BB Part 2 - Go Noodle

Hi! I'm back for part 2 of my 10 part series Blog Backlog: Playing Catch Up!  

For part 1 I shared our state mobile projects, today I am going to share something that many teachers have already found to be an awesome, easy, and FREE addition to their classroom...Go Noodle.  I had, apparently, signed up for Go Noodle quite some time ago, but forgot all about it an never used. There was suddenly a barrage of teacher bloggers buzzing about this site, so I jumped in to see what the hype was about.

The website is similar in set up to another I use daily in my room, Class Dojo, but instead of behavior management, Go Noodle is perfect to incorporate brain breaks and fitness. The research is overwhelming when it comes to the connection between movement and exercise and its impact on learning. It's sad that many schools have decreased recess and breaks, but Go Noodle is a perfect way to sneak in a few minutes of energetic fun to keep students motivated, engaged, and learning!

Go Noodle allows you to have multiple classes set up. I have one for my class and one for my math class. I also made one for my niece and nephew! Your class chooses a "Champ" to level up. My class did a quick secret ballot every time we started a new champ. These cute monsters have quirky things to say and at every level they go to the "Transmogrifier" and get beefed up.

There are TONS of activities for the students to do on Go Noodle. There are calming exercises that including breathing and yoga, and there are energetic ones with aerobics and dancing. Recently Go Noodle made it easier to search and save favorites. These are my students' favorite videos. The "Go Bananas" one is totally for the little kids, but my class loves it (and so do I)!

We have been loving the chance to have a quick break with pre-screened "safe" videos and the added bonus of leveling up a champ. A few months ago Go Noodle even sent our class a set of stickers. 5th graders still love stickers and most of them stuck them on a binder or notebook.

Thanks Go Noodle for the awesome stickers, but more importantly, for the great brain break fun! I'll be back in a few days with part 3!