Although I have retired from my career as a health and physical educator, I continue to advocate about the importance of physical literacy and physical activity. Recently, I’ve been collaborating with Alison Loewen, children’s librarian at the Mead Public Library in Sheboygan, WI, to create events that link reading and physical literacy. So far, we’ve gotten positive feedback about adding physical activity during several of the library’s storytime events.
Bringing Books to Life
Physical educators — retired or not — can collaborate with school librarians or public librarians to “bring books to life” by incorporating related physical activities into their storytime programming. These activities engage children, enhance their understanding of the material, and inspire them to read more.
The first program that Alison and I worked on used a Star Wars/Jedi in Training theme to promote reading and physical literacy. We had several stations for children to navigate through after interacting with books that corresponded to the theme.
Our second program was a Thanksgiving-themed event using the book Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr. The storytime began in typical fashion: Children and adults listened to the librarian read the book as a whole group activity.
Immediately following, I offered a brief instructional practice on physical activities that tied into parts of the book such as:
- Log rolling (“with the pigs”);
- Pretend swimming (“around the duck pond”);
- Galloping (“to the hose barn”);
- Zig zag running (“through the trees”); and finally …
- Evading and fleeing (“to escape the farmer who wanted to capture the ‘turkey’”).
Participants were then ready to bring the book to life by moving around the designated stations on the physical activities course. The pages of the book were individually printed and displayed so caregivers could read the story again if they chose to while the children were interacting with the course, which paralleled the book.
Upon completion of the course and escaping the “farmer,” participants were ready to again engage with the stations to get even more physical activity during the event.
Additionally, children could participate in a turkey headband craft, which added to the dramatic play element of the program and allowed them to further imitate turkeys.
Storytime Participants Loved the Physical Activity Element
Throughout the storytime event, we emphasized the importance of physical activity and physical literacy throughout life. Participants had the following positive comments to share:
- A grandmother who accompanied two very active twin boys commented, “They need to have intentional physical activity — it helps them learn to follow directions.”
- One little girl who was initially hesitant, but later engaged fully without fear, said, “The farmer never caught me once.”
- Her parents indicated, “Adding some movement opportunities after reading the book was a positive addition to the library storytime.”
A Librarian’s Perspective
According to Alison, the children’s librarian who hosted these “active” storytime events, retelling a story through movement is a playful way to connect children to books. Acting out a story helps improve comprehension, strengthening children’s narrative and sequencing skills.
For children who have trouble sitting still to listen, engaging with a story in this way is a joyful experience that not only promotes physical activity, but also creates positive core memories of the library and of spending time with their caregivers.
More than 100 people signed up for the library’s third storytime of this kind, a “Gingerbread Run” book event, indicating that parents and caregivers see the benefit of attending library storytime events that incorporate physical activity.
We will continue to work together in the coming months to help promote reading and physical literacy by conducting similar events that offer opportunities to “move to improve.” Perhaps this is something that other physical educators could do with their local libraries.
Additional Resources
- Active Start: A Statement of Physical Activity Guidelines for Children From Birth to Age 5, 3rd Edition
- Physical Education Along With Physical Activity: Kids Need Both
Kris Fritz
Kris Fritz is a retired health and physical educator who worked at South High in the Sheboygan, WI School District, followed by many years facilitating a pre-K physical education program at the Early Learning Center. She is an active member and a past president of WHPE (Wisconsin Health and Physical Education) as well as a past president of SHAPE America Midwest District. In 2022, she was inducted into the SHAPE America Hall of Fame. She can be reached at [email protected].
