Healthy Classrooms
BHC Orientation
Each month individual classroom teachers will choose one or two of the provided Healthy eating lessons to play for their students. We have a recommended order of the lessons, but the lessons are stand-alone and can be taught in any order. We just ask that the teacher find time to play a minimum of one lesson a month. Each pdf lesson includes a short video with key content, discussion questions, a read-along, and reinforcing classroom activities for a deeper dive into the topic. The classroom activities are divided into age-appropriate cohorts. Each lesson is also linked to the Michigan Nutrition standards met within that lesson.
During this year of Building Healthy Communities Implementation, Classroom Teachers will:
- Display a MyPlate Poster (that we provide) in the classroom. This is an important way to reinforce the lessons and serves as a reminder of healthy habits.
- Integrate at least eight (8) healthy eating lessons within your classroom from October – May (that’s one a month). A variety of resources will be provided on the BHC website to aid in this, including 16 lesson plans on a range of nutrition-focused topics. We’ve provided a recommended sequence for instruction, or you can choose topics of interest to your students. We ask that you include one a month, but feel free to do more if your schedule and curriculum permit!
- Utilize regular physical activity breaks during the school day. Small bouts of physical activity have benefits for learners, teachers, and the classroom environment! We’ll provide you with activity recommendations each month, as well as a library of resources from which you can choose. We aim for one PA break per day, but more is better!
- Establishing class policies that promote healthy habits and wellness. Creating and maintaining a healthy classroom allows you to provide a physical and social environment that promotes healthy choices
Healthy Eating Lessons
My Plate
Dairy
Fruits & Vegetables
Healthy Snacks
Grains
Breakfast
Protein
Healthy Drinks
Additional Lessons
Mindful Eating
Calcium & Vitamin D
Eat A Rainbow
Go Slow Whoa
Food = Energy
Around The World
Sugar Shock
What’s Your Eating Style
Classroom Resources
SEL Classroom Resources
Monthly Physical Activity Breaks
Additional Physical Activity Break Videos
If I Can’t Have You
Activity Description: Dance along to “If I Can’t Have You” with Julianna, Isaiah, Liv, & Jacob!
Best For: K-5
Time: 3:45
Skills Emphasized: Dance
2020 Vision
Activity Description: Dance along to “2020 Vision” with Alana and Layla from Kidz Bop on the beach!
Best For: K-5
Time: 3:04
Skills Emphasized: Dance
Thunder
Activity Description: Follow along with this strength warm-up that Kidz Bop does before their shows so they’re ready to run up and down the stairs!
Best For: 3-5
Time: 3:08
Skills Emphasized: Dance
Think Like a Scientist
Activity Description: Observe, hypothesize, experiment, report, and analyze as you sing and dance to this scienteriffic song!
Best For: 3-5
Time: 2:38
Skills Emphasized: Dance
Fabio Meatball Run
Activity Description: Jump, duck, and dodge around obstacles to help Moose Fabio deliver delicious, juicy meatballs to his GrandMoose Filomena.
Best For: K-5
Time: 3:19
Skills Emphasized: Duck, Dodge & Jump
I Wish You Well
Activity Description: Dance along to “Wish You Well” with Ashton and Mia from The KIDZ BOP Kids on the beach!
Best For: K-5
Time: 3:15
Skills Emphasized: Dance
Freeze Dance
Activity Description: Dance – and – Freeze along with these characters for a fun way to energize your body!
Best For: K-2
Time: 2:06
Skills Emphasized: Dance, Hop, Skip, Twirl, Freeze
Champtastic Disco Brain
Activity Description: Sing and dance along with Not Dog, the Champs and the amazing Disco Brain!
Best For: 3rd Grade
Time: 3:10
Skills Emphasized: Dance, Jump, Twist
Happier
Activity Description: Dance along with the KIDZ BOP Kids’ dance video, “Happier”!
Best For: 3-5
Time: 4:09
Skills Emphasized: Dance
Guacamole
Activity Description: Sing, dance, and celebrate the awesomeness of Guacamole as you learn how many days are in each month of the year!
Best For: K-5
Time: 2:33
Skills Emphasized: Dance
Boom Chicka Boom
Activity Description: Sway your hips back and forth to the beat and repeat the actions and words!
Best For: K-2
Time: 3:44
Skills Emphasized: Dance
Have a Blast with This Family Fun Cardio Workout!
Activity Description: Get your heart rate up in your living room with this fun workout. Featuring cardio moves that feel like games and challenges where the winner gets prizes — like choosing what’s for dinner — this workout is the perfect way for the family to get active together, with moves like frog jumps and hopscotch!
Best For: K-5
Time: 13:08
Skills Emphasized: jump, cardio, planks, jumping jacks, sit–ups, balance
Fitness Break for Movement
Activity Description: Follow along with this class to move your body!
Best For: 3-5
Time: 5:23
Skills Emphasized: cardio, run, hop, jumping jacks
5 minute move
Activity Description: Great for all ages! Get up and get moving!
Best For: K-5
Time: 5:49
Skills Emphasized: Cardio, jumping
Super Yoga Stretch Safari
Activity Description: A 5-minute fast-paced yoga-based workout for kids. Get the wiggles out and build your knowledge of all the kids yoga poses – for home, the classroom and parties!
Best For: 3-5
Time: 5:24
Skills Emphasized: Yoga, Stretch
Underwater Yoga Party
Activity Description: Follow along with this ‘underwater’ fast-paced yoga workout for kids. Get the wiggles out and build your knowledge of yoga poses for home or the classroom! A fun challenge for memory, coordination and information processing!
