Zooper Safari™ Skills Are Lifelong Skills

Have you heard about Zooper Safari™? It’s Fitness Finders® new classroom management program that uses 7 cute Featured Creatures to teach students positive classroom behaviors. Zooper Safari™ emphasizes foundational behavioral skills, (Zooper Behaviors) that benefit children now and as they grow into teenagers and adults. These Zooper Behaviors include:

1.     Have a Positive Attitude

2.     Stay on Track

3.     Listen and Follow Instructions

4.     Take Initiative

5.     Put Things in Order

6.     Think of Others

7.     Work with Others

Lifelong Learners

If you look at the Zooper Behaviors out of context, you might conclude that they are for a job description. That is exactly the point! These skills are directly applicable to students now and as they mature and enter adulthood. The same Zooper Behaviors that create a positive classroom atmosphere are directly transferable to work, family, and leisure activities. And Zooper Safari™ makes it fun to learn these skills!

By emphasizing these Zooper Behaviors early in children’s schooling, you can put students on a fast track to successful, satisfied lives. Plus, by improving classroom environment in the present, students have the greatest opportunity to learn academically.

Why Zooper Safari™ Works for Children

We have specifically designed Zooper Safari™ to appeal to the minds of elementary school students. The lessons are engaging, participation is encouraged, and fun visuals are included – like video clips of the Featured Creature showcasing their Zooper Behavior in their natural habitat.

“Zooper Safari™ takes something that most kids already love – cute animals – and associates positive classroom behaviors with those animals,” said Lissa Strodtbeck, Curriculum Editor. “This helps the kids remember the Zooper Behavior, and encourages them to adopt/emulate the positive behavior themselves.”

Ready to improve your classroom learning environment while priming students with lifelong skills? Zooper Safari™ is available for purchase this Fall 2017, so start planning your safari now!

To learn more about Zooper Safari™ and read customer testimonials, check out our blog, Discover How Fitness Finders Can Help Tame Your Classroom!

Why Does Fitness Finders® Use Incentive Awards?

Did you know that Fitness Finders® incentive based system is known as a token economy? Token economies feature cards, “tokens”, or money to encourage or deter behavior.

But why does a token economy work? Why do tokens encourage positive behavior and how has this model become so successful?

Tokens Are Earned

At the foundation of token economies is the understanding that an incentive must be earned, that not everyone gets it and therefore it has value. If every child received a Toe Token® for running, regardless of distance, the Toe Token® would lose some of its motivational power. For example, Fitness Finders® doesn’t sell Toe Tokens® to parents to be used as gifts because this dilutes the value of earning the award. 

Tokens Are Scarce

Tokens hold a lot of value when the student has accomplished something, and when everyone else knows what action they took to receive the token. Challenges and goals add to the incentive, but account for the development and ability of the students. It is important to set achievable but ambitious goals.

Tokens Are Fun

Our tokens work with children because they are fun. We offer over 600 unique awards in 180 different bright, eye-catching colors.

With so many variations, colors, and styles, token selection could easily get overwhelming. But don’t worry! We will happily help you find the perfect award for your situation, or let your students vote on tokens that they want to earn!

Charles Kuntzleman, Founder of Fitness Finders, said, “Select incentives that are visible, countable, attractive, and perceived as highly valuable by the recipients.”

Tokens Set the Stage for Lifelong Lessons

Not only are token encouraging in the present, but they can also motivate students into the future. To facilitate this lifelong impact, Kuntzleman suggests periodically reminding students of the importance of the activity behind the token. This means communicating why the desired behavior is beneficial in life and how it can impact students in a positive way.

Even if the students remain focused on tokens in the moment, they will look back one day and remember the lessons emphasized.

At the end of the day, the desired behavior is the ultimate goal. Tokens just happen to be a fun, motivational, and inexpensive way to increase participation and effort. So get some tokens and tackle those goals!

Recommendations for Mileage Club® Frequency and Scheduling

It’s never too early to start planning your Mileage Club® season! That’s why we are using this blog to talk about recommended running frequency and Mileage Club® scheduling tips.

Keep the Climate in Mind

Weather is an important factor in Mileage Club® planning. If you live in a state where it rains relentlessly, consider scheduling Mileage Club® more frequently. If you’re scheduled to run every day, and it rains three out of five days, then at least you get two days a week to run the program. Even if it doesn’t rain, it’s okay to for the kids to run every day, according to Debbie Drake, Fitness Finders’ Mileage Club® Coordinator.

