(upbeat music) - Hi, everybody, and welcome back to Room 9, our region's largest classroom.

My name is Miss St. Louis, and I'm a teacher at Rogers Elementary School in the Melville School District.

And we are located in South St. Louis County.

Today.

I'm here to teach a movement lesson that's geared towards children of all ages.

So let's get ready to get moving.

Now, anytime before we start doing a lot of movement, we wanna make sure that we stretch our bodies so they are ready to move, and that can kind of help prevent some of those injuries from happening.

So let's start with some warm-up stretches.

We're gonna move from the top on down.

So let's start by shaking our head.

Yes, and no, and maybe so.

And we're gonna roll our head in a circle one way, and the other way.

Let's go to our shoulders.

Can you move your shoulders forwards and backwards?

Let's do some scissors, crossing our arms in front, And we'll do some tiny arm circles forward, starting small.

Get a little bigger, and a little bigger.

How big can you go?

Biggest arm circles you have.

Make sure you don't hit anything.

All right, let's do backwards.

Start small.

Get a little bigger, and a little bigger.

And the biggest arm circles you can do.

Woo.

Shake it all out.

All right, let's work on our core of our body, right, our trunk, this middle section right here.

We're gonna go side to side, and forwards and backwards.

And we're gonna twist.

And we're gonna stand in a big straddle.

Stretch one arm up and reach over your side.

Stretching.

You should feel it right here, good stretch.

And switch, put the other arm up, and reach over your head.

And, come back up.

All right, we're gonna stretch down and try to touch the floor.

Good stretch.

And, come up.

Now, reach to one side, trying to touch, follow that leg, trying to touch your foot.

And, come up.

And down the other leg, trying to touch that foot.

Big stretch.

Remember, reach as far as you can.

If you can't make it all the way to your foot, that's totally okay.

Just go as far as you can go.

And, come back up.

We're gonna find somewhere where you can hold on, maybe against a wall, to help your balance.

Holding onto the back of a chair can help.

We're gonna do some balancing now.

So we're gonna hold on.

We're gonna lift one leg up, and grab it with our hand, stretching out our legs now.

And, switch.

So holding on again, bringing that leg up, and stretching your legs out.

Very good.

We're gonna do some toe raises, so I'm gonna be on my toes.

I'm gonna lift up, and down.

Up, and down.

We're gonna do that 10 more times.

Are you ready?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Very good.

All right.

How do you feel?

All loose and ready to go?

Awesome.

Now, this week we are talking all about the rainforest.

So while you've been reading books about the rainforest, and learning math with the rainforest, today we're gonna do some rainforest movement.

So in a rainforest, there are a lot of different animals that live there.

So today we're gonna do some actions that mimic those of some of the animals that live in the rainforest.

So, today we're gonna start with a tiger, and we're going to be pouncing like a tiger.

Now, a pounce is a type of jump, and it might be a type of jump that a tiger would use to pounce onto its prey.

So it's a really strong jump.

Now, when we jump, a lot of that power comes from our legs.

So, our goal right now is to jump as far as we can.

We're gonna do a big pounce.

So I'm gonna start by bending my legs, a little squat, 'cause I wanna get a lot of power from them.

So I'm gonna start in a squat, and I'm gonna pounce, and jump as far as I can.

Okay?

Getting a lot of that power from your legs.

If I just started standing like this and jumped, I can't go as far.

So by doing that little squat, by bending down, almost acting like I'm sitting in a chair, bending down and jump.

That helps me to go a lot farther, 'cause I'm getting a lot more power.

Do you think that you can do some pounces with me?

All right.

Ready?

Let's see if we can do five.

We're gonna jump down and pounce.

Very good.

Let's do another one.

Jump down, and pounce.

Woo, that was two.

Jump down.

I got someone in my way.

Make sure you don't run anybody over.

Jump down and pounce.

Ooh, we've got a helper with us.

Jump down and pounce.

Woo, one more, Winnie.

Jump, and pounce.

Very good.

Excellent job with those pounces.

You're probably noticing the lower you get, the more power you can get from your legs, and do a really big pounce.

All right.

Woo.

The next one we have is a snake.

There are a lot of different kinds of snakes that we might find in the rainforest.

Now, one thing's that snakes do, is they sliver throughout the rainforest.

So we're gonna practice some slithering motions with our body.

So we're gonna start standing tall.

And when we slither, we use our whole body to slither.

So we're gonna start all the way from our head and slither all the way down.

It's gonna be a whole body movement.

Kind of looks a little bit silly, kind of maybe like a dance.

So we're gonna start with our head, and I'm gonna roll.

I'm gonna lean my head back, then bring my shoulders back, my hips back, and my knees back.

Again, head back, shoulders back, bring my hips back, my knees back, and come back up.

It's like a roll with your body, kinda acting like a snake.

So, head back, shoulders back, hips back, knees back, come up.

Head back, shoulders back, hips back, knees back, come up.

