Posts filed under ‘Chipper Tips’
Chipper Exercise: 8 Fun (FREE!) Family Fitness Activities
Looking for some fun family “workouts” that feel more like play? Check out these simple outdoor activities that will get everyone in your family off the couch and help you bond while burning some calories. Getting active outdoors isn’t only good for your body but also you and your child’s social and emotional wellness. As Chipper likes to say, “Healthy Habits Grow Happy Hearts!” Try a few with mom (or with your kids) to celebrate Mother’s Day this week and have some fun while keeping fit!
1. Hula Hooping
Hula hoops became a hot toy in the late 1950s and are still a lot of fun for families. Hula hooping can burn more than 500 calories an hour — not bad for a $10 piece of plastic! Hoops come in a variety of sizes for children and adults, and weighted hoops for more advanced “hoopers” will give you even more of a workout. Try a little more variation than just the normal standing hula hooping with these 3 Great Hula Hoop Exercises for Kids.
2. Jump Roping
Jumping rope burns an estimated 600 calories an hour. Jump ropes are also cheap, starting under $10. Also, because jump ropes are so portable, parents can pack one in their suitcase for workouts while they travel. Who knows — maybe Dad is a future double dutch champion!
3. Skating and Scooting
Have some old Rollerblades or Razor Scooters hanging out in the garage? You probably forgot how fun some quality time on wheels can be! Dust them off and cruise around the neighborhood or a nearby park with your kids. Kicking along on a scooter is sure to get your heart rate up. And in-line skating burns at least 300 calories an hour for adults. Consider doing a scavenger hunt to keep you moving.
4. Boogying Down
Your family loves singing along with the radio in the car. Why not dance along to the music when you’re at home? Having a family dance party lets parents and kids get silly while also getting some good cardio exercise. Hip hop dancing can burn about 400 calories an hour, so turn up the beats indoors or outside!
5. Playing Frisbee
Frisbee has a cult following, with hundreds of colleges now offering “ultimate Frisbee” (a Frisbee game similar to soccer) as a school sport. Your family could be full of Frisbee champs! With plastic discs starting at $5, it’s worth a try. Frisbee golf is another fun disc game.
6. Walking — or Hiking — with the Dog
What has fur, four legs, and is dying to be your exercise pal? That’s right: the family dog. Studies have shown that owning a dog can make you healthier, in part because you’re likely to take more walks. But if your daily walks have become more like a chore, infuse some fun as well as fitness. Go as a family, pick different routes each night, and throw in some jogging.
7. Playground Playtime
Just as kids love rec time during the school day, they’ll enjoy romping around the playground when school is out of session. When is the last time Dad tried his hand at crossing the monkey bars or doing some pull-ups? And when was Mom last on the swings, pumping her legs to get sky-high? Playgrounds offer fun physical activity for everyone — even if you’re just chasing the kids around.
8. Tag, You’re It, and Other Outdoor Games
Tag, kickball, wiffle ball, kickball… you name it! Neighborhood games may be waning in the digital age, but they’re as fun as ever and hopefully due for a comeback. Challenge your family members to some friendly competition, and enjoy the great outdoors like it’s the good ol’ days. Here are some great ideas from Chipper!
Chipper Tips: Keeping Your Kids Teeth Healthy
Chipper knows how important it is to get your little one to get into the habit of brushing their teeth at an early age!
Squirrels’ teeth grow very fast so they need to constantly sharpen and shorten them! To trim their long teeth and to keep healthy, squirrels like Chipper chew on hard things like twigs. Here’s a video of a squirrel at UCLA sharpening its teeth:
Like squirrels, we need to keep our teeth healthy! We’ve all heard it from all of our dentists: “You need to floss more!” or “Don’t forget to brush the very back of your molars!” Most of us don’t worry about their warnings until the day before our next dental visit. The worst that can happen is that we get a little cavity, and, they just fix it with a silver cap, right? But, it turns out, bad dental hygiene isn’t just bad for your teeth, it’s also bad for your general health! The infographic below lists 14 bad-dental-hygiene ailments that plague everyday people just like you and me. Poor oral hygiene can lead to heart disease, respiratory disease, and even brain abscesses! Preventative medicine is the best medicine, so please, listen to your dentist and floss your teeth and brush all the way to the back of your molars! Your body will thank you!
Need a way to keep your kids’ teeth healthy? Have your kids brush their teeth to this Chipper song–to ensure that your kids brush their teeth for a long enough time and to guarantee that the experience is fun!
Let’s Go Chipper for Healthy Teeth!
