Fitness Fun

Downloadable files included at end of post

Things you will need for this activity:

• water bottles, enough for each girl
• marker, to write names on water bottles
• healthy snack for the end (apple slices, goldfish crackers, string cheese, grapes, granola bars, these are just some possibilities)
• a printed and assembled Fitness Fun Wheel for each girl (link at bottom)
• a printed 30 day exercise chart for each girl (link at bottom)
• an instructor for your fitness activity, or an appropriate exercise video, or equipment for an active game, such as soccer, indoor hockey, kickball, etc.
• A note, email or text sent to parents prior to the activity reminding them that the girls will need active wear and athletic shoes, plus anything else (a towel or yoga mat, for example) that you will need for the activity
• A Faith in God book for you, as the leader; encourage the girls to bring their own books
• Any equipment needed for your fitness fun (speakers for music, a TV/DVD player for your fitness video, balls, bases, etc.)

Since this is my first activity post I'm going to spend a little time explaining my organizational structure. About 85% of my activities have this framework. I don't just jump right into the activity because Activity Days is NOT just about teaching a craft, or learning a skill, or having fun. It's about tying all those things back to our relationship with Heavenly Father, and helping the girls recognize spiritual connections in all things. It's about encouraging them to build their personal relationships with the other girls, their families, and God. The structure is also about keeping the girls engaged and active, because they are young and need a lot of hands on stuff to do!

Fitness Fun

Welcome/Opening Prayer/Article of Faith memorization and discussion: 10 minutes
Introduction of the activity: 5 minutes
Zumba: taught by a sister in our ward, 25 minutes
Water break: 5 minutes
Yoga: taught by a sister in our ward, 20 minutes
Faith in God tie in: 15 minutes
Closing prayer/snack pass out: 5 minutes

Welcome/Opening Prayer/Article of Faith
First of all, I always strive to start right on time. Don't always make it, but you can see that schedule is 85 minutes... and you know in real life those minutes won't break down so perfectly. If you start late, everything is off, and it doesn't take too many times of parents waiting on kids before they get cranky.

The welcome is simply that: welcome to activity days, glad you're all here!

I choose a volunteer for opening prayer. If the same few girls always volunteer, I pick alternates. I have name sticks in a can and I'll choose one. :)

Articles of Faith-- there are 13 articles and only 12 months in the year. I purposely started my time as a leader with AofF #8... because everyone knows all the early short ones pretty well anyway.

Girls with their Faith in God books may look at the Articles of Faith but I also write a mnemonic up on the board (either some pictures or the first letter of each word, or some of the key words in order) and we all say it together.

Then we spend a few minutes talking about what that means. Who translated the Bible? How does translating work? Why might there be errors in the Bible, but not in the Book of Mormon? What does "word of God" mean?

Then we say it one more time, and we're done!

Introduction: I tell the girls what we're going to do, and how it ties into Faith in God, and sometimes I have a related scripture verse that I share during this time. I try to keep in short because I know they are dying to get to "the good stuff."

For this evening our tie in was under Developing Talents, "Plan a physical fitness program for yourself that may include learning to play a sport or game. Participate in the program for one month." Obviously we're not going to complete that tonight but I have extras for take home and the girls will be encouraged to complete it on their own!

Zumba: If you don't have a talented sister in your ward you can use a video. The live instruction was nice though. I would pre-watch and try any video to make sure it is do-able. The 20-25 minute time slot was just about right, especially as some girls were Zumba pros and quite confident, and some were newbies and a little shy about doing the dance movements. Obviously other forms of exercise, including aerobics,Taebo or calisthenics or whatever would work here as well.

Water break: I provided water bottles and had the girls write their names on them. NAMES GOOD. All the water bottles look the same and they get set down all over and no one will touch them again for fear of not getting the right one and accidentally ingesting germs of some other girl. Lol!

Yoga: A nice cool down activity, and a very different type of exercise. It was challenging for the girls,  but they tried most of the poses. When we were done they were definitely ready to be done, so it was good that this was a shorter segment.

The two different exercise segments were fun (and part of "learning to play") but if I did this activity again I would probably make it easy on myself and do a single 30 minute exercise segment (or play a physical game like soccer, kickball, or floor hockey). The extra minutes would be used to either make a healthy snack/talk about nutrition, or talk about exercise, sweat and hygiene! Lol!

After a day of school, homework and play, the girls did NOT want to exercise for 50 minutes straight through!

Faith in God tie in: Our discussion time was spent talking about how our bodies are a gift from God, each one unique, and special. I emphasized a few different points:
1. Exercise will make you healthier, but it will not necessarily (or usually) drastically change your body shape. It won't make you taller, or your thighs lean instead of round, or your chest full (or flat!), but it will strengthen your heart, your muscles, and your self discipline.
2. A healthy body is a huge gift. To be able to walk, breathe easily, run, sit, and stand are things we usually take for granted, but not everyone can do them. When we thank God for our blessings, a healthy body is a HUGE blessing.
3. God expects us to treat our bodies as temples. We talked about good things to put in our bodies, things NOT to put in our bodies (alcohol, drugs, smoking, etc.), and eating sweet and fattening foods in moderation, while accepting and eating healthy foods (vegetables, fruits, grains) daily.

I ask the girls lots of questions rather than just telling them things. It's more fun and they learn more too!

I gave all the girls a 30 day exercise chart and an exercise wheel spinner. To fulfill their Faith in God objective they were to take the spinner home and spin it once daily, and complete the suggested exercise. Then they were to mark their chart, and keep it up for 30 days.

Closing Prayer/Snack: We usually pray first (to bless the food) and then pass out the snack. The girls can take it with them if parents are picking them up. Or they can eat it in the room. Our building has strict rules about food areas, so we encourage the girls to take it with or keep it and eat it right there.

My snack choice: Goldfish crackers and string cheese sticks

Link to my simple PDF exercise chart: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9ltWADMnsx7Wi1SMHNKQURjbGs/view?usp=sharing

Link to my printable exercise wheel spinner:'
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9ltWADMnsx7MjdrQVIyLTZiVzA/view?usp=sharing

Link to a fancier center spinner (which I did splurge on because I thought they were cool):
http://www.amazon.com/Koplow-Games-KOP04258-Board-Spinner/dp/B002GJFAKS/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y