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According to the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association, physical education in school is an important part of a child’s lifelong health and well-being. Physical education programs promote healthy lifestyle choices and help prevent childhood obesity by incorporating daily activity into a child’s routine and exposing them to active interests. It is recommended that children receive at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day.

Currently not all schools require physical activity in their curriculums at all. Childhood obesity rates are rising rapidly, and public support is growing for physical activity. There are many benefits to school physical education programs.

• Exercise reduces body mass index, chances of diabetes, inflammation and cardiovascular systems. It also promotes mood and focus, and helps regulate sleep patterns.
• Recent studies show a strong correlation between physical fitness and academic performance.
• Physical activity has shown to have a positive impact on tobacco use, insomnia, depression, and anxiety.
• Physically fit children tend to miss fewer school days.
• Physical activity improves circulation, increases blood flow to the brain, raises endorphin levels, and reduces stress.
• Physically fit children are also said to be less likely to get pregnant or attempt suicide.
• Heavy children are more likely to develop Type II diabetes.

PE games help children with interaction, collaboration, coordination and socialization. Providing children with a chance to make team choices, provide and accept feedback, and work towards a common goal are all fundamental parts of a functional adulthood.

The number of overweight children In the United States has tripled over the past 30 years, and much of this is due to the technological evolution of today’s world. Providing PE equipment gives children exposure and the opportunity to explore activities that they may not otherwise encounter outside of school. In the world of technology, a child is more likely to have a computer or video game technology than sports equipment. Sedentary activities outside of school hours have taken the place of outside activities, and this trend will most likely continue.

Physical education in a school curriculum is the best way to ensure today’s youth include physical activity in their daily regimen. As we grow into a more “plugged in” society, the opportunity for children to socialize in face-to-face encounters and explore sports and other active hobbies is becoming less and less common. The growing unpopularity of physical activities outside of the schools makes its ever more important to mandate their inclusion in a child’s educational curriculum.  

Perusing around the furniture stores in San Diego, you may be wondering just what you need in order to create your perfect space. Whether it is for a bedroom, dining room, or study—furniture and design can be an investment. And investments take careful consideration. So how do you know where to start? Keep these cardinal rules in mind when you’re shopping to help you create your perfect interior space.

1. Consider the function of the room. If the room is for sleeping, think of what is peaceful and comforting to you, and design around that theme. If the room is for entertainment, lively colors or accent pieces may be just the touch you need.
2. Use samples. If you can, use paint samples against walls or cut out pictures of furniture to try and visualize your room. Many websites also have virtual room designers that can help you spec out your future design.
3. Don’t let electronics reign supreme. With how plugged in we are at all times, it’s important to get back to the basics, so keep your television from being the focal point of every room.
4. Invest in a comfortable, cozy bed.  We spend ¼ of our lives in bed, which makes bed choice important. In San Diego mattresses can be found at great prices at many local stores, allowing you to upgrade your nap time without downgrading your savings. Also, if your mattress is starting to look a little aged, start off your design revolution by picking up a new mattress in San Diego. There are plenty of options to choose from. It may not be the most “fun” purchase, but it will be worth it.
5. Think about your lighting. Lighting can completely change the ambience of a room. Task lighting, accent lighting, and decorative lighting can all accent different areas of the room. Don’t rely on overhead lighting to do all the work. Use different types of lighting to bring depth to your design.
6. Purchase your furniture and accents before you paint your room. Painting is easier and less expensive to change.
7. Don’t let trends decide your taste. Find designs that match your taste and that can outlast the latest trend.
8. Arrange furniture so that you can easily enter and exit rooms and make open spaces that are comfortable to navigate.
9. Choose fabrics and furniture first when redecorating your bedroom. This will help you design the rest of the room around your staple accents. 

Don’t let the brightly colored skirts and cheer bows fixed into high-placed ponytails fool you. Cheerleading takes brawn. With coaches, competitions, and national and international leagues, cheerleading is about more than well-developed school spirit chants.

