Help me give my students an experience with Cardio Drumming by helping me purchase drum sticks and tubs. I will purchase 30 exercise balls to complete a classroom set!
Richardson Elementary is a Title 1 school, meaning that the majority of students come from low-income situations. Our school has also been battling a drinking water contamination issue that has only been partially resolved this school year. Despite the hardships my students face, they come into my gym with smiles and a will to move every single day!
Richardson kids live to dance, and I would love to teach them a new way to move to music; Cardio Drumming!
My kids can Dab and Floss with the best of them, so I know they will be excited to join the new drumming fad that is sweeping the nation! This is a life long activity that everyone can participate in and enjoy.
My Project
Cardio Drumming combines aerobic exercise with music and rhythm. A large exercise ball is placed in a tub to make a stabilized "drum" for kids to beat in fun and dynamic patterns. This type of activity helps to develop the vestibular system to coordinate the auditory, visual, and kinesthetic senses. Cardio Drumming incorporates spacial awareness, body control, dynamic balance, and locomotor skills all while moving in fun, dance like patterns!
Current scientific research indicates that music and movement help to enhance mood by altering the chemicals in the brain.
When we are feeling the weight of the world our bodies are producing stress hormones that cause us to feel tired and anxious. Its difficult to accept that kids can feel this way, but adverse childhood experience is more prevalent in today's society than ever before. Kids need to be taught coping skills and strategies to deal with life when things get tough. Cardio Drumming is a life long activity that enhances overall wellness while combating negative feelings and emotions.
We know that depression causes an erosion of connections in the brain, but aerobic exercise reverses this breakdown. The cardiovascular component of drumming will spark the brain into neurogenesis and literally encourage new growth of these damaged brain connections. A protein called BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor) is released during aerobic exercise which then stimulates brain cells to form new connections and strengthen existing ones. This means that while those kids are drumming away, they are actually healing their brain!
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