Fit body leads to a fit mind

Although the season of winter has many wonderful qualities (if we put driving and shovelling aside, there is astonishing beauty, hot chocolate and hockey), I particularly love the season of spring.

Spring brings bicycles, skateboards, baseballs, soccer balls and the sound of children’s laughter playing outside. Seeing more children outside made me think about the link between physical activity, health and learning. There is an abundance of evidence already existing, and more being amassed, to support the adage, “Fit Body, Fit Mind.” There is no doubt that success in learning is associated with being physically active.

I was looking at some data recently for Lethbridge School District No. 51 derived from an instrument called “EDI” which stands for Early Development Instrument. Grounded in research and developed at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University, it is a population-based measure for communities that examines age-appropriate developmental expectations across a number of domains for children at a pre- or early-kindergarten age. Each of the domains is considered important in the overall healthy development of a child.

The domains include: physical health and well-being; social competence; emotional maturity; language and cognitive development; and communication skills and general knowledge. Of interest, the domain where results showed a higher than provincial average of our children as “more vulnerable” than the Alberta population average was physical health and well-being. The term “vulnerable” in the instrument is defined as “the total group of children with scores below the 10th percentile cut-off of the distribution.” Basically, it is the percentage of children in the group (Lethbridge School District) who are considered vulnerable for fully developing in this domain. All the domains link to optimal personal conditions for learning.

Possessing the attributes in the domain of physical health and well-being are directly associated with the level of activity a child is engaged in. Examples of attributes include ability to run on the playground, motor coordination and energy levels. Spring is an optimal time to get children outside and engaged in activity. Being active does not have to mean participating in an organized sport or event. It can be as simple as ensuring outside playtime.

Motor co-ordination is promoted through variety in movement ... hop like a bunny, jump like a frog, fly like an airplane. One thing that children are not short on is imagination in play. Going for walks, playing with balls, running, kicking, balancing, playing hopscotch, chasing bubbles, dancing, and so on are all great activities. We are fortunate in Lethbridge to have an abundance of wonderful playgrounds that provide great opportunities for movement. Another bonus for building opportunity for physical activity into a child’s schedule is it promotes healthier eating and is conducive to better sleep patterns. All three — physical activity, healthy eating, and sleep — are directly connected to learning.

Shake off any winter doldrums that may have developed and enjoy spring!

Cheryl Gilmore is the superintendent of Lethbridge School District No. 51.

Each Wednesday superintendents from around our region offer insights and news on the school system.