Active Sidewalks a.k.a. Chalk the Walk, Fitness Trails, Activity Circuits, etc. are becoming very popular on social media these days, although they've been around for decades. With everyone staying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and finding this new normal increasingly challenging to stay fit or become fit, Active Sidewalks are taking on new dimensions.
Communities are recognizing the need to provide safe, versatile, and inexpensive ways to provide more fitness options that do not require touching hands or use of equipment. Creating an Active Sidewalk, which is a series of movements and patterns that work gross motor and sensory skills, is great for any age and ability. An Active Sidewalk also has the ability to create a sense of community, currently lost given the social-distancing/ physical-distancing that is required these days. And the outlook is that being more aware of where you and your hands are going will be the new norm, thus the need for more solo activities without using our hands will not go away any time soon.
With many school districts choosing to return with hybrid classes or stay with completely at-home learning through the Fall 2020 semester, Active Sidewalks are fantastic opportunities to bring a little outdoors to your school day, whether for a PE class, brain break, or exercise routine.
Here at Fit and Fun Playscapes, we have received a ton of interest in learning how temporary Active Sidewalks can be created using our Reusable Stencils and spray chalk rather than permanent paint. We've outlined the basic differences in a past blog "Spray Chalk for Active Sidewalks" and even provided some general costs and removal considerations for those using spray chalk. We've posted some cool Youtube clips about How to Create an Active Sidewalk and showing a child Using an Active Sidewalk. These are all great resources to get your Active Sidewalk project started and get a first-hand look into how rewarding it can be.
If you have Reusable Stencils that you already own, rethink how you can use them or share them. Use gloves to handle and wipe them down with wipes before sharing them. If you do not own any Reusable Stencils, you can learn more about them by clicking here or view our selection by visiting our Shop web page. Or call us to learn more about how they work and any discounts that can apply.