“It is okay to run every day as long as it is fun and the students aren’t pressured,” said Drake.

Also, consider the season. Is it super-hot in August? Is it snowy in December? Is it just right in September? The better you know your state and your climate, the better you can plan!

School Schedule

Be sure to consider holidays, recess time, and your school year schedule in your planning. Every school does things a little bit differently, so there’s no rigid format that works best for all. Try to pick a time of the year when you can stick to the same weekly schedule for most of the program. Finding a consistent pattern will help Mileage Club® gain traction and popularity among the students.

Available Volunteers

Is there a time of year when teachers or parents seem to have more time? (What a pleasant fiction!) If enthusiastic volunteers are crucial to program success, there is value in factoring them into your planning. Keep in mind that the better the weather the more plentiful the volunteers, so plan your season strategically!

Above all remember that no matter the weather and no matter who shows up, Mileage Club® is about the students, and helping them have fun and reach their goals. Plan for greatness.

Celebrate Students' Mileage Club® Accomplishments!

The end of the school year is almost here! Yay! Now is a great time to plan an awesome Mileage Club® celebration. Whether your program is in the Spring, Fall, or both - you have the opportunity to give a final hurrah to another successful year of fun, hard work, and achieved goals.

Here are some ideas to make your Mileage Club® celebration extra special.

Soup Up the Setting

We suggest organizing a schoolwide assembly to cap off Mileage Club® for the year. Public recognition is a fantastic way to motivate students for future years and it will mean the world to them to be recognized in front of their peers. Go all out, and utilize available resources such as the sound system, lighting, and stage. This is also a great time to recognize and thank any teachers or parents who volunteered to make Mileage Club® successful throughout the school year!

We think it’s important to take advantage of any opportunity to remind students that exercise and being active goes hand-in-hand with academics! You can also use this time for other end of the year recognitions, as well. For example, you could announce Field Day results or celebrate any student successes in the classroom.

Amp Up the Awards

Toe Tokens® are an excellent and proven motivator throughout the season, but how about some fresh awards to end the school year on a high note? We have an amazing assortment of awards to choose from: Mileage Club® tee shirts, water bottles, sports packs, dog tags, wristbands, pencils, baseball caps, and more.

Finding reasons to recognize won’t be difficult; your students have been working hard!

Outstanding Mileage Club® Achievements

Outstanding achievements can be awarded to exceptional participants who go above and beyond – in a variety of areas:

• Recognize outstanding amounts of accumulated mileage by awarding Mileage Club® T-shirts and Baseball Caps to the top three performing boys and girls.
• Recognize outstanding consistency by awarding the student with the best Mileage Club® attendance record with a Mileage Club® Sport Bottle. “You’ve gotta show up to go up!”
• Recognize outstanding selflessness by awarding a Mileage Club® Sport Pack to the students who volunteer to help keep Mileage Club® on track or who always have an encouraging word to say to their peers.

Goals Met

The process of setting a goal and working hard to achieve it without giving up is an important life skill that will benefit your students for their whole lives. Depending on your program, goals might have a large or small scope:

• Individual Goal — Award all students who meet their goal. Your enthusiasm, encouragement, and recognition will inspire them to come back next year and shoot even higher! Great rewards for meeting individual goals include a pair of colorful Shoelaces, Walk-a-Long™ Wristbands, or Water Bottles.
• Class Goal — If the whole class sets and meets a season goal, then everyone gets an award! Popular class rewards include Toe Token® Folders, Mileage Cups, and Mileage Club® Training Medals. Be sure to take a picture of the class to put on the Mileage Club® bulletin board for next year!
• School Goal — A school goal can be a great way to motivate all students to participate. If the goal is met, each participant gets to partake in the excitement and recognition. Students who didn’t join in this year will definitely want to run next year and be a part of the team! Fun, yet economical school-wide awards include Mileage Club® Pencils or Mood Pencils, Mileage Club® Wristbands, Mileage Club® Feat awards, or Mileage Club® Dog Tags.

We hope these ideas are helpful. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your school’s specific needs, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@fitnessfinders.net or 800-789-9255. We hope you have a great end of the year celebration. We can’t wait to partner with you again next year!