Spoga4Kids™ (pronounced Spo-ga) is a playful way to calm, energize and focus your classroom; it is a fitness program that combines breathing, posture, strength, endurance and FUN! The goal of Spoga4Kids™ is to aid students to reduce stress and assist in their ability to focus while developing a healthier body. Spoga4Kids™ was developed as a fitness program for children in a classroom setting and can be used by any school system that has limited time and space for fitness. Via this concise format, your class will be guided through fun, energetic moves that are focused on mind-body fitness. Please note Spoga4Kids™ is non-religious and non-spiritual in nature.

Spoga4Kids™ is a great Recess Solution for teachers and students alike. It is also a wonderful way to de-stress and prepare your students prior to any test. Each Spoga4Kids™ segment is just 15-minutes in length and engages the child to connect to their breath while they move and energize their bodies.

Did you know? The American Heart Association has identified childhood obesity as their #1 issue in 2006, becoming their call to action for all their donor support. The American Diabetes Association is also focusing on children's fitness and childhood obesity and the alarming increase in Type 2 Adult Onset Diabetes in children. Children's fitness, stress levels, and their overweight issues are a national epidemic and great concern for all of us.

Spoga4Kids™ segments are only 15-minutes in length, so to get the most out of your precious time, we suggest that you announce with excited animation to your class that: "it's time to Spoga!" Invite the students to take off their shoes, leaving on their socks if they desire. We suggest that you do Spoga right along with your class so you, too, can feel the benefits. You'll want to let yourself "go" and feel what the students are feeling to thoroughly enjoy the experience. We want you too to understand how good it feels to do Spoga4Kids™!

This initial Spoga4Kids™ series has five segments.

Note: We find that Spoga4Kids™ works best if the kids are in their stocking feet. In Segment #1 on the video we tell students to take off their shoes however, you will need to remind them to take off their shoes for each of the other segments.

Segment #1
Spoga Basics. Just like the ABC's need to be studied before reading can occur; the fundamentals of Spoga4Kids™ also need to be learned. In this first segment, students will learn how to breathe, sit and stand properly. They will energize their bodies with active bouncing, and then calm their minds for a moment or two with a sigh. Spoga Basics is a great place to begin especially when your class needs to be brought back into focus and an excellent option prior to exams.

• Main Points
• Proper Breathing
• Posture
• Proper Standing and Sitting
• Balance

Note: One "exercise" called Sitting and Standing Proud can also be practiced throughout the students' day. You may want to remind them to practice sitting and standing proud at other times as well.

Segment #2
Stand Proud Like a Mountain. The goal of this Spoga4Kids™ segment is to reduce stress. We aid students with moves and activities that can be used prior to taking a test or any learning activity. And as always the goal is to have fun while getting fit. We begin this 15-minute program with high-energy breath work that gets the heart pumping and activates the brain.

At one point we ask students to look each other in the eye, shake each others hands and say "Good job!" helping to improve self-confidence, creating goodwill between students and offering students a life skill that will serve them well in the future. Invite the students to find a new "buddy" to acknowledge each time you practice this segment.

• Main Points Proper stance
• Stretching and flexible spines
• Focus and center
• Sighing relieves stress
• Switch on energy moves
• Self-confidence and eye contact

Segment #3
Just Plain Fun. Fun is the name of the game in this segment. In this segment your students are given permission to stick out their tongue, wiggle their ears and roar like a lion in an effort to reduce stress from their faces and their bodies. By releasing endorphins with fun moves and occasional giggles, students experience fitness as a fun activity which means they will want to do it again and again.

Students learn that their memory can be activated by rubbing their ears and we will use a variety of different moves that balance the right and left hemisphere of the brain. You may want to draw a figure-8 on the white board before you begin.

• Main Points Endorphins make you happy
• Sounds are a fun way to improve your energy
• Wake up the Brain
• Figure 8's balance right and left side of the brain
• Breathing and sighing exercises
• Tense/Release relaxation exercise

Note: In this segment we use the word endorphins. You may want to use that as a good word for their vocabulary sometime. Or maybe even conduct a science class on how endorphins affect the body. Also note in this Spoga segment the students can get a little loud and you may need to calm them down so they can hear the instructions or raise the volume on the video.

Segment #4
Animal Teachers. Animals are teachers in this segment as we use the playful monkey, mighty elephant, dog, bear and snake to show us how to move, stretch, play and breathe. You and your students will learn that animals teach us a lot about reducing stress and having fun. Your students will learn via sounding and moving like dogs, bears, snakes and elephants that they can get fit and have fun at the same time. Still focusing on the breath and high energy moves, students will giggle their way to a healthy body.

• Main Points Animal moves and animal sounds
• Stretching, bouncing, bending all create fitness
• Balance and focus
• Coordination.hand-foot
• Relaxation breathing

Segment #5
Nature Scenes. From learning to breathe and make sounds like the wind to being firmly routed like a magnificent tree or a majestic mountain, spines will bend and stretch as rainbows are created and the miracle of nature is revealed.

Balance, focus and concentration "moves" will support each student to gain mental clarity potentially resulting in better grades and improved classroom behavior.

Note: You'll want to make sure the students have plenty of room before they get started on this segment. At one point during this segment students raise their arms up to shoulder height and move clock-wise like a helicopter. Please make sure each child has plenty of space around them prior to this segment beginning. Please note which direction is clockwise and make sure you and your students are moving in this fashion.

• Main Points Bend, stretch, breathe, and smile
• How a rainbow is formed
• Flexible spines
• Breathing and balance
• Sighing with sound relieves stress

Since a rainbow is created in this segment, the science of raindrops, light rays and prisms might make an interesting science topic.

The benefits of Spoga4Kids™ include: a more fit body, mental clarity, an improved attitude, a sunny disposition, reduced stress and potential weight loss with time. Another benefit for children who enjoy the Spoga4Kids™ experience will be an openness to other fitness options and long-term, potentially, a healthier way of life.