Intl Day of Sport for Development & Peace : #BeActiveAtHome !

Be Active from Home/ COVID-19

@UN

Be Active at home

https://www.un.org/

In the lead up to and on 6 April, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, UN are asking everyone "to be active, stay healthy and demonstrate solidarity during this period of physical and social distancing. This team spirit will help us all get through the current challenges together."

Sport has historically played an important role in all societies, be it in the form of competitive sport, physical activity or play. But one may wonder: what does sport have to do with the United Nations? In fact, sport presents a natural partnership for the United Nations (UN) system.

HealthyAtHome

https://www.paho.org/

Should we stop being physically active, nor should we disconnect from the coaches, teammates, instructors and fellow fans who not only help us to stay physically fit but also socially active. 

In response to global developments concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace will focus on the health benefits of participating in sporting and physical activity, especially in this time of uncertainty and social distancing.

Taking some online exercise classes,

Dancing,

Playing active video games,

Jumping rope, and

Practising muscle strength and balance training.

Be Active at home

https://www.un.org/

The World Health Organization The World Health Organizationrecommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, or a combination of both. WHO also have some tips on how to achieve this with no equipment and with limited space. There is an abundance of free and accessible online and digital tools targeted at encouraging people of all ages and abilities to stay active and mobile while remaining at home.

• Theme 2020: 

Be ActiveAtHome/ COVID19

Be active at home during #COVID19 outbreak

https://www.who.int/

Physical activity and relaxation techniques can be valuable tools to help us remain calm and continue to protect our health during this time.

Be active at home during #COVID19 outbreak

https://www.who.int/

Tips to be active at home:

Some tips on how to stay active and reduce sedentary behaviour while at home in self-quarantine:

Take short active breaks during the day. 

Short bouts of physical activity add up to the weekly recommendations. You may use the suggested exercises below as inspiration to be active every day. Dancing, playing with children, and performing domestic chores such as cleaning and gardening are other means to stay active at home. 

Follow an online exercise class. Take advantage of the wealth of online exercise classes. Many of these are free and can be found on YouTube. If you have no experience performing these exercises, be cautious and aware of your own limitations. 

Walk. Even in small spaces, walking around or walking on the spot, can help you remain active. If you have a call, stand or walk around your home while you speak, instead of sitting down. If you decide to go outside to walk or exercise, be sure to maintain at least a 1-meter distance from other people. 

Stand up. Reduce your sedentary time by standing up whenever possible. Ideally, aim to interrupt sitting and reclining time every 30 minutes. Consider setting up a standing desk by using a high table or stacking a pile of books or other materials, to continue working while standing. During sedentary leisure time prioritize cognitively stimulating activities, such as reading, board games, and puzzles. 

Relax. Meditation and deep breaths can help you remain calm. A few examples of relaxation techniques are available below for inspiration.

Be active at home during #COVID19 outbreak

https://www.who.int/

Sport is no longer a luxury within any society but is rather an important investment in the present and future, particularly in the fight against COVID-19, today and everyday.

Sport is a pillar of a healthy society, at ease with itself, united in its diversity, based on human rights and equal dignity. It provides a field for passions to be shared, for communities to come together, everyone at home but together via Internet.

UNYouth

Education: values

Education in the 21st century increasingly recognizes the role of values and social skills in tackling global challenges, such as inactivity, obesity, unemployment, and sickness.

Dynamic forms of values-based education using sport must be include in schooling home supporting teachers deliver curricula online actively and cooperatively.

UN International Day of Sport for Development and Peace to encourage people to be #HealthyAtHome as the world comes together in the fight against COVID-19, today and every day.

For the International Day of Sport this year, let’s #BeActive and healthy to beat #COVID19.

G-Souto

06.04.2020
Copyright © 2020G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®



Intl Day of Sport 4 Development & Peace : #BeActiveAtHome !by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References:

UN/ WHO/ FIFA/ PAHO

Intl Children's Book Day in a special year ! #StayHome !

International Children's Book Day

Poster illustrated by Damijan Stepančič

https://www.ibby.org/

"And I know a girl who grew up to be a teacher. She has told me: Children who hadn’t been read to by their parents are impoverished."

 Peter Svetina, translated by Jernej Županič

I agree. This International Children's Book Day, is the year of children been read to by their parents.  

The world suffers a pandemic time. Covid-19 is everywhere. Schools are closed in most countries, kids are at home schooling by Internet, WhatsApp, tutoring by their teachers. Parents read to the little ones. 

For much of the countries sheltering in place over the past three weeks has been a wearisome but essential civic duty. Families don’t want to get sick themselves and they don’t want to bring any sickness to others. So we stay home. All over the world. It’s the right thing to do.

And it's the time to read books, specially on this day, kids. It's their book day!

And why this special day on 2 April? Because Hans Christian Andersen, the loved Danish novelist was born on or around April 2.

Hans Christian Andersen
credits: Getty Images
https://www.gettyimages.pt/

As we know, he loved children's and wrote the best children's stories. Considered the father of the modern fairy tale, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire the love of reading and to call attention to children's books.

Each year a different National Section of IBBY has the opportunity to be the international sponsor of ICBD. 

https://www.ibby.org/

It decides upon a theme and invites a prominent author from the host country to write a message to the children of the world and a well-known illustrator to design a poster.

IBBY Slovenia is the sponsor for International Children's Book Day 2020.

