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In the US, only one in four children get the recommended amount of daily exercise. With busy routines and sedentary classroom hours, finding the time for physical activity can be difficult. However, a new solution exists – exercise snacks for kids. Exercise in elementary schools can be spread out into short, manageable increments. Instead of limiting activity to recess or gym class, incorporating exercise throughout the day ensures that kids get the movement they need to thrive. These small moments of physical activity in schools have been proven to boost health and cognitive function. Educators can make physical activity in schools a natural and enjoyable part of learning.
In this article, we’ll explore what exercise snacks are and introduce effective and educational ways to make them a part of your students’ routines!
Despite your initial thoughts, the exercise snacks we’re talking about aren’t bananas or protein shakes.
Exercise snacks are short periods of movement performed throughout the day, usually lasting between 30 seconds to a few minutes. These brief periods of physical activity can be as simple as climbing stairs, jumping jacks, or standing up to stretch.
The idea of exercise snacks appeals mainly to busy adults who do not have enough time to fit a full workout into their schedule. They only require a short time commitment a few times a day. Plus, they do not require any equipment or a trip to the gym.
However, consistency is essential. A person must do exercise snacks at least three times a day, every day of the week, to improve their health. A short burst of physical activity for two minutes every three days will not make much difference. The goal is to break up sedentary time spent sitting at a desk or lounging in front of the TV.
Recent studies show that exercise snacks can positively affect one’s health. Some of the benefits of exercise snacking include:
It’s true that even such short “movement snacks” can make a difference. A 2021 study found that an 11-minute workout – consisting of running in place, lunges, and other light bodyweight exercises – improved cardiovascular fitness by up to 7% in participants compared to a control group.
Adults in the US spend an average of 9.5 hours per day engaged in sedentary activities. Science tells us that this lack of movement can lead to rising blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and obesity, as well as a more significant risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
These consequences are enough to motivate a lot of us to jog a lap around our room right now. Unfortunately, circumstances like office jobs, commute times, and other obligations limit the amount of physical activity adults can fit into their day.
Exercise snacks act as a solution to break up the excessive sedentary time, creating a short exercise break.
Studies show that movement throughout the day is more beneficial than only one period of physical activity in the day.
A 2024 study found that short, frequent walking or bodyweight squat breaks throughout an 8.5 period of sitting improved blood sugar regulation better than a single 30-minute walk.
Exercise snacks are a great way to incorporate intentional movement throughout the day, rather than just hitting the gym once per day.
So far, exercise snacks have only really been shared as a solution for adults to increase their physical activity. What about kids in school?
On average, elementary students sit for 8.5 hours every day. After age 8, activity levels significantly drop and continue to decrease through adolescence.
Turns out, kids are very sedentary too. Only 20-28% of kids ages 6 to 17 get 60 minutes of daily physical activity (the recommended amount by the US Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans).
There is some time for exercise in elementary schools, such as recess and physical education classes. However, the statistics tell us that it’s not enough. How can we increase physical activity in schools and incorporate exercise throughout the day?
The importance of exercise throughout the day is becoming more and more apparent in recent studies. Despite that, the traditional school day is often very sedentary as students sit at desks and listen to a teacher’s lecture, read books, or complete worksheets.
How can educators increase physical activity in schools while staying on track with lessons?
Math & Movement offers a solution – kinesthetic learning strategies. We create movement-based educational materials that supplement a school’s curriculum, like floor mats and stickers. With the Math & Movement program, students can be physically active while learning and meeting educational standards.
Since our learning materials and interactive activities align with state standards and cover hundreds of concepts, Math & Movement makes it easy to increase exercise in elementary schools. Plus, our movement-based strategies work perfectly as exercise snack ideas in the classroom!
Our active math movements work as brain-break exercises for students. Active math movements are short physical activities (just like exercise snacks!) that students can do while practicing math skills. They do not require any materials other than students’ voices and bodies.
Here’s an example of an active math movement for 3rd or 4th graders learning how to skip count by 7s:
Hop forward and whisper, “one.”
Next, hop backward and whisper, “two.”
Hop to the left and whisper, “three.”
Then, hop to the right and whisper, “four.”
Pat your joey with your left hand and whisper, “five.”
After that, pat your joey with your right hand and whisper, “six.”
Clap and say “SEVEN!” loudly. Continue on to seventy!
The Math & Movement Training Manual is a fantastic resource for educators looking to add more physical activity to learning. Over 250 different movement activities are included in the manual, designed to give them all the benefits that exercise snacks offer while engaging them in learning.
We want to make movement-based learning strategies accessible to every educator. Enter your email below to receive a FREE copy of the Math & Movement Training Manual! This PDF will guide educators through adding “active math movement snacks” to their lessons!
Movement isn't just for recess
Want to get started with movement-based learning right now? Enter your email to get our training manual with over 250 active math movements. No materials necessary!
See how simple adding movement can be!
Math & Movement has many educational floor mats and stickers that students can use during lessons. Our durable, eye-catching materials give students a hands-on learning experience for math, literacy, science, and more!
Students learn with our materials by walking, stepping, jumping, tracing, and crawling on them. For example, to practice counting and one-to-one correspondence with kindergarteners and first graders, students can use our Add/Subtract (1-100) Mat. Students can start on “1” and step or walk one space at a time to 100, whispering each number as they go. They clap and shout the number when they step on a multiple of 10. This simple activity provides a kinesthetic experience when engaging students visually and audibly.
Best of all, science proves that exercise and learning make a great pair. Exercise benefits not only the body but also the mind! Here’s a few facts we know about the relationship between kinesthetic activities and learning:
By incorporating exercise snacks throughout the day and more physical activity in schools, we can encourage young students to live a healthy, active lifestyle for years to come. These fitness snacks will help us know how to reduce sedentary time in students’ daily lives. Using Math and Movement products and brain break activities is a simple way to increase exercise in elementary schools.
Movement isn't just for recess
Want to get started with movement-based learning right now? Enter your email to get our training manual with over 250 active math movements. No materials necessary!
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