The first grade students in Carrie Merritt’s class at Ocean City Primary School participated in the second annual “Reindeer Romp” on Thursday (Dec. 17).
The “Reindeer Romp” challenged students to run, walk or jog for 10 minutes. Students wore reindeer costumes for the event.
Families were encouraged to attend and cheer on the kids. Some parents joined in to run. The OCNJ Half Marathon Race Director, Lisa Rumer, started and timed the race.
The “Reindeer Romp” was part of a unit called “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year…to Work out!” Students learned how fitness is important for the body and brain. Students researched topics like cardiovascular and strength training at school and took home workouts to complete with their families.
“The goal of this unit was to teach students and their families that fitness is fun. The intention was making fitness, movement and moderation a daily piece of these young students daily life and vocabulary,” Merritt said.
Students showed off some of the workout moves they learned in the “12 Days of Fitness” after the “Reindeer Romp” was completed.
“Even though the students are young they are very capable of understanding that a little bit of movement each day is good for the body and the mind. As a teacher it was awesome to watch the parents seem amazed that their student could run for a sustained period. The parents were proud, as were each of my children,” Merritt said.
