General | Alberta | Ontario | Prince Edward Island
General
Active Kids – full-body conditioning exercises
This resource provides ten full-body conditioning exercises for students interested in sports, or students simply looking to get and remain active. The website provides video demonstrations of ten exercises which are meant to be completed in succession and can be done anywhere as they require no equipment.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation – fitness videos
These fitness videos consist of four two-minute videos featuring professional basketball and soccer athletes who demonstrate various activities that can be done by students alone or in pairs. These activities can be incorporated in a classroom setting or be shared with students interested in basketball or soccer. In addition, the COVID-19 resource page features evidence-based resources designed to support educators and students in reducing stress, eating healthy, moving regularly, getting quality sleep, and more. These resources are suitable for both in-person and virtual learning environments.
American Heart Association – home workout circuit
This home workout circuit infographic can be used by students to build their own workouts at home or school. Students can choose three to four cardio exercises and three to four strengthening exercises that are to be done in short bursts of 30 seconds each, for a total of three minutes. This custom circuit is then to be repeated two to three more times.
ParticipACTION – children and youth report card
ParticipACTION is a non-profit organization that aims to make physical activity a part of every Canadian’s life. Children and Youth Report Card is the most comprehensive summary and assessment of child and youth physical activity in Canada. It provides a comprehensive assessment of indicators using the academic letter grade approach. This year’s Report Card highlights how we’re only beginning to understand how COVID-19 impacted the movement behaviours of children and youth in Canada. Amongst other resources by ParticipACTION are at-home custom workout videos designed to help stay physically active at home or anywhere else, and the Family Influence 2020 report card (Pdf) to learn about the role of the family in the physical activity and sedentary behaviours of children and youth.
Physical and Health Education (PHE) Canada – physical education activities
The physical education activities have been designed to support children and youth in both the at-home and in-school learning environments in developing, acquiring, and learning the following important competencies: move, think, feel, and act. All activities are available for free as print-friendly activity cards. Scroll down to grade seven to 12 to get started.
PlaySport – physical activity data base
PlaySport offers a searchable database where diverse activities suitable for different age groups can be found. In-depth instructions on how to setup and conduct various fun games promoting physical activity and overall student well-being are provided. Elbow to elbow and fitness card fun are two individual pursuit activities suitable for intermediate (13-15 years) and senior students (16-18 years) and are meant for the classroom but can also be incorporated into remote learning. Both activities require open areas and limited equipment that is readily available such as poster paper and markers.
World Health Organization – stay physically active during self-quarantine
This resource aims to promote physical activity for individuals quarantining or self-isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tips include taking short active breaks during the day, following an online exercise class, walking, standing up, and relaxing. Moreover, a set of simple home-based exercises with pictures and instructions are provided.
YMCA – fitness videos
These free virtual at-home fitness videos are geared towards all fitness levels and can be completed with minimal equipment at home or school. Not sure which one to choose or where to start? Go to the YMCA YouTube channel where the videos are split into different playlists (i.e., health and wellbeing series, children and youth workouts, fitness challenges) to choose the workout best suited for you.
The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth
The 24-Hour Movement Guideline provides children and youth irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status with a general outline of what their 24-hour day should look like regarding time spent participating in physical activity, sleep, and sedentary behavior. Alongside the general guidelines, the resource provides free toolkits to support meeting these goals for varying age groups. Consider working to implement and encourage the physical activity recommendations in the classroom and at home, and access the toolkits for students, educational staff, and parents/guardians.
Alberta
Ever Active Schools is a registered national charity designed to create and support healthy school communities. This charity engages and supports schools through a variety of methods such as professional development opportunities, annual events, grant-funded projects, and developing and sharing resources. All of their work follows the Comprehensive School Health framework, which addresses health and education goals to improve the social outcomes of children and youth in Alberta.
Ontario
CIRA Ontario – games to keep you going during COVID-19
Although these resources are usually available for purchase, CIRA Ontario is providing a handful of games and videos for free to help youth stay physically active during the COVID-19 pandemic. Games are meant to be played in the safety of the students’ homes and combine common household items to create a fun experience for students. The resource contains demonstration images, instructions, and modification tips to keep the games engaging and fun.
Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (Ophea) – Hands Up teaching tools
Hands Up is a free, online, resource to be used by educators to promote health and physical literacy. Hands Up is a free three-part video series for teaching children and youth the importance of physical and health literacy in a way that’s fun and engaging. Ophea also offers resources for heath and physical education at home that can be used by parents and educators. These resources consist of a wide range of simple activities with health and physical education content to help youth stay healthy and active at home or school.
Prince Edward Island
Island Trails is a volunteer-based organization that helps maintain a group of trails around Prince Edward Island. This organization actively supports the promotion, development, and enhancement of these trails for healthy recreation and educational use. The website provides the location of walking and hiking trails across the province as well as their directions, distance, and difficulty level. This resource can be shared in the classroom to encourage physical activity for students and their families.
Recreation PEI - Tools and Resources
Recreation PEI is a provincial association dedicated to encouraging and coordinating recreation, physical activity, and facility management throughout PEI. This association provides information on how schools can promote physical activity and outlines a wide range of available training programs including but not limited to go!PEI, Physical Literacy, and High Five. Check out the go!PEI program for a variety of events, resources, and strategies that can be used to involve students in physical activity and promote a healthy lifestyle.