Trying to get your kids excited about getting more active this summer? Send them to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control website for young people between the ages of nine and thirteen: VERBnow.
Your children may already be familiar with the VERB campaign from watching Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon; the VERB commercials run pretty frequently between shows. At the VERB website, your kids can log and track their activity levels, search for events in your area, and even make a ViRT… an animated avatar who does the activities you do! As you log more activity time, your ViRT learns new tricks.
Looking for sports tips? VERBnow offers tips from professionals in soccer, basketball, tennis, football, and hockey.
One of my favorite parts of the site is the Game Generator. You pick two sports and a venue, and the Game Generator will suggest a way to play that combines all three! Hit the Random button if you can’t decide; the Game Generator also offers related games that may involve one or two of your choices. How about a game of Pool VollyBase, combining volleyball and baseball in the pool! Use rafts or tubes to make four bases around the pool, then station a player at each base. Try to keep the volleyball in the air without leaving your base.
If you don’t watch cartoons regularly, you may not know about VERB. This is a national campaign from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC. The VERB campaign encourages kids to be physically active every day — they want activity to be a cool thing to do. If you want to download activity ideas and other fun VERB stuff, start with the CDC’s VERB site here. Reward your active tweens with downloaded posters and stickers, or make your own rewards like certificates and bookmarks. Grab back issues of the VERB magazine to share with your kids. Grants are available for schools and community programs that want to use the VERB campaign.
Want to get more VERB in your family life? Every morning, pick a VERB of the day and try to incorporate it into your routine.