Athletic Clothing

Let’s start with the cheerleading clothes themselves. Most modern uniforms are made from a polyester and spandex blend. The top comes with sleeves or may be sleeveless, and the short skirt is created to allow for maximum movement and safety reasons. A shorter skirt, while often misread as simply fun and flirty, is meant to increase flexibility and movement while tumbling. Cheer shoes are often sneakers or more athletic-type in their purpose.

Required Skill

Although cheerleading started out as a simple rally cheer, it now incorporates complex athletic movements such as back handsprings, somersaults, round-offs, pyramids, and many more complex stunts. And if you think that sounds impressive, take note as well that sports injury statistics place cheerleading as riskier than even football. No longer just quick-witted chants and leaping up and down, cheerleaders are now thrown up to 25 feet in the air and tossed around like expertly-trained jumping beans.

Competitive Spotlight

Although often seen only on the sidelines at sports games and not yet officially defined as a sport by the NCAA, cheerleaders have to go through lengthy training and rigorous practice to perform their routines. There are also several national competitions held for cheerleading. Competing on a national stage, cheer competitions are now often televised. Scoring is based on execution, degree of difficulty, landings, synchronization, body lines, flexibility, technique, choreography and more.

Teamwork

Teamwork is one of the most important aspects of cheerleading.Just like any sport, cheerleading requires the skill and synchronization of all members in order to successfully pull off a perfect routine.  As a group of individuals with a broad spectrum of skills, talents, and commitments, teamwork is necessary not only to expertly pull off maneuvers, but also to prevent injury.

More than just entertainment, cheerleading takes talent, teamwork, and athleticism. As children of all ages participate, cheerleading has become an iconic part of the American high school experience, and has found its way into professional competition, national sports leagues, and school pep rallies. Cheerleading requires strong leadership skills, and also rigorous training, high flexibility, tone, teamwork, and strength. The athletics required of cheerleading can be seen in the complex movements and competitive nature of this team effort.   

Despite all the shipping options available, many people don’t even consider shipping their car when they begin mapping out a move. But car shipping can be a great way to save miles, money, and the headache of long hours on the road.

1. Cut down on wear and tear

Whether you’re moving across state lines or to an entirely different country, driving your car from one place to another can really put some miles on your vehicle. If you choose to ship your car, the moving company takes the brunt of that wear, and you get your car delivered to you in exactly the same condition it was in when it left its original home.

All of those hard miles can take a lot of life out of your car, and you also risk your car breaking down somewhere in between here and there.

2. Lower the stress of moving

Moving is stressful enough. But worrying about travel plans that include a long drive can double your trouble. From making sure you arrive in time to meet  up with the movers, to mapping out your route and hoping you don’t run into any roadblocks, getting your auto transport handled for you can make your move simple and secure.

3. Save money

Believe it or not, oftentimes getting your car shipped can actually save you some cash. Transporting your vehicle can be cheaper than driving it yourself because you are paying auto transporters only for miles, not for hotel rooms and food breaks. And because auto transporters often move cars in bulk, they can pass those savings on to you.

4. Plan better

Planning your move is hard enough. With budgeting in moving costs as well as what to sell and what to buy on the other end, proper funding can become hard to anticipate. If you know up-front how much car shipping rates will cost you, it will be easier to estimate the overall costs of the move as well as timing. Costs for food, gas, and lodging can be difficult to determine if you are driving your car to your new destination.

5. Repurpose driving hours

Moving takes a lot of time. Packing, unpacking, planning, and organizing is a lengthy process. If you defer your driving time to an auto shipper, this can open up days of driving so that you can use this time to move quicker and more smoothly.

This may seem like an easy decision if you live in the Southwest United States, but year after year savvy and calculative homeowners struggle with the choice of whether to pull up the grass and call in San Diego pool builders, or leave the waterworks to the coastline. Putting in your own pool can do more than fancy up a dull lawn. Here are five reasons to pick up the shovel and start digging into some aquatic fun.

Engage in more exercise

Swimming helps cardiovascular conditioning, is easy on the joints, and is great for cross-training. It also strengthens your core by using many of the body’s muscles simultaneously. Swimming is also often easier to sustain over longer periods of time, increasing calorie burn and decreasing fatigue. Custom pool builders can help you get the most out of your space and create a pool that takes advantage of the yard you have to spare.

