Don't let the back-to-school routine slow you down!

A change in season may still be weeks away... but for many, a change in routine isn't long off. The start of a new school means many things - from reassuring little ones facing their first days of school, to another year of packing backpacks and school lunches, to the start of fall activities and sadly, the loss of sunlit evenings that make getting outdoors after dinner so inviting and easy.

While many families find it easier to cope when the entire family's on a schedule, many find that homework and after-school and weekend activities make for a calendar so full of commitments, that's there's scarcely time to breathe.

If you find yourself sacrificing your own physical activity time or low on energy as your family adapts to the return-to-school routine, borrow some of these tips!

• Walk or bike the kids to and/or from school if possible - this adds up to exercise for all. Multitask by walking the dog at the same time.
• Walk to and/or from work if possible. If this isn't possible, park the car a few blocks from the office or get off public transit a few stops early and walk the rest of the way.
• Walk for 15-20 minutes every lunch hour and try to take a couple of active ten-minute breaks each day. Instead of heading for a latte, head up and down the stairs or outdoors for a walk in the fresh air.
• Close your door and do part of an online yoga class in your office (I do this!). Even 10 minutes can leave me feeling limber, energized and in a more positive frame of mind.
• Start a workplace walking group.
• Going out for lunch? Select somewhere at least 10 minutes away.
• When work is done for the day, walk part of the way home.
• Picking up children at activities or a friend's home? Walk to pick them up and enjoy the walk home together.
• Try to carve out at least 20-30 minutes to be active as a family after dinner. The exercise will help all family members manage the stress that can occur with a change in routine and sleep better too.
• Got the kids in bed? Enjoy a walk, follow along with an online yoga or stretch class or stretch while watching the evening news.

Tip! Something I enjoy at this time of year is the change in temperature! It's typically still warm, though not sweltering at this time of year - which makes for more enjoyable runs, power walks, bike rides and other activities.

Get outdoors and enjoy!

Catherine Cameron

Ambassador, Active Living

For more tips and articles written by Catherine Cameron, Ambassador, Active Living, or to chat with her, visit the ParticipACTION Blog. Keep up to date with the latest ParticipACTION news and join in on the discussion -become a fan of our FACEBOOK group, follow us on TWITTER or check out our BLOG.

CIRA Ontario Fun for All Challenge

Do you enjoy creating fun and active events for your students? Would you like to win $750 for your school? If so, join the CIRA Ontario Fun for All Challenge! To enter you need to create an exciting event and include as many students as you possibly can. The more the better! Videotape all of the fun and send it into CIRA Ontario along with a short report by November 15, 2011. The evaluation process focuses on fun, activity, and student involvement! So, get your school involved and create an action-packed activity for everyone to enjoy!

For a two-for-one activity complete the challenge during the week of September 10-17 and include the event as part of Canada's Sports Day in Canada.

For the application form, please visit the follow website.

Community Health and Built Environment's Easy to Follow Guide Promoting Unstructured Free Play in Your Community

Bad news: the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute reports that over 90 per cent of Canadian children and youth do not get the recommended daily amount of physical activity needed for good health.

Good news: communities can help children and youth increase their physical activity by making small, inexpensive changes to encourage unstructured free play. The World Health Organization has demonstrated that even modest lifestyle changes, such as increased physical activity and healthier food choices, can encourage significant health improvements and reduce chronic disease.

What is unstructured free play? Free play simply means activities and games that are not heavily structured or supervised such as biking, walking, tag, skipping or playing at the park.

What are the benefits of unstructured free play? Free play contributes significantly to overall physical activity levels, helps develop cognitive and social skills, encourages an active lifestyle, provides active alternatives to sedentary activities such as watching TV or playing computer games, places greater emphasis on physical health and well-being rather than on exercise and weight loss.

How can your community introduce opportunities for unstructured free play? Community Health and Built Environment has produced a concise and easy to follow guide specifically for communities interested in introducing and encouraging unstructured free play. The guide provides a step by step process that is simple and mindful of municipal realities. Click here to view the guide!

