Show notes & links available here.

In this episode, I’m speaking with Apryl Krakovsky, founder and CEO of My School in Motion, an award-winning program that promotes fitness, nutrition, wellness and health education for school communities.

Moving together every morning for healthier minds, bodies, and attitudes!

Big Ideas

  • Apryl started the program when she noticed the need for more physical education at her kids’ school.
  • The program is now in 53 schools in five states benefitting as many as 20,000 students.
  • It educates and empowers students to make smart choices about movement, nutrition, health, and wellness.
  • The workouts are thoughtfully crafted to bolster students’ self-esteem and promote personal wellbeing by including physical tasks that every student can be successful performing, regardless of grade level, age, fitness level, experience, or special needs.
  • The power of movement can be the cornerstone of your mental and emotional health.
  • The My School In Motion curriculum is innovatively designed to help schools meet state PE requirements and help children live healthier, happier and smarter lives.
  • The program captures the power of movement, music, learning, and community.
  • When physical activity is undertaken at the start of each school day, the benefits are:

    • improved students’ mood
    • improved students’ focus
    • improved students’ physical health
    • stimulated brain activity
    • students are set up for a day of maximum learning
  • Physical activity gets your brain ready to learn.
    • Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is a fundamental component of every daily movement session.
  • Good health and academic success go hand in hand.

 

Quotes

Apryl: “I learned that if I went for a run in the morning, everything just looked better, like putting on totally different colored glasses for the rest of the day.”

Apryl: “You never know what life will bring if you keep following your heart and the decisions that you make.”

Apryl: “Our idea was just movement and redefining what people thought of as PE and exercise, that there are all types of ways that we can move our bodies.”

Apryl: “I wanted to get everybody moving but just as importantly, I wanted everybody to understand the immediate benefits, not just long term health benefits, that physical activity was having on their energy, their ability to focus, and their moods.”

Audrey: “It’s so relevant right now because in a lot of schools PE is either getting set aside or cut in time.”

Apryl: “It was innovative and wasn’t what they were used to seeing PE look like.”

Apryl: “The definition of PE is changing. The emphasis is on enjoying fitness-based stuff. It’s not a competitive setting, you’re setting goals with yourself.”

Audrey: “It’s a community thing because when you’re doing something together and everyone learns the moves, it raises the sense of belonging. So you’re not only getting the kids to exercise but you’re also getting the kids doing the same thing and if the teachers are doing it with you, they’re playing with the kids.”

Audrey: “It’s awesome on so many levels. Not just the fact that kids are getting their blood pumping and getting some exercise and fulfilling their PE. It can change the whole culture of a school.”

Apryl: “It absolutely changes the school’s culture. It’s absolutely inclusive. Everybody’s participating. It’s a common language.”

Apryl: “Like camp, it’s a place where kids feel emotionally safe and that’s what this created on the schoolyard.”

Apryl: “If we did nothing else but get kids moving every morning, that would be great because you’d have the benefits but to me, that’s just the beginning. It’s the connectivity that happens.”

Apryl: “It’s like this pep rally meets line dancing. But it was the positivity that changed the school culture for everybody…If you can create that positive energy at school, it bleeds off the schoolyard and they take it home.”

Apryl: “The self-esteem building life skills stuff, that’s a; social-emotional learning and that’s the crux of PE, in and of itself.”

 

Audrey: “There’s so much research telling us that if we all just moved our bodies more, we would feel better, work better.”

Audrey: “I really hope the parents or teachers listening will check out your great program and bring it to their schools and start dancing and having fun.”

Resources

Apryl Krakovsky — email:  apryl@myschoolinmotion.org
View testimonials, curriculum samples, and live program footage at www.MySchoolInMotion.org.

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John Ratey

Watch the documentary Bite-Size for a compelling look at the child obesity problem.

ActiveSchools.org


Watch At Home

My School in Motion! AT HOME #1 (35:00)
Includes Intro, Room To Move, Repeat After Me/Do After Me, Basic Arm/Leg Positions
Movement Routines:  Good Life, Boom Boom Pow, I Like to Move It, PB & Jelly Time
My School in Motion! AT HOME #2 (18:00)
Movement Routines: PB & Jelly Time, Who Let the Dogs Out, Cupid Shuffle