Chipper Tip: Spring Time Growth and Learning
“In the middle of it all, pause and look around you. Appreciate what’s beautiful. Take in the love. Nod to what’s good and true. And then move forward one step at a time.” — Kathy Freston
Happy First Day of Spring! It’s the time of the year when nature blooms, grows and expands. These processes can be translated into growth and expansion of your child’s mind and body. All life starts with a seed and for that seed to grow, it needs to be nurtured. Nurturing your child is not something we all learn how to do properly–it’s more of a trial and error process for most of us. That’s where Chipper and his friends come in! Our Eco-Educational books, apps and programs help parents and teachers engage and educate their kids to grow into compassionate and considerate adults. Connecting environment and its processes, with various daily lessons and activities, helps children develop a greater understanding of themselves and the world them.
What do people do in spring? Brainstorm ideas with children. Some people participate in outdoor activities such as picnics, bike riding, and watching or playing baseball. Spring is also a time when many people garden, planting flowers and vegetables to last them throughout the summer.
Arbor Day is a special day in spring (April 26, 2013) when people plant trees in their communities and learn how forests are changing. Learn how your community celebrates Arbor Day, and make plans to help plant trees!
Earth Day is also celebrated in spring. It is a day to learn about how our planet is changing and how we can help our environment. Many communities run special programs on Earth Day and Chipper encourages all to participate!
Remind children that spring is the season between winter and summer. In most places, spring is warmer than winter, but cooler than summer. Engage in conversation, ask your child what they know about Spring. What is spring weather like in your community? Have children share their ideas. How do they know when spring has arrived? Explain that in spring, the days are longer than in winter, and there are more hours of sunlight. Take the time to explain Day Lights Saving if you haven’t already.
Find comparisons: At dinnertime in winter, it might be dark outside; but dinnertime in spring is much lighter. In some places, spring days can be sunny and warm. Flowers begin to bud, leaves reappear on trees, and birds and animals return from migration. Many places get a lot of rain in spring. Tell your little one’s of the old saying, “April showers bring May flowers” and discuss its meaning together. How might rain help plants?
School Garden of Snap Dragons
Plant a community or school garden this Spring! The picture above is from a local school that planted 58 Snap Dragons in two 3X6′ planter boxes. Parents, teachers and student came together as a community to not only beautify their school, but learned and experienced planting seeds into dirt. The students wrote stories about their planting experience; they guessed which colors would grow, and watched and discussed the flowers as they sprouted and bloomed. They made deep connections with nature and the community that will last them a lifetime. Take the time to have your little one’s learn, see and experience the growing process so they, in turn, grow themselves. Let’s Go Chipper this Spring!
Chipper Tips: Music for Connection and Communication
Chipper Tips | Music and Learning: Building skills for a lifetime of learning!
Chipper playfully teaches children good character and academically relevant material through multi-sensory experiences. We often encourage reading a story then engaging in another activity which will reinforce the message. Crafts, physical movement, and music come together to provide a more resonating experience. Each song serves a purpose; music is inherently playful and the creativity that is required both on a professional and amateur level has implications far beyond the instrument in hand.
Nina Kraus, from Northwestern University (Illinois, USA), reports that musicians trained to hear sounds embedded in a rich network of melodies and harmonies exhibit both enhanced cognitive and sensory abilities that give them a distinct advantage for processing speech in challenging listening environments compared with non-musicians and leads to changes throughout the auditory system applicable to situations outside the musical realm. She writes, “This effect of music training suggests that, akin to physical exercise and its impact on body fitness, music is a resource that tones the brain for auditory fitness.”
Chipper with Young Performers International
Further, a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that musical training before the age of seven has a significant effect on the development of the brain. The study provides strong evidence that the years between ages six and eight are a “sensitive period” when musical training interacts with normal brain development to produce long-lasting changes in motor abilities and brain structure.
So what does that mean for us as parents?
- Advocate for music in the schools and support the efforts to help fund them. Every child, regardless of socioeconomic status, should have the opportunity to experience music and musical instruments as part of their regular curriculum.
- Introduce instruments at a young age. This may take multiple iterations until the perfect match is found.
- Broaden their musical landscape (and your own). Take them to an opera, a symphony, or ballet. Trust that their young minds are capable of comprehending and enjoying the complexity of sounds.
- Keep practicing. Remember that no one ever says they wish they hadn’t had lessons as a child, just that they wish they had “stuck with it.”
- Search locally. When looking for a teacher, consider your local community college and inquire about lessons from music students there. Often, they are much less expensive and perfect for beginning students.
Maybe, mom and dad did know best when they encouraged us to practice. And maybe, just maybe, we need to heed that advice with our own children. Let’s Go Chipper for Music this March!