Best For: K-5
Time: 4:58
Skills Emphasized: Balance, Stretch
Balance on one foot
Activity Description: Join Debbie Doo and her great friends Bounce Patrol as they Jive, twist, boogie, hop and bop along to “Balance on One Foot” a dance song written by Debbie Doo to encourage free movement, balance, fitness and coordination!
Best For: K-2
Time: 2:12
Skills Emphasized: Balance, coordination, dance, hop
Do the Bear Walk
Activity Description: Do the Bear Walk is a song to help children with their Gross motor skills, Balance, Coordination and Self-Regulation in the classroom. It’s a super fun dance tune that will have the kids up and moving to get them ready to learn. The song helps to get the children at the right balance between alertness and calmness, so they are ready to learn. It can also be used as a fun classroom brain break.
Best For: K-2
Time: 4:12
Skills Emphasized: skip, bridge pose, yoga, hop, plank, gross motor, balance, coordination
STOP Follow Directions Song for Children
Activity: Move and Stop Follow–Along
Best For: K-2
Time: 2:52
Description: Musical freeze song for children. Stop and go movement song for children
Skills Emphasized: balance, coordination
Move and Freeze
Activity Description: An action children’s brain break, action and dance song, ‘Move and Freeze’, by The Learning Station
Best For: K-5
Time: 4:00
Skills Emphasized: balance, coordination
Upper Strength Kids’ Workout
Activity Description: This Upper Body workout is great not only for making you stronger, but also helps with your posture and overall muscle balance. As kids develop it’s often just the legs that get most of the attention – running, jumping and general play usually involves moving the lower body. It’s great to keep the upper body developing as well. Mixing up upper body, lower body and cardio workouts throughout your week will ensure you’re getting the best possible results for your whole body.
Best For: K-5
Time: 6:05
Skills Emphasized: balance, run, jump
Workout for kids: Shape Jump
Activity Description: Workout for kids – shape jump is another great video to put on when kids need to burn some extra energy!
Best For: K-5
Time: 4:38
Skills Emphasized: jump
Betsy the Banana
Activity Description: A cosmic yoga adventure about Betsy – a banana with three withes! Kids Yoga follow-along with Besty the Banana!
Best For: Lower
Time: 11:42
Skills Emphasized: Yoga, Stretch
Skills Emphasized: balance, coordination
Calming Exercises for Kids: Breathing and Stretching
Activity Description: The aim of this video is to help little people manage the big emotions they experience. It includes some simple breathing exercises and stretches to help kids release tension and calm down when they are feeling stressed, frustrated or anxious.
Best For: Lower / Upper
Time: 3:59
Skills Emphasized: breathe, stretch, yoga, flexibility
Super Simple Stretches for Kids
Activity Description: The stronger and more flexible you are, the better you’ll become at sports like gymnastics. Here are a few super simple stretches to get your body and muscles strong and healthy!
Best For: Lower / Upper
Time: 5:03
Skills Emphasized: Stretch
Yoga with Animals
Activity Description: Educational yoga video for kids where even small children and their parents will be able to learn to relax in a different way. Through a fun story with animals, kids will practice different yoga poses and work on their breathing.
Best For: Lower / Upper
Time: 4:12
Skills Emphasized: stretch, breathe
Calm Kids: Full Body Stretch
Activity Description: This video is a great selection of stretches that will help your whole body feel relaxed. Great for kids to perform after any physical activity or just as a calming activity on its own.
Best For: Lower / Upper
Time: 7:37
Skills Emphasized: stretch
Tommy the Bedtime Turtle
Activity Description: A Cosmic Kids yoga adventure all about enjoying the bedtime routine and sleeping well!
A yoga workout for kids 3+ to build calmness, confidence and strength.
Best For: Lower
Time: 17:20
Skills Emphasized: stretch
Bring it down
Activity Description: This exercise teaches how to gain control of your stressful energy when it becomes to hard to handle.
Best For: K-2
Time: 3:27
Skills Emphasized: Balance, Stretch
Yoga for kids: strength and balance
Activity Description: This yoga sequence focuses on developing arm, leg, back and core strength, as well as good balance. These exercises not only help children develop physically, they also help improve focus and concentration. Children that develop a strong core and good posture also find it easier to sit at a desk when they start schooling and they tend to have less trouble maintaining concentration whilst at school. Great for kids and adults of all ages!
Best For: Lower / Upper
Time: 6:30
Skills Emphasized: stretch, balance, core strength, yoga
Melting-Flow
Activity Description: Practice melting away that icky frozen feeling you get when you’re scared, frustrated, or angry.
Best For: K-5
Time: 3:37
Skills Emphasized: Stretch, Lunge
The Listening Game
Activity Description: Jaime introduces a fun game – about listening.
Best For: K-5
Time: 6:33
Skills Emphasized: yoga, stretch, listening
Relaxed Breathing Training
Activity Description: Breath along with the blow-fish. When the fish rises up, breathe in and allow your belly to fill up with air. As the fish comes back down, breathe out slowly and let the air out.
Best For: K-2
Time: 1:00
Skills Emphasized: breathing
On & Off-Flow
Activity Description: This exercise will teach you to turn high, stressful energy off so you can do what you need to do to be your best self.
Best For: K-5
Time: 4:30
Skills Emphasized: deep breathing
Good Night Yoga
Activity Description: This bedtime story is so much more than a story. It’s a practice for kids and parents to end the day in a calming, mindful way. Turn the page and stretch like a tree, settle softly like a ladybug, float like a cloud, and you’ll be dreaming soon.
Best For: Lower
Time: 6:41
Skills Emphasized: Yoga, Stretch, Balance
Be Kind to Yourself
Activity Description: Learn how to give yourself some loving kindness with this calming video
Best For: Lower / Upper
Time: 4:22
Skills Emphasized: yoga, stretch, breathe