Raise the value of your home

Everyone knows that a house with a pool trumps one without. Nowhere is this truer than in sunny Southern California. Your appraisal will come in higher, and you’ll have more interested buyers when you decide to sell. An exotic swimming pool design can be a very, very hot selling point.

Location, location, location

Pools aren’t just great exercise, they’re also convenient! Want to get some exercise right when you get home or after a meal? You don’t have to pack up and drive to the gym; you simply have to step out your back door. Aging family members or those with disabilities can also glean great rewards from the low-impact recreation of swimming.

Increase family time and make your home a social hub

Pools are great for parents because they let you keep tabs on exactly where your kids are at all times. Tired of your kid’s friends always hosting the birthday parties? Well there’s no party like a pool party. Pools are enticing amenities for both children and adults, topping off any gathering as a built-in all-ages toy.   

Beat the heat without the stress

A pool in your back yard gives you all the poolside pleasure without the crowds. Have you packed on a couple extra pounds over the holidays? There’s no need to be embarrassed if your pool time is restricted to the privacy of your own home. You can work on that great tan on your own turf, and get in those summer rays, regardless of a busy schedule. Float around in your own oasis without having to fight the crowds on the beach or brave the ocean to beat the heat. 

Hardwood floors are a major investment. And keeping them in good shape is an important part of protecting that investment. In the Southwest states where the air is dry and humid, it’s important to protect against sand, scratches, and humidity changes in your flooring. Flooring in San Diego is a perfect  example of this situation.

In San Diego hardwood floors are a common flooring option. With warm temperatures, hardwoods keep the air moving and the floors cool to the touch.

Strategically Placed Protection

The easiest way to protect your floors is to use runners and area rugs in areaswhere foot traffic is most common. For entryways, hallways, and thresholds of homes in San Diego, rugs are a great option for protecting your floors. Use non-slip rubber backing to secure rugs to the floor so that slipping doesn’t occur when walking. Area rugs can be a decorative addition to your home as well as to serve a functional purpose.

Opt for the Shade

Keeping your hardwood floors out of direct sunlight is another important part of flooring protection in the Southwest. Where long, hot summers provide ample fun in the sun, these long rays can wreak havoc on your flooring. Use curtains to protect your floors from windows that face the evening sun. Sun can cause exposed hardwoods to lighten or darken over time, leaving you with a mismatched floor.

Avoid Moisture

Even though summers are dry, summer fun tends to bring the outdoors inside in the form of beach buckets, swimwear, and pool towels. Although hardwood floors are generally coated with a urethane seal, standing water can seep between floorboards and crack, stain, and warp your beautiful flooring. This type of damage is difficult to correct. Make sure that you keep your floor sealed properly and correct areas where the seal has worn off and the flooring is exposed. In areas where water is most often spilled and dripped such as bathrooms, entryways, and kitchens, keep plastic tubs to drop wet clothes and shoes into to keep them off the floor.

Hardwoods can be refinished multiple times, which is one of the most enticing aspects of this flooring selection. But the better you maintain your floor, the longer you can extend its life and avoid the cost of refinishing. Protecting your floors from scratches, sun rays, and water damage is the best way to protect your investment and maintain the beautiful finish of your floor for year after year. 

If you’ve got an epic party to build and the responsibility to plan it, the main items you’ll need are the materials, the know-how, the budget, and the space to pull it off.

Throwing a large party is a great opportunity to shine and make an impression on a lot of people. Whether it’s your grandma’s 90^th birthday, your sister’s wedding, or your son’s graduation, large parties take proper preparation to pull off. You’ll need food, seating, entertainment, and space to make a great party, and knowing how to properly plan for it and get the required supplies is half the battle. Depending on the party thrown, you may need caterers, a portable stage, music, and space. Knowing a few key elements about your party can help you plan appropriately. These elements include your party’s head count, theme, and space requirements.

Make a Guest List and Send out Invitations

Invitations should be sent out well in advance of the occasion. Evites are a great way to get a head count and also ensure that your invitation finds its way to your guests on time.  

Even if you know everyone who is coming, it’s easy to spitball a number just to find out later you’re short on the food or space for those extra 20 “and guest” invitations you sent out. Make sure you get a guest list and request an RSVP from your attendees so that you can take an accurate count of attendees.

