All Active

-Offer 35 creative games and activities suitable for children ages 5 to 12 with and without disabilities

-Develop balance, improve fitness, and build locomotor, manipulative, and other skills

-Facilitate low-cost or no-cost activities that use common equipment

-Use step-by-step instructions and teaching tips to easily implement the activities

Kids love to move—especially when that movement is connected with searching for hidden things, collecting objects, and completing tasks that change the appearance of something. All Active: 35 Inclusive Physical Activities offers ways to get children moving and develop skills by setting fun and challenging goals for them to achieve.

Packed with new, creative ideas for facilitating games, All Active offers not just lesson plans but a framework that shows how to use equipment in fun game situations. The games are developmentally appropriate for children ages 5 to 12 years with and without disabilities. Each activity can be customized and adapted, allowing teachers and recreation leaders to use different equipment and adjust the level of difficulty as they create the most meaningful and purposeful setting for their students. The activities can be used in small groups, in a large class, or as stations. An activity finder at the beginning of the book helps teachers and leaders find game ideas.

The book includes 37 photos and diagrams to help teachers and leaders see how to set up the activities, and dozens of practical tips make the activities easy to implement. Each activity comes with clear instructions and provides information on objectives, equipment needs, setup, and game play. The “Teacher Tips” at the end of each activity offer suggestions for adapting the game for children with disabilities as well as ways to make the game more or less challenging.

Chapter 1 offers a variety of cardiorespiratory activities that also involve the practice of locomotor movement. Chapter 2 provides creative ideas for practicing skills that involve object control, such as throwing, kicking, striking, shooting, and dribbling a ball. In chapter 3, balance and coordination activities will help children work on static balance, body control, and body awareness. Chapter 4 contains games that combine a range of fitness-related skills.

All Active: 35 Inclusive Physical Activities will provide teachers and recreation leaders with practical and effective ideas to teach and practice basic motor skills. And it will help kids find purpose—and joy—in movement!

Kiwi Bielenberg, MEd, has taught elementary physical education since 1996. She received a bachelor's degree in physical education from St. Olaf College and a master's degree in applied kinesiology and adapted physical education from the University of Minnesota in 2002, where her work toward her degree broadened her view of how to creatively adapt games and activities to meet the needs of all students. She is a member of the Minnesota Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. In her leisure time she enjoys playing soccer, fishing, playing piano and trumpet, and watching her kids play hockey.