Let's see if we can do that 10 times.

Are you ready?

We're gonna speed it up a little bit.

All right, slither.

Slither, slither, keep slithering.

That's 3, 4, 5, 6.

Keep going.

7, 8, 9, 10.

Very good, boys and girls.

That was a good slither.

Let's see if we can slither from side to side.

So when we slither from side to side, now we're going to move our body, instead of forwards and backwards, we're gonna go side to side.

Again, it kind of looks a little bit like a dance, right?

Starting with my head, left, then moving my shoulders, my hips, and my knees.

And then I'm gonna go the other way.

Shoulders, hips, knees, back.

Squiggle, squiggle, squiggle, like a snake.

Squiggle.

Ooh, look at you guys slithering.

Can you make a good snake kiss?

(hissing) Good slither movement.

Ooh.

Good job, boys and girls.

You guys are excellent slitherers.

Rock on.

All right.

Let's try our next movement.

Next, we're going to run like a leopard.

Now, leopards are one of the very fast animals that you might find at the rainforest.

So, they have to run really fast.

So we're gonna do a couple sprints.

Sprinting is when we run and we give it everything we've got for a really short distance.

Okay.

So we're gonna slither, run?

Are you ready?

Okay, I'm gonna start.

We're gonna do it for 10 seconds.

You're gonna run as fast as you can for 10 seconds.

Are you ready?

Set, go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Whew, that was fast.

We got really far, didn't we?

Think we can do it again?

All right, let's go.

In 3, 2, 1.

Run.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Think we've got it in us to go one more time.

What do you think?

I think so.

Let's do it.

10 more seconds.

Last one.

Give it everything you've got.

Are you ready?

Let's go.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

(sighs) Sprinting is really good when we want to get a short distance very quickly.

All right.

I'm tired.

How do you feel?

Pretty good.

All right.

Next, we're gonna practice climbing like a chameleon.

Now, chameleons are a super cool animal, because they're able to camouflage or blend into their environment.

They can change the color of their skin so that you can't see them, and they blend in.

Kinda like how my shirt kind of blends into the board right now.

So, they're really cool like that.

Now, chameleons are also very great climbers, so they can climb up trees and across branches.

So we're gonna do some climbing moves today, 'cause we don't really have trees that we can climb right now, so we're gonna pretend.

So when we climb, we're gonna lift one leg up and the opposite arm.

So, then I'm gonna switch.

Leg and opposite arm.

Switching back and forth.

Climbing up.

Climbing up the tree.

Climbing up the tree.

Climbing up the tree.

Climbing up the tree.

Climbing up the tree.

Climbing up the tree.

Keep going, keep climbing.

We wanna make it all the way to the top of that tree.

The trees in the rainforest, they're really tall.

Whew.

Keep going.

10 more seconds.

(feet stomping) Almost there.

(feet stomping) And we made it to the top.

Very good, boys and girls.

That was excellent.

Climbing sure does take a lot out of you, doesn't it?

I know, it was tough.

All right, next, we are going to flutter like a butterfly.

There are a lot of really cool butterflies that you can find in the rainforest that come in almost every color of the rainbow, which is pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

So we're going to do some fluttering, bringing the arms up and down.

This is a good, slow movement.

Don't forget to breathe as you do it.

It's a good calming one, as we bring our breath back down from all of that running and climbing.

Up, and down.

Up, and down.

Up, and down.

Deep breaths as we go.

Awesome.

All right, let's stop to take a little water break.

We wanna make sure that as we are exercising, doing lots of movement, getting that heart rate up, that we keep our body hydrated with lots of water.

So we're gonna do a little water break, and then we're gonna come back to see what's next.

All right, everybody, let's get back to moving our bodies, just like some of the animals we might find in the rainforest.

Our next animal is kind of a slow one.

Next up, we have the sloth, and one thing we know about the sloth, is that they can move pretty slow.

So we're gonna move our bodies in slow motion.

Now, when we move our bodies in slow motion, it takes a little bit more balance, because it's gonna take a lot longer for our bodies to get from one thing to the next.

So we're really gonna draw out our motions, and make them go really slow.

So for example, if I was going to step, I would slowly lift my foot, and step it out.

And lift my foot, and step it out.

Can you move your body slow, like a sloth?

You're doing a great job.

Rock on.

You guys are excellent at doing those slow sloth movements.

Some of the slowest moving sloths I've ever seen, that's for sure.

All right.

Let's try something else.

Let's do a little bit more balancing, but we're gonna practice balancing like an iguana.

So we're gonna balance on each foot.

So I'm gonna start by having one foot, and I'm slowly gonna lift that foot up.

A good place to put your hands is either on your hips or straight out, almost like airplane wings.

Now, if you need to, you can always have a chair next to you, that you can hold on to, a wall you can brace yourself up against.

But we don't wanna brace ourselves up against another person, 'cause we don't wanna accidentally knock them over.

