Teachers get your boots on, October’s for walking to school

The mornings are getting darker, getting out of beds getting colder and suddenly everyone’s talking about walking to school for a month?

If this is you don’t worry! We’ve got a simple walk to school month guide for teachers wanting to participate but not able to do the 5 days a week or for those who live too far away, including parents. Remember, as time consuming, cold and tiring as it might look now, walking has some unbeatable health benefits which are listed at the bottom of this post.

Park and Walk part of the way

Taking this option means you still get to sit in your warm car and don’t have to walk the entire way to school with all of the books you marked at the weekend. Scout out the best parking options a reasonable walking distance away from your school so you know you’ll have somewhere to park in the mornings.

 

Walking Bus Stickers, Walk to School Footprint, Walk to School Award Stickers

And for the public transport teachers…

Get off a stop earlier than you usually would and walk a little further than normal, we say all walking counts!

Walking 3 days out of 5

Got a really busy day on Monday and Thursday? Skip walking on those days and make an extra effort on the three other days of the week.

Advantages of walking?

• You’ll never be late again – Once you time your route you’ll know how long it takes and wont have to allow extra time for traffic.
• You will help to save the planet (or at least someone’s lungs).
• It’s free! – Add up all the money spent in a month on your car or public transport and think of other things you could spend it on.
• Boosted energy levels.
• Higher levels of stamina.
• Reduced stress levels (major bonus!).
• Decreased levels of illness (avoid that nasty cold doing the rounds).
• Improved feeling of well being.

Walk to School Dinosaurs, Green Cross Code Stickers, Walk to School Stars

Living Streets is the UK walking charity. We love living streets because they focus on adults walking to work just as much as children walking to school.

They have some great walking tips for employees:

• Time your walks to see how quickly you can get from A to B. Power walking is a great way to stay healthy and means you’ll save time too.
• Walking is a great way to clear your head, zone out and get rid of all negative thoughts before you reach your destination which makes for a better day at work.
• There are probably interesting landmarks and buildings to visit on your walk that you’ve never seen or noticed before. Have a Google and save some links on your smartphone before you set off and see what you can discover.
• Walking allows for time to get thinking. Whether its meeting notes or ideas for your next piece of work, make sure you have a notebook handy for any ideas that pop into your head.
• Capture pictures on your smartphone to make your walks memorable. It might be a nice view or pictures of grumpy commuters- whatever takes your fancy.
• You can incorporate your daily chores into your walk to work. Dropping off your dry cleaning or posting your letters on your way is a great time saving way of getting things done.

Places to find out more: 

http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/

http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/pe/walktoschool.htm

http://walkit.com/walking-to-school/facts-and-figures/

Let us know how you get on walking to school, we’re on Facebook and Twitter @SchoolStickers and would love to hear what your schools doing for the month. You can design your own school stickers, badges and stamps with our sticker maker and create some seriously cool personalised rewards.