Chipper Parenting Tips: Lead By Example to Get Kids Outdoors
There are so many ways for you and your family to embrace nature in the comping new year! It is close at hand, whether it’s a the park or the playground, on your balcony, in your window box, in the yard, on the boulevard, or even growing in the sidewalk cracks. You just have to take the time to notice it! Whether kids are collecting fallen leaves, catching snowflakes for the first time, or playing in the waves at the beach, there is beauty and wonder in watching them discover the world around them.
One thing kids don’t need too much to enjoy nature is guidance. Encourage even the youngest children to explore whatever attracts them, then stand back and let them do it. One way to get you and the kids out and enjoying the great outdoors is leading by example.If you want your kids to value nature and to discover for themselves how amazing the natural world can be, from rolling in the dirt, to rolling down a grassy bank or finding slimy banana slugs after it rains, nothing sends a stronger message than if they see you out there enjoying yourself. So step outside at every opportunity! Get out side for 1 hour per day (schedule a “green hour” daily to make nature a habit!) by making a sandcastle, making a snow angel, or just rubbing your toes in the grass. Enthusiasm is contagious!
Follow by example, too. Most grown-ups can learn something from kids. They are receptive to new things and can see things in a different light. They are naturally curious. Be receptive and curious too and see the world a-new! That is one of the greatest gifts our children can bring us so take advantage of their youthful eyes. Ask questions and encourage them to do so as well. Nothing is more valuable than learning to question everything! If you don’t know the answer, admit it and then look it up together. Or make up a fun answer: This seaweed is monster hair! These rocks are from the walls of an ancient castle! These embellishments make the outdoors fun and mysterious. Try this fun game of Follow the Leader: Find a creek, pond, park or any place with lots of life. Appoint a leader of the kids and follow him or her (you can switch off by day or time who the leader will be). If he stops to turn over a log to see what’s beneath it, everyone else looks too. If he throws stones into the lake, so do the rest of you. If he digs in the mud and gets his pants dirty–don’t hold back! A little dirt is good for the soul 
Let’s Go Chipper into the Great Outdoors today!
Chipper Tips: Get Outdoors Daily!
The National Wildlife Federation recommends that parents give their kids a daily green hour–time set aside every day to play outside and interact with the natural world. This time should be unstructured (no rules) and fun! If kids are reluctant or want to play their video games instead, show then how fun it is by joining them. Have them collect natural artifacts and discuss them or listen and identify all the sounds you hear outside! Get to know local tress and animals so you can test each other. There’s so much fun to be had outdoors if you just get them out there!
Even on a rainy day, you can still get out and play together as long as you’re dressed for the weather. As E.E. Cummings wrote, the world is “mud-luscious” and “puddle-wonderful.” Being prepared to go out doors is always a good idea! Chipper has lots of great tips and activities to try outdoors in past and future blogs or check out GreenHour.org. In 2007, the National Wildlife Federation launched GreenHour.org, an online resource providing parents the inspiration and tools to make the outdoors a part of daily life. There are many ideas there to inspire you and the kids!
Scheduling your green hour with another family can also help you time manage. Arrange a regular “Outdoors Date” with one or two other families with kids around the same age. Depending on weather and the ages and interests of your participants, this could be as simple as meeting at the playground every week or month, or something heartier, like a series of hikes or an ongoing flag football game. Do the same thing every meeting or let a different participant choose each meetings activity. Or just let the kids play with no plan! The important thing is that once it’s on the calendar, and others are depending on you, you’re less likely to make excuses and skip it. Make it a family affair by inviting grandparents, cousins, and other family members to join in. Nature is a great place to connect with family and enjoy each others time. Let’s Go Chipper into the Great Outdoors today!
Chipper Tips: ‘Tis the Season of Giving
“Your children need your presence more than your presents.” - Jesse Jackson
Instead of having your kids obsess over what they want for Christmas, try something a little different this Holiday Season: Give gifts to those in need! Teach your kids to be generous and compassionate at an early age by taking them to a local food drive, have them help you giveaway or buy warm clothes for those who have nothing, or donate some old toys! If you want your kids to care about others, you need to show them how to do it. You’re their most influential teacher in life!
Have a Chipper Christmas of Giving!
As the wonderful quote above implies, spend more time connecting and having fun with your kids this Christmas season than shopping for gifts. Have the family make gifts for each other this year or have a set amount to spend (lowers money/buying stress!). Try making Recycle Christmas Ornaments together for your tree. Or just play a favorite board game. Time spent with loved ones is more valuable than any material object you could buy!
