Mission Reports - A hero's blog

Staying Active

I am a huge believer in the merits of activity, especially keeping little bodies active. As a parent, I know the benefits of giving my children lots of moving, running, and jumping time during the day because it means they're ready to go to bed when I am ready to put them to bed. And as a former instructor at a children's recreational gym, I know the developmental benefits of gross motor activity as it relates to spatial and body awareness. So that is why all of our heroes engage kids at birthday parties in active games that require kids to use their large muscles. 

 

Just the other day, our Friendly Arachnid led kids in 'spider relay races' where the kids were split up into two teams and asked to walk like spiders (crab walk) as fast as they could to a boundary and then turnaround and spider walk back to tag the next person in line. In just this one activity, kids were led to try a new body position (hands and feet behind them on all fours), work together as a team, follow simple directions, and wait their turn. 

 

Sometimes physical activity at parties with a hero is less scripted and more spontaneous. The birthday girl at our Mightiest Woman in Star-Spangled Shorts' last party asked the Mighty Woman to push her on the swing - a simple request - but even more meaningful when we learned from the mom that swinging is the birthday girl's favorite thing to do. Sharing your favorite activity with your hero, isn't that what we all dreamed of as kids?