See if you can put that leg backwards, straight.

Keep that balance.

If you come down, just go right back up.

Can you bring your leg forwards, and keep balancing?

Man, woo.

Put that leg down.

Wiggle it out, and let's try the other leg.

We're gonna bring it up, balancing as we go.

And, we're thinking nice and tall with our chest, keeping it up, keeping our head up nice and tall, straight body.

Bring that leg back as you balance, and forward as you balance.

Woo.

Come down.

Balancing is really tricky, so it's always important that we practice.

I try to balance each day.

How about you?

It's a pretty good skill.

All right, next, let's be a parrot.

We're gonna flap our arms just like parrot.

There are a lot of different kinds of birds, including parrots that are in the rainforest.

So, we're gonna make our arms nice and wide, and we're gonna lift them up and down.

Now, unlike the butterfly.

we're gonna move our arms a lot faster.

Parrots move their arms a lot faster than those butterflies do.

So, up and down.

Up and down.

Woo.

Do you feel like you could fly off the ground?

Probably not.

Let's go a little bit harder.

Up and down.

Up and down.

(sighs) That's tough.

That is tough.

You know another animal that's out there in the rainforest that uses their arms wide?

The orangutan.

They use their arms a lot, and they like to swing on their arms.

Can you swing your arms forwards and backwards?

Go side to side.

Swinging those arms.

Woo.

Getting a lot of arm movements today.

Back and forth, swinging our arms.

(grunts) Now, the orangutan is not the only kind of primate that we can find in the rainforest.

Another one we can find is the gorilla.

Now, the gorilla is an animal that kind of walks a little bit like a human, but they use their arms as well.

So, we're gonna be down on our legs, and we're gonna use our arms to help us walk.

And we're gonna walk around, just like a gorilla might walk, like a gorilla.

You might even stop and make some gorilla noises (growls) Gorilla walk.

Gorilla walk.

It's definitely tough to walk like a gorilla, isn't it?

Gorilla walk.

And we can stomp, make gorilla noises.

(growls) Gorillas, gorillas.

Now, gorillas are very large animals, so they definitely make an impact when they walk through the rainforest.

Walking like a gorilla is very tiring.

Come on back up.

(sighs) You know another animal that's out there in the rainforest?

Frogs.

There are so many different types of frogs that live in the rainforest.

But, one thing that all frogs do, jump.

So we can also jump like a frog.

We're going to bend down, and jump up.

Right, now instead of a pounce where we jumped forward, we're gonna be jumping up.

Down, up.

Frog jumps.

Up.

Up.

Up.

Up.

(sighs) Let's see if we can do three more.

1, 2, 3.

Jumping like a frog is hard.

You know, another thing that a frog does, and some other animals in the rainforest.

Snakes do this, and anteaters.

They use their tongue.

Can you stick your tongue out like those animals?

How far out can you stick your tongue?

Keep going.

Can you catch some flies, or maybe grab some ants?

(sighs) No flies or ants for me.

How about you?

Nope, none here.

Did you guys catch any?

Well, as we bring ourselves down, let's do some big stretches.

Dropping up, and down.

Reaching up, breathing in, and out.

(exhales deeply) Breathing in and out.

(exhales deeply) Stretch up tall, and reach down to touch your toes.

Stretch up tall, and reach down to touch your toes again.

Taking deep breaths as you go, helping to bring our heart rate back down after lots of movement and activity.

Coming up.

Let's twist out our core.

We're gonna lean to one side.

And, switch.

Take another deep breath in, and out.

(exhales deeply) Watch out for animals.

All right, boys and girls, I hope that you had fun with us today as we got our bodies moving like different rainforest animals.

If you had a favorite movement, we would love for you to share that with us.

You can draw a picture of your favorite rainforest animal movement that we did.

You can take a picture of you doing it.

You can take a video of you doing it.

We would love to see you doing your rainforest movement.

Feel free to share it with us on social media, using the hashtag 9PBS, or feel free to draw a picture, write a letter, send it to us at our address.

9PBS, 3655 Olive Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63108.

We would love to hear from you, and see what kind of movement you guys have really been enjoying.

Until then, don't forget that each and every single day, it is important that you move your body for 60 minutes every day.

Any kind of movement works, walking the dog, riding your bike, swimming in the pool, playing in the sprinkler.

All of those are great ways to get your body moving.

Remember the goal is to get your heart rate up a little bit, get your body exercising.

And don't forget, now that it's summer, it's hot.

So make sure that you keep your body hydrated as well by drinking lots of water.

You should be drinking six to eight glasses of water every single day to keep your body functioning well and staying hydrated.

So make sure you do those two things, and we will see you back here next week in Room 9 as we continue doing some different movement.

Until then, bye everybody.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Teaching in Room Nine is made possible with support of Bank of America, Dana Brown Charitable Trust, Emerson, and viewers like you.

(upbeat music)