The Aviva Community Fund is back and we're donating $1,000,000!

The Aviva Community Fund is a competition created to inspire local or national ideas to create positive changes within communities across Canada.

Individual Canadians or charitable organizations can submit an idea for a cause within their community they feel passionate about and then become actively involved in promoting the cause to start making change happen.The top ideas, as chosen by Canadians, have a chance to share in $1,000,000 of funding.

Submit your idea September 26. Voting begins October 3.

For more information visit the Aviva Community Fund website.

Q- I would like to get my children involved in after-school activities, but I am not sure what activity to choose, or how to motivate my kids to want to take part in an extracurricular activity. Any suggestions?

-Gerry

A- Children today are busier than ever at school, and often after a long day our kids just want to go home and veg-out. It's important to get your kids involved in an activity after school that will 1) keep them entertained/interested, 2) keep them active, and 3) keep them safe and out of trouble.

When motivating your kids to get involved in an extracurricular activity after-school, it's important to consider your children's interests. Talk to your kids about their interests - don't assume that what you might have been involved in as a child is what your kids will like, or should be involved in, too. If you child enjoys the activity, he/she is more likely to keep with it and stay motivated to continue involvement in the activity.

As Canada's Physical Activity Guidelines state, our children should be getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. If your child chooses an after-school activity that does not involve being physically active, then why not suggest they walk, bike, or blade, to the activity. Commuting with your child to or from the activity will help ensure that you, as the parent, are getting active as well!

Another thing to consider in choosing, and helping motivate your children to take part in, an after-school activity is safety. It is important to inquire about staff/adult to child ratios as well as staff's professional background before choosing a specific activity for your kids. Choosing an activity that is safe, challenging and where your children gets the attention that they need can in turn keep your children involved in the activity much longer.

National Webinar
September 28, 2011, 1:00-2:30 pm EST

The ParticipACTION Forums are designed to facilitate knowledge exchange and sharing between partners. The theme of our September Forum is focusing on physical activity in the great outdoors, and will allow participants to connect, share insights and potentially collaborate on future initiatives. If you are interested in participating in our forum, or would like to receive information about our all of our 2011 ParticipACTION Forum dates and themes, please email forum@participACTION.com.

Sports Congress for Vaughan Sports Clubs and Organizations

Vaughan, ON

September 14

The City of Vaughan will be hosting a Sports Congress for Vaughan Sports Clubs and Organizations. The congress will feature discussions on upcoming City policies, local and provincial sport initiatives and best practices. The areas of focus of the congress are:

• Physical fitness and participation in sport for residents and youth is recognized as very important for the good health
• The City of Vaughan's Recreation Master Plan, promotes the continuing development of organized sport and recreation in the City
• The success of our various sport leagues are a result of the tireless work and dedication of committed volunteers

A variety of representatives from the City of Vaughan, Regional Municipality of York, Vaughan sports groups, cultural sports groups, school sport groups and sports groups/organizations for persons with disabilities will be invited to attend.

For more information on the Sports Congress visit the City of Vaughan website.

Healthy by Nature Forum

Vancouver, BC

September 20-23

People and communities that engage with nature are healthier, stronger and more sustainable economically, socially and environmentally. This interdisciplinary forum will focus on awareness building, partnership development, and action planning based on these principles:

1. Spending time in nature improves human health.

2. Human health depends on healthy ecosystems.

3. Parks and protected areas contribute to vibrant, healthy communities.

The Healthy by Nature forum will bring together a diverse group of professionals from across Western Canada, the North-western United States and around the world. Our partners include institutions and organizations from five different sectors: 

• Health
• Environment
• Parks & Recreation
• Education
• Community & Urban Planning

For more information or to register for the Forum visit the Healthy by Nature website.

Rainbow Health Ontario Health and Wellness Conference - Call for proposals!

