Summer is almost here, which means your child may be spending more time at home and, hopefully, outside. Before you know it, you’ll be hearing, “I’m bored!” We've found a fun way to chase that boredom away by securing a tarp to the grass and adding a sprinkler. Then have your child(ren) roll across the tarp. When they no longer find that fun or challenging enough, have them crawl on their belly and/or their hands and knees! Children of all ages enjoy water play and we think adding some brain-stimulating activities is a S.M.A.R.T. thing to do. Share your photos with us, we'd love to see them!

​If you are looking for more movement ideas, check out our Time Saving Tips!

Fun Spring themes can be easy! But some teachers run out of ideas on how to change their S.M.A.R.T. course or feel overwhelmed to think of new ways to change it.

The New Ulm ECFE teachers made some simple, yet effective, changes to their course that we were excited to see. They changed their course by:

1. adding a rainbow bulletin board border under the vinyl for Alligator Crawl
2. adding a PVC pipe hurdle with rainbow ribbons to keep the students low as they Alligator Crawl
3. including a large box to creep through and feature spring weather (minus the MN snow!) on the cards of the Slap Tracks 
4. making raindrop Learning Ladders
5. adding colorful puzzle pieces for the students to hold over their heads as they Pencil Roll and place them into the puzzle when they reach the end

Watch the short video to be inspired and catch some great ideas to make your S.M.A.R.T. Course feel fresh too!

Sarah, One S.M.A.R.T. Teacher at Manz Elementary, knows that being outside in the spring is exactly what her students need! So, she is preparing a movement course using S.M.A.R.T. Activities and the playground.
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Playgrounds have several places to help develop the tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems. The playground at Sarah’s school has landscape edging for the students to use as a Balance Beam, slides for them to climb up and slide down, grassy areas for them to Pencil Roll, and plenty of wide-open space to do Helicopter Spins before returning inside.

​Did you notice a couple of the CORE Floor Activities are missing? Sarah noticed that too and will continue to have her students Alligator Crawl and do the Creep Track in the classroom.