Every morning and after lunch, children follow the colorful activity map on the floor of the elementary school’s main hallway on their way to class at this school, located about 100 kilometers southwest of Winnipeg. The Sensory Path at Roland School is the first of its kind in Manitoba, says principal Brandy Chevalier. It was inspired by an Alberta initiative called ‘Do not Walk in the Hallway’, launched in 2015.
She explains how the Sensory Path helps the students. “They feel that they have burned off some energy, they feel ready to sit down and get to work. They can concentrate a little better.” Chevalier hopes that such an exercise can become a preventive measure for certain behavioral problems that may occur when a child is unable to regulate themselves enough to sit still in class.
The benefits are not limited to academics. By doing similar exercises every day, physical competence increases, which boosts confidence and makes people more likely to move and be active. And that has social, environmental, economic and health benefits.
And that is urgently needed, Chevalier says: “Canadians do not move enough. Recently, Canada received a low score in a recent study of activity levels in 49 countries.”
The figures from Health Canada are also significant:
- Only 13 percent of preschoolers and 9.5 percent of children and teenagers meet Canada’s 24-hour movement guidelines.
- Only 18 percent of Canadian adults aged 18 to 65 engage in 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week.
- Among adults aged 65 to 79, the percentage is even lower: only 14 percent meet the guideline of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in periods of 10 minutes or more.
Dean Kriellaars, from the physiotherapy department at the University of Manitoba, has practiced, researched and taught physical literacy for more than a decade. He believes something needs to be done: “Our society needs to change, and so does our appreciation of movement. That applies to the workplace, but also to our schools, where movement will need to be just as important as reading and writing. Physical literacy has a physical component, a social component and a psychological component. It is really about creating that holistic image of a child, and for that we need all three components.”
Chevalier sees a strong future for movement programs in schools. “I think many schools are embracing alternatives to sitting in the classroom, and that is exactly a complement to that concept.” She also has some advice for education professionals: “You have to do your homework, you have to get together with an occupational therapist and your physical education teachers and really talk about what your students need.”
Watch here a video about the Sensory Path.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/physical-activity-guidelines-children-1.4932070