Relaxation Stations

Key Message

Healthy choices give you energy!

Objectives

Identify screen-free relaxation activities to increase energy levels.
Apply a variety of motor skills and movement patterns to station activities.

Preparation

Safety: Allow enough space to move freely and minimize collisions.
Ensure equipment and materials are properly cleaned.
Use cones or place markers to mark boundaries that are a safe distance from obstacles and walls.
Determine how you will group learners, using best practice guidelines from Effective Strategies for Grouping Learners.
Set up stations: Place fitFlow cards, I Spy: My Choices, and Mindful Moments Cards throughout your activity area.
Be prepared to demonstrate fitBoost activity and fitFlow yoga.

Warm Up

Begin with a fitBoost.

Captivate

Say: We are going to do a body relaxation activity! Lie down, close your eyes, and get comfortable.

Start at your toes, pretend your toes are trying to pick up a tiny marble, squeeze them together and then relax them. As you squeeze them together, breathe in as if you are smelling a flower. As you relax, let your breath out as if you are blowing bubbles.

Next, do the same with your ankles. Imagine you are trying to press your feet gently into the ground with your ankles, tighten then relax the muscles in your ankles. Follow with your calves, knees, and upper legs.

Now, move to the middle part of your body. Tighten and relax your stomach, then your chest muscles, then your shoulders. Tighten and relax your muscles while you breathe in and out.

Let's move to our arms. Pretend you are squeezing a lemon with your arms, hands, and fingers. Squeeze tight, then let go.

Open your eyes. How do you feel? Is your energy refreshed?

Educate

Your energy affects your choices. You get energy from many sources, like eating nutritious foods, physical activity, sleep, and even taking mindful moments to relax without screens! Do you ever feel your energy is low during the day? When? (Encourage responses such as after lunch, after school, etc.)

The number one thing you need to know is you can recharge your energy throughout the day by shutting down the screens and doing a relaxing activity!

Today we are going to practice ways to relax to recharge and increase our energy throughout the day.

Activate

Demonstrate each relaxation station.

Walking meditations: Walk in the slowest motion possible, so slowly that it takes several minutes to walk the perimeter of the activity area. No talking! Think about the muscles that are moving in your body.
fitFlow: Draw fitFlow cards and do a set of yoga poses.
I Spy: Complete the I Spy: My Choices handout by locating healthy choices to help recharge.
Mindful Moments: Select a Mindful Moment card and complete the activity.

Learners rotate after 2 to 3 minutes at each station.
If time allows, ask learners to identify their favorite relaxation station. Send them to the station to repeat the relaxation activity.

Close the Lesson

Partner learners.

Select a fitFlow card and complete poses.

While stretching, ask learners to give examples of choices they can make to recharge their energy throughout the day.

Assess understanding with the following questions:

Q: What was our lesson about today?
A: You can recharge your energy throughout the day with relaxing, screen-free activities.

Q: Why do you need to recharge throughout the day? (To get energy.) What are your favorite screen free activities that recharge energy?
A: Listen for examples of ways to relax without screens throughout the day.

Q: Why is it important to relax to recharge throughout the day?
A: Recharging throughout the day gives you the best kind of energy to move and think.

Challenge: Plan to relax and recharge your energy throughout the day.

Challenge

Plan to relax and recharge your energy throughout the day.

What You'll Need

Resources

Materials

Cones or Place Markers

Health Education Standards

Standard 1: Use functional health information to support health and well-being
Standard 2: Analyze influences that affect health and well-being
Standard 5: Use a decision-making process to support personal and community health and well-being
Standard 7: Demonstrate practices and behaviors to support health and well-being

Social and Emotional Learning Competencies

Responsible Decision-Making
Self-Management

Physical Education Standards

Standard 1: Develops a variety of motor skills
Standard 2: Applies knowledge related to movement and fitness concepts
Standard 3: Develops social skills through movement

Extend the Lesson

The fit Unit, Teaching Kids to Recharge their Bodies, contains 5 lessons to help kids understand the benefits of relaxing throughout the day.
Watch the fit Quiz: Recharge video to see what you know about healthy ways to recharge.
Print and display the Wellness Way Sensory Path as a relaxation station kids can do anytime!
Discover additional fit resources available to help kids with healthy relaxation choices by checking out the Top 5 Resources for Relaxation.

Adaptations and Modifications

Adapt locomotor skills and movement patterns to learners' needs, interests, and abilities. Read our full list of inclusive ideas for Adapting Games for Every Learner.
For 1-3 Learners: Instead or just walking slowly, have students pretend to be different animals. For example, they could move like a sloth, tiptoe like a cat, or waddle like a penguin.
For 3-5 Learners: After completing a station, ask older learners to briefly reflect on how the activity made them feel or how it affected their body/mind.
Sensory Modifications: Ask certain groups to walk from station to station to ensure no one feels rushed.
Use one of our short videos for your daily PE warmup or cooldown!
- fit Workouts: YouTube Playlist

Take me to the full list of fitGames.