303 Preschooler-Approved Exercises and Active Games

by Kimberly Wechsler, Michael Sleva (Illustrator)

303 Preschooler-Approved Exercises and Active Games" is written specifically for children ages 2-5 years old. In the Building Blocks of Fitness section, each fitness and sport skill is taught in different stages. This allows teachers, counselors, or parents to teach their preschooler a skill that sets the foundation of a more difficult skill; the next level adds a new and more complex element. By doing this, the preschool child will be safe and will feel confident about themselves.
Children will
OCo Sportsmanship
OCo Socialization skills
OCo Self-control
OCo How to focus and follow rules
OCo How to share
OCo Reasoning and thinking skills
The preschool years are filled with milestones and major physical changes; young children will develop physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. During this time, lifestyle behaviors begin to emerge that can define a pattern of behaviors all the way through adulthood. It is vital to a childOCOs health to instill healthy lifestyle habits, behaviors, and disciplines during these young years. Through creative physical activities and easy-to-follow guidelines, this book will teach families how to navigate their dynamic and hectic lifestyles into a healthy and active lifestyle. Being physically active is an invaluable gift for a child, a gift that keeps on giving even into adulthood.
What motivates a five year old will be different than what motivates a twelve year old. ItOCOs not a OC one size fits allOCO when it comes to fitness. Children have specific physiologic differences that make them unique; they grow, mature and develop skills at different ages, so what may be skill appropriate for one child could be harmful for another child, fitness programs, exercises and activities must be designed specific to each developmental stage. Think of fitness in terms of building a pyramid. In order to have a strong foundation, preschoolers must learn the basic building blocks of fitness. Each year, as kids grow older, they are building on the foundations that were created in the previous years and moving on to more complex movements and skills. Moving from hitting a stationary ball to one that is thrown, bouncing a ball with two hands to bouncing it with one, and progressing from a bike with training wheels to one without, are all milestones that are accomplished during childhood. Kids will play longer and harder than those at the earlier stage of development. They can actually follow multi-task directions (e.g., run to the cone, jump up and down three times, then run back to me) and enjoy playing in a group more.
For quick access and easy to follow directions, the activities are organized into six sections of different games and exercises that can easily fit into a child's allotted playtime. Throughout these sections, children can become more aware of their bodily functions, develop sportsmanship and team-working skills, increase energy expenditure, help strengthen muscles and bones, and improve cardiovascular endurance. Preschoolers can decrease the risk of serious illnesses later in life while increasing their creative development. Play and exercise helps children to grow and learn about how the world works. "303 Preschooler-Approved Exercises and Active Games" is a physically active way to bring fun and laughter into a childOCOs life.

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

For those who are interested in more of my credentials, here you go!

Served on the Governors Committee for Youth Fitness
opened four “award winning” fitness camps
Served as coach for basketball and baseball for Boys and Girl Clubs of America.
Physical education teacher.
I teach cooking classes.
I teach yoga/pilates/water fitness/personal training.
I hosted a television show on family fitness and have lectured on you guessed it, health and fitness.
I hosted a radio show.

RECENT MEDIA/JOURNALISM:

CEO, Fitness Productions, LLC
Author,
BOOKS:
303 Preschooler-Approved Exercises and Active Games 2012
Author, 303 Kid-Approved Exercises and Active Games 2012
Author, 303 ‘Tween-approved Exercises and Active Games 2012
Author 101 Cool Pool Games, 2007
Author 101 Juegos de Piscina Para Ninos, 2007
2013 Smoothies! Become a Smoothie Alchemist.
Family Games. The Best in Family Game Night.
Boot Camp Fitness for Kids.
Why Should I Drink More Water?
Host, Fit American Families Blogcast Radio Mondays @4:00p.m. CST. (present)
Host, Television Healthy Lifestyles 2007
Founded, Non-Profit Organization Replay4Kids, 2011
Opened 4 Award Winning Fitness Camps
Keynote Speaker NERHSA
Keynote Speaker, IHRSA

Reviews

[Sade · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Copy kindly provided by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I've purchased the school aged exercise/active game book and I think they are both amazing. I've found that the activities in these books come in handy particularly when running support groups/therapy groups. I can't wait for the opportunity to use these in my next group.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an EarlyReader for LibraryThing.

As a grandmother of a 3 year old, I was excited to receive a copy of this book and I am not disappointed! In an age where children can find so many things to sit in front of or hold in their hands, it is smart to have a game plan to promote activity. This book is a primer for parents, teachers, group leaders and grandparents to use in promoting fun fitness activities for pre-schoolers. It is divided into exercises and games on different levels. It can be used with groups and solo.
The exercises are basic ones we all know, with a name or idea to make it fun for a little one to do. Exercises are categorized by the skills they promote; balance, fine motor, jumping, running, heart strength, etc. If equipment is needed it is minimal and noted. There are music and rhythm games that be used at parties.
Stringing a group of activities together in a block of time to do a workout (without calling it one) is a nice addition. I can see teachers using that.
Also, it is going to be good for the teacher or parent or grandparent who does these activities with their little one! Healthy at all ages.
The author is a fitness and dance instructor who has tested these activities.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect resource book for any pre-school/pre-K classroom or program. It contains hundreds of exercises and games designed to develop endurance, strength, balance and flexibility in children three to five years old. The games are categorized by the type of exercise (stretching, building muscle, teaching balance, etc.) and the size of group the activity is appropriate for (pair, small group, any size, entire group). They are further broken down into levels, starting with more basic exercises that will help young children develop the skills necessary for more complex physical activity.

Here are just a few of my favorites:
Mimicking the body movements of different animals, such as lizards, crocodiles, and inchworms.
The Overhead: having the children pretend to reach for something overhead that is just a little out of their reach.
The Baseball Swing & the Airplane Soar!

This is a great book. It has dozens of ideas for activities that will help young children be more active, while allowing them to use their imaginations. As a primary school teacher myself, I am sure it will be a wonderful addition to our classroom. It is chock-full of fun, SIMPLE ideas to get kids moving!

I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.