Another way to give back this Christmas would be to bake and deliver cookies to people who have to work on Christmas Eve–at the airport, in hospitals, the fire station, even stores. Check ahead of time, since places these days have certain protocol about accepting gifts. But doing this as a family would brand your children’s memory with the importance of loving on others, even in small ways. (It’s the little things that count the most!)
Let’s Go Chipper is giving back by donating our Get Ready To Fly Activity Kit (HALF OFF this Holiday Season) and our Helping Hands Book, plus a few other Chipper goodies, to several schools on the East Coast that were hit particularly hard by Hurricane Sandy. We are also donating all our proceeds from our Helping Hands book this past month to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.
All proceeds from our Helping Hands book will go to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund! Click here to purchase!
Shape what Christmas means to your child(ren) this year and they will hold it with them when they have children of their own! Have a Chipper Holiday Season!
Chipper Tips: Donate and Give Thanks!
Donating food and goods to the needy is a great way to teach your child to give!
November is the month of giving! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, now’s the time to clear our those cabinets and closets. There are many, many people in need of food and warm clothes this Holiday Season. We can all make a difference by giving away and donating to our local food drive! Find a food bank near you or donate to Feeding America online!
Feeding The Turkey!
Teach your child(ren) to be generous and giving by setting an example! Take them to your local Turkey Donation Station and make generosity fun! Having them put cans of food or extra warm clothes in the donation bins themselves is empowering and creates healthy habits! Actions speak louder than words–don’t just talk about it, DO IT!
Donation Turkey in Corte Madera Town Square, CA
Giant turkey’s are a great attraction to bring in donations and also make it fun for the kids! Don’t have a donation station in your neighborhood? Start one! Or, learn how to create your own VIRTUAL food drive!
Donate or host your own Toys for Tots Drive so those in need can get a Christmas Day present too!
Get Ready to Fly with Chipper’s Airplane Activity Kit this 25% OFF Holiday Season–perfect for a kids travel gift or your next family trip!
Let’s Go Chipper is not only donating food locally, we are donating our Get Ready to Fly Activity Kit to kids in need this Holiday season! Get your own Chipper Airplane Activity Kit for more than %25 OFF this Holiday Season!
All proceeds from our Helping Hands book will go to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund! Click here to purchase with 25% OFF!
In addition, all our November proceeds from our Helping Hands book, which teaches kids how to help out around the house and community, will go to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund! Lend a Helping Hand this month and give back to those in need!
Chipper Tips: Top 10 Reasons to Vote
Today is election day! Many of you are probably sick and tired, if not a bit over whelmed, by the bombardment of political news and ads. Others may be so excited and apart of the wave of enthusiasm! Either way, Chipper encourages you to get out and vote today!
Why, you may ask? Well, we should take advantage of our right to vote since many brave men and women lost their lives gaining and keeping this right. People in other places of the world continue to fight and bleed for the basic right to have some say in you and your children’s future.
Lead by example! Teach your child that their voice and opinions matter. Show them that voting contributes to the greater good. They will become responsible citizens if you show them how. Still unconvinced? Here are some top 10 reasons to get involved and VOTE!
Top 10 Reasons Why Young People Should Vote 10. You get a cool sticker afterward that says, “I Voted!” 9. Local elections like school board and city council races really do have an impact on your daily life. 8. If you don’t vote, you’re not allowed to celebrate the Fourth of July. Honest. 7. Young people have the most to gain and lose in any election because they have to live with the consequences longer than anyone else. 6. If you vote and an adult you know doesn’t, you can tease them about it forever. 5. With the Internet, it takes about a minute to get all the registration and voter information for your state and county. 4. At the polling location, you might get to finally meet that cute guy or girl you always see in your neighborhood. Plus, they’ll be instantly impressed by your devotion to civic duty. 3. Every political issue and policy affects you whether you know it or not. If you don’t vote, you’re putting control of your world into the hands of someone else…and you have no idea where those hands have been. 2. The feeling of power you get after voting is a great rush. 1. Election Day is the one day each year when everyone in the U.S. is EQUAL. Your vote counts just as much as anyone else’s does! |
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Top 10 Lame Excuses Not To Vote10. My dog ate my registration card. 1. My vote won’t make a difference. |
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| 10 Ways to Cast Your Vote if You’re Under 18 If you’re old enough to vote, by all means, vote! If you’re not, here’s a list of other things you can do to get involved in a campaign. 10. Listen to a candidate speak. 9. Ask questions. 8. Surf the Web. 7. Volunteer at your local polling center. 6. Write a letter to the editor. 5. Go behind the curtain. 4. Run for office. 3. E-vote. 2. Register other folks. 1. Become one with a leaflet. |
