This special corner is dedicated to all our heart heroes who are passionate about keeping their hearts and brains healthy. Scroll down to discover and explore games, activities, and valuable resources that will help you understand the importance of practicing healthy habits and more about the Jump Rope for Heart program.
Kids need at least five servings of fruit and vegetables daily, but the older kids get, the more they need to stay healthy and keep growing.
The more kids move their bodies, the more their hearts pump to power up their brains and muscles with blood and oxygen.
Minimizing a child's recreational screen time to less than two hours a day can help them create a healthy relationship with technology. It teaches them to put their heart and brain health first by getting physically active outside of screen time.
Half of our bodies (including the heart and brain) is made of water, so kids need to make sure they drink enough to fuel it.
We challenge you to pick a healthy habit (or two!) and practice it every day. Track your healthy habit on our EASY Healthy Habit tracker. Click below to get started.
Play these fun activities, games, and quizzes at home or at school. Presented by Desjardins.
Click here to look at the pictures of fruits and vegetables, and name as many as you can!
Check your answers by clicking here.
Why is physical activity important for your heart and brain health?
You are right! Kids should be energetically active for at least an hour every single day. How long have you been active today?
Mhh, not quite right- try again.
When we are having screen time, we are usually relaxing, sitting or lying down. Being still effects our bodies in different ways.
What changes do you think you body experiences when you are being still and using your screen.
Correct! That's why it's important to break up screen time with movement and exercise.
Mhh, not quite right- try again.
It's important to think before you drink. Fruit juices, sodas and sports drinks contain a lot of sugar, so it is always better to pick water to drink.
What drink has the most sugar?
Wow, you must be a scientist to know that. Well done!
Not quite, try again. One or more are missing!
How many vegetables and fruit can you guess?
Have a parent, guardian or friend pick 3-5 different vegetables and fruit.
Without seeing what was selected, blindfold yourself and taste-test the vegetables and fruit and see how many you can guess!
Set up a fun obstacle course at home or at school!
Get creative with your own ideas and some of these ideas:
Break up your screen time with an "exercise snack" to get your body moving!
Set a timer and every 20 minutes, try some of these activities or think of your own!
Experiment with different flavours with our fun ice cube activity!
Add fruits, vegetables and herbs to your ice cub tray with water. Freeze the cubes and once frozen, you can add them to your water bottle!
What combination do you like best?
We recommend trying strawberry and basil or even lemon and cucumber!
Ask students to name vegetables and fruits that start with each letter of the alphabet (ex. A- Apple, B - Broccoli). See how many letters you can name as a class!
Play a little game of Activity Charades.
From the list below, have students break into two teams and pick one actor and one counter.
Without talking, have the actor act out as many activities as they can in one minute.
The counter keeps track of how many their team can guess correctly. The team who guesses the most activities wins!
Activity list: skipping, soccer, basketball, jumping jacks, yoga, skateboarding, skiing, hockey, ballet, rock climbing, running, walking the dog, shovelling snow, golf, tennis, football, bowling, volleyball, playing drums.
Come up with a list of fun activities as a class that you can do in your spare time to replace screen time.
Using a bag of sugar cubes (or loose sugar and a teaspoon), calculate how many cubes of sugar represent the amount of sugar in various beverages that your students often drink.
For example, juice boxes and a can of soda. Click here and use the resource provided to get started.
Choose a healthy recipe that you’ve never tried before (from the internet or from a recipe book), that you think you will like and make it with your parents/guardians at home.
Click here for some Heart & Stroke suggested recipes.
Do a nature walk scavenger hunt as a family. Click here for the scavenger hunt list and get outside to see what you can spot and find.
Create tech free zones at home where both parents and children are not allowed to use their devices.
Play a game, do a puzzle or a craft as a family. You can schedule this time weekly.
With your parent's/guardians' permission, pick a water bottle and make it more fun by decorating it!
Use stickers and permanent markers to give your water bottle a makeover!
Jump into these great resources and tools! Ready to download and print, our resources are designed to make the Healthy Habit program EASY and fun for all ages:
Screens for less than two hours
Yes to water, and no to sugary drinks
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