One-to-1 Fitness was delighted to provide the children of the Oriole Park School Pathways program a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit for Christmas. When we received the fundraising call from psychologist who consults for the program it really only took about 30 seconds for us to realize this was a cause perfectly aligned with our vision statement, and one that we had to support.
“Improve lives by increasing self-worth, vitality and well being.”
The Pathways program students are generally students that find it hard to engage in the activities of a typical physical education class. These students are often affected by sensory issues from lights, noises, and all the commotion of a busy class, or physical limitations that require a little extra time or accomodation to fully participate. It’s safe to say that regular fitness and activity can sometimes be a real challenge. Recent years have brought to the forefront that within our general population our children are not as active as they used to be. Child obesity and child diabetes are now very real concerns greatly on the rise.
Running for the First Time
School faculty Jesse Dodds explained that the use of technology fits well with the keen curiosity the students exhibit. The Wii and and especially the Wii Fit are motion or action based allowing that curiosity for technology and video games to set a habit of regular activity for the students. Because the software also tracks progress this can be used to help evaluate the student’s progress with regular activity and provide a reference for them as to how they are improving. It’s also hoped that having the Wii and Wii Fit will also increase positive interaction between classrooms and all the students of the school.
Adam Josh and myself had a great time visiting the school and getting the kids set up with the Wii. What was especially amazing was to see one of the students experience what running might be like for the very first time. (Pictured above) We would like to both thank and wish a Merry Christmas to Oriole Park School, the Pathways program and faculty for allowing One-to-1 Fitness the opportunity to bring the gift of fitness to your students, we look forward to hearing about your progress.
