Looking for a way to keep your children and students active during this uncertain time? Cross County Connection’s Safe Routes to School Program has got you covered! The Golden Sneaker Walking Challenge is fun, active and implementable outside the school’s walls.
Typically, the challenge is a competition between two or more grades that compete to determine who can walk the most steps during a given time. Students track their steps with a pedometer provided by Cross County Connection, record them in their daily tracker and calculate those steps to determine a winner at the end of the challenge. In an effort to be safe, we are unable to provide pedometers at this time; however, we encourage you to keep moving.
Parents, try using your phone to map out the steps (miles) to walk around your neighborhood or record the steps using your phone’s tracker. Remember there are roughly 2,000 steps in a mile. Additionally, there are apps that will track your steps, distance and heart rate such as Leap Fitness’ Step Counter. Keep in mind, Governor Murphy’s Stay at Home order allows you to leave the house for exercise, but social distancing measures must be taken. Members of the same household can walk together, but they must give six feet of space to anyone that does not live in the household, including other family members.
Not going outside? No problem. Take the challenge indoors! Walk around the house and make daily, household chores active. Instead of using the remote control to turn on the TV, walk up to the television and turn it on. Other active household chores include vacuuming or stepping while folding laundry. You can even make the challenge a competition between siblings (it is also a great way to get them to do chores).
Teachers, want to make the challenge interactive? See if parents are open to a competition between students. Create an online leader scoreboard and allow students to walk around the house, backyard or neighborhood to increase their accumulated steps. Provide a daily or weekly reward to the student(s) with the top steps. There is even an opportunity to allow for learning during this challenge. Students who are able to achieve a high step count can write a few best practices to encourage new winners each week.
Generate even more interest with rewards to motivate students to stay active.
Here are some options for rewards:
1. Extra credit on a test
2. Lowest grade removed from homework
3. Homework pass
4. Extra credit on homework
5. Lowest grade removed from test
Other ways to make it fun: A photo challenge! Students can submit photos of them doing active chores daily to teachers or at the end of the week (Monday-Friday challenge). Teachers can select the top photos for a “Student’s Choice Reward.” The People’s Choice Rewards allow the winner(s) to select any reward from a list of choices.
Share your thoughts and photos of you and your students participating in this challenge with
Cross County Connection
by contacting your Safe Routes to School Coordinator at
[email protected]
. You may just be featured in our next newsletter! We look forward to seeing how you all stay active!
