FRiSKY FiTNESS
Lifestyle Evolution for dogs and people!
Frisky Fitness
meets
Physical Education
Activities include:
kids walking with dogs
* Students learn to speak - and listen - to their dogs through effective leash management; i.e. through the line that connects them.
* Routine "pack walks" increase stuents' social awareness, and represent metaphorical forward movement in more areas of life than only the physical.
* Walking, running, and otherwise participating in physical exercise with dogs is REWARDING, not punishing, as the sayings "Drop and give me 20 for talking back", or "Take an extra lap for being late to class", bring to mind.
energy awareness
* Dogs' behavior at any given moment is a reflection of their humans' energetic states. Therefore everything from deep breathing and relaxation, to steady and focused walking, to heightened activity like running through an agility course, will help students tune into how their energy influences that of others. Students will learn to envision what they want, and adjust their energy and behavior to bring what they want to fruition.
Classic P.E. Games: Reinvented
* Students are matched with their dogs during the first class session; each team plays, works, and evolves together from start to finish, engaging in active games meant to challenge each pair in ways that set all participants up for success.
Becoming an effective dog handler means pulling the leadership qualities from within, wielding them with brave self-assurance and humility at once. This course aims to empower kids by challenging them in ways they've never been challenged, all while supporting them in ways that only dogs' love can!
The benefits of canine intervention in so many activities with children are well-documented. Dogs in library programs motivate kids to open up and read aloud, lending soft, nonjudgmental ears; service dogs help children with autism and other disabilities or illnesses navigate their world with a sense of comfort and connectivity; facility dogs become part of incentive-and-rewards systems at schools, motivating kids to practice exceptional behavior; and comfort dogs provide loving security to children as they face their perpetrators in court.
Considering that primitive humans’ and wolves’ original partnership involved persistence hunting that employed the long-distance running capabilities of our ancestors, it only makes sense to assume that a predisposition to (our) having dogs as workout buddies is genetically hardwired!
Which is why it's surprising that we are only beginning to tap into the benefits of dogs as exercise partners! Results from studies we do have on record show that working out with dogs is, in fact, highly beneficial! It is fun; it feels good, and because it is enjoyable, it's sustainable!
It is a practice which, with time, becomes a healthy and balanced lifestyle!
The 6-week Frisky Fitness course is a brand new way of making exercise fun and engaging for middle school students!
* Incorporate the course as a before-school,
after-school, or elective period to
compliment standard P.E. and health
classes for 6th-8th graders
* Utilize the course as part of a Behavioral
Intervention, or Rewards & Incentives
program for select groups of 4-6 students
at a time
* Help the course break new ground! Our innovative, research-based curriculum is, in part, fulfillment of a Master's degree in Canine Life Sciences at Bergin University of Canine Studies. We hypothesize that integration of dogs into P.E. classes will instill in kids, a more positive outlook and intrinsic motivation toward physical activity in daily life. We also project better test scores in reading and math, and improved behavior in kids with disciplinary issues
* Incorporate the course as part of teaching Common Core Learning Standards for Health and Physical Education, as well as elements of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's initiative to combat childhood obesity: The Coordinated School Health Program (CSH)
PLEASE NOTE: The pilot program of this course is set to kick off in February of 2016 at Sierra Middle School in Bakersfield, CA. Keep an eye on my blog for updates on the course's progression, and to find out when it will become available for other schools or organizations.