups for the actual walk. Be sure to preview the lesson in a large group, providing an overview of the podcast and introducing any new vocabulary, so that everyone is fully prepared to walk, listen, and learn!
Then, have an activity or video from The Walking Classroom’s Adopter Resources lined up to support the podcast for the first group to enjoy while the second group walks. Allow time to do the follow-up discussion all together and invite parents and guests to participate too! (Even if you don’t have the full Walking Classroom program, you can access the extra resources that support our free Inez Fung podcast.)
And, Yes, You Can Try This at Home!
The celebration does not have to stop at the end of the school day! Families can hit the trail together and have a listen to one of The Walking Classroom’s 28 free podcasts, available online or via The Walking Classroom’s mobile app.
And, you can double down on the celebrating, recognizing not just National Walking Day but April as Earth Month as well if you select the podcast about Inez Fung! Extend the lesson at home too with this free bundle of related resources!
Make Every Day Walking Day
Who says you need to limit your celebration to National Walking Day itself? Keep moving and make every day a walking (and listening and learning!) day with The Walking Classroom!
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