"Where I live, bushes turn green in late April or early May, and are soon populated by butterfly cocoons. These look like wads of cotton or candy floss, and the pupae devour leaf after leaf until the bushes are stripped bare. When developed, the butterflies fly away, however, the bushes have not been destroyed. As summer comes around, they turn green again, each and every time.

This is a picture of a writer, a picture of a poet. They’re eaten away, bled dry by their stories and poetry, which, when they’re finished, fly away, retire into books and find their audience. This happens again and again."

Peter Svetina, translated by Jernej Županič

https://www.ibby.org/

• Theme 2020? "A Hunger For Words."

IBBY Slovenia is the sponsor for International Children's Book Day 2020. Peter Svetina  is the author  of the message and Damijan Stepančič the illustrator od the poster. 

"The hunger for words manifests itself differently: as gloominess, obliviousness, arrogance. People suffering from this sort of hunger don’t realize their souls are shivering cold, that they’re walking past themselves without noticing. A part of their world is running away from them without them being aware of it.

This type of hunger is sated by poetry and stories.

But is there hope for those who have never indulged in words to ever satisfy this hunger

"There is. The boy reads, almost every day. The girl who had grown up to be a teacher reads stories to her pupils. Every Friday. Every week. If she ever forgets, the children are sure to remind her." 

Peter Svetina, translated by Jernej Županič

Read the message here. It's a lovely message talking about the hunger for words.

Now, let's read to our children or let them read by themselves.

Now

by Antoinette Portis

https://www.amazon.com/

This is my favorite cloud. . .because it's the one I am watching.

This is my favorite tree. . .because it's the one where I'm swinging.

This is my favorite tooth. . .because it's the one that is missing.

Follow a little girl as she takes you on a tour through all of her favorite things, from the holes she digs to the hugs she gives in Now, a clever and poignant picture book by award-winning artist Antoinette Portis.

Perfectly captures a child's lighthearted affection for the here and now.

• Ages 2-6

by Martin Jenkins 

 Stephen Biesty (Illustrator)

https://www.amazon.com/

Find out what life is like on the International Space Station, what the chances are that we will ever settle on Mars, where in the solar system we might find alien life, and why visiting other stars will almost certainly remain a dream. Budding astronomers, junior astronauts, and anyone who has ever gazed up at the stars in fascination will pore over this beautifully intricate yet accessible glimpse of the infinite wonders of space.

For kids fascinated by the expansive universe, the book offers an excellent guide to what's beyond the Earth's atmosphere and how we have gathered this information.

• Ages 8 to 12

Small things

Mel Tregonning

Allen & Unwin

https://www.goodreads.com/

On the cusp of having everything slip from his grasp, a young boy has to find a way to rebuild his sense of self. An ordinary boy in an ordinary world. With no words, only illustrations, Small Things tells the story of a boy who feels alone with worries but who learns that help is always close by. An extraordinary story, told simply and with breath taking beauty.

Be True With Me

Adele Griffen

https://www.amazon.com/

Jean, a privileged, sometimes cruel, often insecure, and always envious girl, is accustomed to living in her glamorous older sister’s shadow. So when Gil Burke, a handsome newcomer with uncertain ties to one of the most powerful families in the exclusive enclave of Sunken Haven, notices Jean, she is smitten. Then Fritz, a girl from outside the gilded gates who humiliated Jean in the island’s tennis championship last year, falls for Gil herself. Soon the girls are competing for much more than a tennis trophy, with higher stakes than either of them can imagine.

A riveting tale of romantic suspense with a shocking twist ending set within the gates of a Fire Island colony of the super rich.

•  Ages 14 and up

@jk_rowling

Parents, teachers and carers working to keep children amused and interested while we’re on lockdown might need a bit of magic, so I’m delighted to launch...

https://harrypotterathome.com

J.K. Rowling has launched an online Harry Potter hub for kids, families and fans to tap into during the coronavirus lockdown.

Pottermore Publishing and Scholastic are delighted to introduce Harry Potter At Home to help children, parents, carers and teachers add a touch of Harry Potter magic to our new daily lives.

Harry Potter and the Philospher Stone

https://www.pottermore.com/news/

"And what happens with these poems and stories?

Words in poetry and in stories are food. Not food for the body, not food that can fill up your stomach. But food for the spirit and food for the soul."

Peter Svetina, translated by Jernej Županič

I am a huge fan of reading in the classroom. This year online schooling home. This is also a chance to encourage children to try new things, broaden their tastes, venture out of their comfort zones.  And of course, reading aloud means that you can introduce them to books than they would be able to handle independently, which is both a pleasure in itself and a useful way of planting seeds of interest for the future. Teachers have an ubiquitous responsibility to encourage the love of reading in students by exploring so many magical books! this time on informal learning. My usual readers know how love to write about reading. I often write about books, specially children books. You will find different posts along the years presenting different books.  International Children's Book Day is a fantastic motivation to tell and experiment with our students how reading can be a gift by stimulating the imagination and "offering creative solutions to obstacles that we will find along the way." As this year of staying home. In the midst of chaos, reading to a child can create a small oasis of calm, for both of you. If the one thing this awful crisis has given us, it’s time. Books and children respond well to that. "And what about the writer and the poet? As summer comes, they’ll turn green again. And again, they’ll be eaten away by their stories and their poems that will then fly away in all directions. Again and again." Peter Svetina, translated by Jernej Županič  G-Souto 02.04.2020 Copyright © 2020G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Intl Children's Book Day in a special year !#StayHome ! by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.