But first the group took a few minutes for "morning warm-up"! The instructor, Tommie, got the boom-box going and led us in the stretches and light calisthenics. Fun!!
...which is why I was so interested when I encountered this "Morning Warm-Up, for You in the Building Industry" material when I was doing my student teaching at the school.
The material included a few posters like the one pictured above which illustrate the various stretches and movements. This is for the benefit of all, but especially the person leading the warm-up. Even if he or she is not used to leading something like this the pictures on the posters give them support.
But the best thing were the CDs. They have a short series of songs to match the stretches and dynamic movements and there is a voice-over giving instructions, like "left leg up....and switch", etc. in time to the music. All this greatly simplifies this for the person leading the excercises!
This is a good approach. It helps to get the students active first thing and settle them. Did they also do exercises throughout the session whenever they got restless?
Whenever I do face to face classes with teachers who are in active industries I always try to get them moving every twenty minutes or so.
Hi Susanne! That's true, though I hadn't even thought about how a little exercise can settle a group of youngsters down. But I know well from my own case that I work better when I have taken time to get my body going!
Obviously some students will be more willing to get into a thing like this than others, but I would say for the individuals who do get into the movements and the beat of the music that they would also get the benefit of getting a fresh energy separate from whatever they may have come into class with.
Perhaps I may be generalizing from my own case but I find there is something really awesome about coordinating the body in time, getting the endorphins flowing, and focusing the attention on an movement or on a group of muscles--you seem to forget about everything else for a moment!
So students may indeed be more ready to focus and get down to business afterwards!
You raise another good point--why must it be a morning warm-up? Really getting some physical activity in can make sense at any time of the day. Especially if folks are getting restless.
That's great that you get the youngsters moving every 20 minutes. How to you integrate physical activity into your lessons so that it can be done so frequently throughout the day?
do you always do this warming up? This is a very good routine to train studetns to always do. Then they might be able to work till they are 70, which is in the dabate now. Ingemar
Well I cannot take credit for any of this! This is something that the teachers at Bräcke Gymnasiet have introduced to their students when they are working at the workshop in Stora Holm. They in turn borrowed it from a growing movement in the building industry here in Sweden, where workers are gathering at the beginning of the work day to do this sort of warm up.
I imagine, like you say, that this is a great thing that almost certainly has positive productivity and health benefit both long- and short-term. I wonder what research has been done on the subject and whether these benefits have been measured??
Tommie led this in a way that was compulsory but rather informal. At the beginning of the day in the workshop, before anybody got out their tools, everyone--students and teachers alike--stood in a large ring in the middle of the workshop and did the exercises in time with the music and the voiced-over instructions. None of the students refused to participate but maybe a third of the group "went through the motions" of the warm-up without any particular focus or engagement.
thats a very good to warm up before start working, maybe i should do that with my students also
ReplyDeleteabsolutely! I think the benefits of a morning warm-up are self-evident: good for the body, good for the mind, potentially fun, etc.
Delete...but probably most of us don't do it because no one else does and we don't have some one to lead.
...which is why I was so interested when I encountered this "Morning Warm-Up, for You in the Building Industry" material when I was doing my student teaching at the school.
DeleteThe material included a few posters like the one pictured above which illustrate the various stretches and movements. This is for the benefit of all, but especially the person leading the warm-up. Even if he or she is not used to leading something like this the pictures on the posters give them support.
But the best thing were the CDs. They have a short series of songs to match the stretches and dynamic movements and there is a voice-over giving instructions, like "left leg up....and switch", etc. in time to the music. All this greatly simplifies this for the person leading the excercises!
DeleteSecure jewelery good to get going in the morning, but what did the students about the heating?
ReplyDeleteHi Joe
ReplyDeleteThis is a good approach. It helps to get the students active first thing and settle them. Did they also do exercises throughout the session whenever they got restless?
Whenever I do face to face classes with teachers who are in active industries I always try to get them moving every twenty minutes or so.
Susanne
Hi Susanne! That's true, though I hadn't even thought about how a little exercise can settle a group of youngsters down. But I know well from my own case that I work better when I have taken time to get my body going!
DeleteObviously some students will be more willing to get into a thing like this than others, but I would say for the individuals who do get into the movements and the beat of the music that they would also get the benefit of getting a fresh energy separate from whatever they may have come into class with.
DeletePerhaps I may be generalizing from my own case but I find there is something really awesome about coordinating the body in time, getting the endorphins flowing, and focusing the attention on an movement or on a group of muscles--you seem to forget about everything else for a moment!
So students may indeed be more ready to focus and get down to business afterwards!
You raise another good point--why must it be a morning warm-up? Really getting some physical activity in can make sense at any time of the day. Especially if folks are getting restless.
DeleteThat's great that you get the youngsters moving every 20 minutes. How to you integrate physical activity into your lessons so that it can be done so frequently throughout the day?
do you always do this warming up? This is a very good routine to train studetns to always do. Then they might be able to work till they are 70, which is in the dabate now.
ReplyDeleteIngemar
Well I cannot take credit for any of this! This is something that the teachers at Bräcke Gymnasiet have introduced to their students when they are working at the workshop in Stora Holm. They in turn borrowed it from a growing movement in the building industry here in Sweden, where workers are gathering at the beginning of the work day to do this sort of warm up.
DeleteI imagine, like you say, that this is a great thing that almost certainly has positive productivity and health benefit both long- and short-term. I wonder what research has been done on the subject and whether these benefits have been measured??
Hi Joe!
ReplyDeleteStudents must make "morning warm-up"? Is it voluntary or what if they refuse? I think it looks good.
Tommie led this in a way that was compulsory but rather informal. At the beginning of the day in the workshop, before anybody got out their tools, everyone--students and teachers alike--stood in a large ring in the middle of the workshop and did the exercises in time with the music and the voiced-over instructions. None of the students refused to participate but maybe a third of the group "went through the motions" of the warm-up without any particular focus or engagement.
DeleteHi all! Thanks for the comments...unfortunately I am a little late in getting back to you, but better late than never! :-)
ReplyDelete