Ottawa, ON

September 16

Rainbow Health Ontario (RHO) is holding its second provincial conference addressing the health and wellness needs of our lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities in Ontario. The conference will be held in Ottawa in March 2012.

RHO is currently inviting proposals which present new information or insight into LGBT health and wellness issues, with a particular emphasis on the various stages of LGBT life.

To be a part of this unique event, please submit your proposal in either English or French by September 16th, 2011.

For information on the conference or to submit your proposal visit the Rainbow Health Ontario website.

Ripple Effects Aquatics Conference

Richmond, BC

October 20-21

Join the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association at this practical, information-packed and skills-oriented workshop designed to provide recreation managers and aquatic facility practitioners with the tools and knowledge needed to stay current.

Whether you are new to the industry or a seasoned professional there will be a broad spectrum of Aquatic related workshops to choose from. Topics include learning the Latest Facts about Hypothermia, Diving Deep to Lower Pool Costs and exploring Generations in the Work Place.

Early Bird conference rates are available until midnight September 21.

For more information on the conference or to register visit the BCPRA website or call 604-629-0965 ext. 229

The ParticipACTION Partner Network - Building Strength in Numbers
  

Since the inception of the ParticipACTION Partner Network (PPN) in late 2009, a variety of not-for-profit and public-sector organizations have joined our ranks. The group shares a similar vision - to motivate and encourage Canadians to lead more active, healthy lives. With over 130 organizational members thus far, and with more and more organizations joining every week, the PPN is building strength in numbers.

The PPN is dedicated to those involved in the physical activity, recreation and sport participation sectors. ParticipACTION's belief is that the PPN will not only help support the work of individual member organizations, but will strengthen the physical activity and sport participation sector in Canada.

Membership in the PPN is free and voluntary, and provides organizations with the following benefits:

• Access to desirable and valuable sector information through Partner Forums and free, easy-to-use communications and resource distribution channels
• Membership to the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC)
• Access to customizable ParticipACTION Tool Kit materials

For more information on the PPN and how the network can benefit you and your organization, visit the PPN webpage or contact Christa Costas-Bradstreet at ccbradstreet@participACTION.com.

Kick Butt Walk or Run for Colorectal Cancer,

Winnipeg, MB

September 10

GET YOUR BUTT SEEN on race day and you'll be helping the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada (CCAC) raise awareness about Canada's second leading cause of cancer death for men and women. Whether you walk, jog or run, you will be showing support for the 22,200 Canadians who will be diagnosed with the disease this year. The first ten team members to register with a $250 fundraising goal will receive free race registration, and all of our team members will receive a cheeky GET YOUR BUTT SEEN team athletic tee.

For more information on the race, or to register, visit the following website. For information on Colorectal Cancer or additional races happening across Canada visit the CCAC website, or contact Michelle Sylvestre (michelles@colorectal-cancer.ca).

Sogo Active Challenge - Macaulay Public School Dance-a-thon a hit!

The Sogo Active Dance-a-thon Challenge held at Macaulay Public School in 2011 was a total success! The grade 8 Sogo Active members at Macaulay organized the event for their peers, as well as for the younger students in grade 6 and 7.The eleven and twelve year old students are very excited about joining Sogo when they are 13. Everyone was able to get active and shake their feet silly! The admission for the dance-a-thon was a "two-nie" plus a donation to the local food bank. Healthy snacks (juice boxes and granola bars) were sold at intermission. The local food bank was very appreciative for the donation of dried and canned food goods that was received. The students raised $210.00 which will be added to Sogo Active's grant of $250.00. These funds will help the school purchase a high jump mat cover that is needed for our track and field program. The participants involve would like to say THANKS TO SOGO ACTIVE FOR HELPING TO SUPPORT THE YOUTH IN BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO!

Submitted by:

Sogo Active Community Host: Karen Forsythe from Macaulay Public School

For more information on Sogo Active or to create Sogo Challenge at your own school visit the following website.

View other Success Stories or submit your own on the ParticipACTION website.