Secret to Your Child's School Success

The secret to school success is physical exercise. It's movement. Kids can improve attitude, grades, and test scores with movement--even manage ADHD.

Look for consistent aerobic exercise to get the best results. Running, fast walking, one-on-one basket ball, jumping rope, fast dancing, lots of the wii games and fitness exercises. With so many choices, you children should have no problem finding an activity they enjoy. When they get bored with one, there more choices.

Researchers, such as Dr. John Ratey at Harvard, have proven that 45-60 minutes every day of vigorous physical activity helps kids succeed in school. It's even good for ADHD kids. So good, in fact, that some kids have been able to stop taking stimulant medications after being in an exercise program.

Look for fun runs and 5K races in your neighborhood or city. Sign up the entire family so you can run together. On race day, kids and their racing parents will need to get up early, eat a healthy breakfast, and then do some simple stretching exercises to get ready. And drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

In San Diego, the Girl Scouts organize a 5K race (that's about 3 miles) every year and everybody gets free Girl Scout cookies. Individual races have raised as much as $20,000. Open to kids and adults, 1,000 folks turned out to run and eat cookies.

So how about organizing a race in your neighborhood to raise money for your kid's school? It's a fabulous activity and fun for everybody. Just be sure to have it early in the morning so it isn't too hot yet.

Your race doesn't need to be as elaborate as the San Diego Girl Scouts--could be shorter and fewer people. Could be open only to kids. It's up to you--better yet, your kids. Let them organize the whole thing.

To organize a race or fun run, kids will need to:

• Decide on the route and the length of the race
• The date and time for the race
• How to let other kids (and parents and teachers) know about the race
• Choose whether to charge for entering the race and who to give the money to. Perhaps their school's sports program.
• What to give as prizes. They could make prizes or get local businesses to donate them.
• How to design the numbers each contestant will wear. (Don't forget safety pins for attaching the numbers.)

By making the race simple and limited to just a few kids and their families, kids can easily set it up themselves. Once the race is successful, it's even easier to set up another one. That's the time to make it a bit bigger and bit more complicated.

Or how about organizing a backyard or local park track meet? The same general instructions apply. In addition, kids will need to decide what activities to include in the meet and how to make or find any equipment they might need.

And for more suggestions to encourage physical activity, I invite you to check out "Wake Up the Brain" at http://smartkidssmartparents.com/move-to-learn/.

Now have fun. Stay fit. Succeed in school.

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From MaryJo Wagner, Ph.D. - The Learning Doctor, helping you help your kids learn quickly and easily every day in every subject even if they have ADHD.

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