Outfit Your Theme

If you’re hosting a house party, then music and outdoor stages are two must-haves for a big event. Renting a DJ is a surefire way to go, and oftentimes you can find stages for sale for a great deal  that you can pass on to another party planner after your event is over. A wedding after-party will require champagne and wedding-themed colors, where a graduation party can use games and music and decorations for the college-bound or career-bound family member. Sending out requests for certain attire or themed gifts can really get a crowd into a party. Toga, black and white, or over-the-hill themes can all get partygoers in the spirit. Don’t be afraid to get creative.

Prep Your Space

If you’re planning on using your own home, make sure you put away breakables and stow away items that aren’t party-friendly. You can use disposable dishes and cups, or buy a lightweight set at a home goods outlet that you can store away for the next big to-do without breaking the bank. Many outlet stores have tableware that is pennies on the dollar. Fold-up chairs can be rented or bought to easily store away for a future event, and tablecloths can make just about any type of counter space an acceptable surface.

Lay out food and beverages in a central, easy to access area. Consider clearing out your fridge ahead of time to make space for any food that needs to be chilled as well as the inevitable leftovers.

One of the most important parts of throwing a large party is preparing in advance and knowing your guests. For the highest success, try to cater your party to the event, not the other way around. By renting what you can and purchasing what you can’t from discount suppliers, you can create a lasting memory without it making a lasting impression on your finances.

In addition to the fun of the game and the social camaraderie, women’s golf apparel brings colorful class to golf courses across the world. With the bright colors and unique fits of today’s modern golf attire, this is one sport that allows a woman to show off both her athleticism and stylishness during the game.

One of the unique items that becomes well-known to the golfing woman is the golf skort. These interesting pieces of fashion have been bouncing around since the 1960s, and have finally found their rightful place on the golf circuit. Golf skorts have been praised and pre-judged in the market of athletic wear for quite some time now. But these items allow for a short length and flexibility, while remaining game-appropriate. A skort looks much like a skirt and can even be mistaken for one. What isn’t as apparent, however, is the built-in shorts that give this attire its versatility. Concealed shorts keep you from accidentally showing off more than your swing on the field. Often these skorts come with different colors or patterns underneath, so the most your fellow golfers will get a glimpse of is a rocking pair of flashy shorts.

Playing long hours on the course in the middle of the summer makes the need for skorts very apparent. Cooler than either slacks or capris, the skort gives women an edge over the heat. Wondering where to keep your keys or wallet while on the course? Some skorts even come with pockets and invisible zippers or velcro. Houndstooth, herringbone, and plaid designs are fun favorites that allow you to transition straight from the green to a social gathering or after party.

 Women’s golf clothing is ever-changing, but the skort has held strong, especially on the professional circuit. Created with the athlete in mind, skorts are made of flexible, durable, and lightweight materials such as breathable and moisture-wicking Lycra or Spandex to keep you cool and allow you maximum freedom of motion on the golf course.

Are you still a little unsure of the skort in sports? Well you can take solace in the fact that runners and tennis players alike have found freedom and style on the courts and the tracks by way of the fashionable skort.  Gaining in its popularity, this style is catching on fast and is bound to stick around for a good long time to come.

Adding a best friend to your family unit is a big decision that can bring years and years of love and happiness into your home. Their little faces, floppy ears, new puppy smell and adorable antics are a few of the great benefits that adopting a puppy can bring. But bringing a new canine companion into your family also comes with the trials and tribulations of puppy potty training.

If this is your first crack at taking a puppy under your care, here are a few tips on how to train a puppy to ensure that your experience is as painless as possible.

Consistency and Commitment

When housebreaking a puppy, one of the most important rules to abide by is consistency. It’s important to make sure that you keep a very close watch on your new family member and make sure that you can catch them if they are not following the protocol you have set out. When your puppy is very young, you will want to confine them to a small room or a crate until they understand the differences between play time, food time, nap time, and potty time. This means that it is important to make sure that you keep your puppy on a strict schedule to help them learn these differences.

Patience and Praise

Housebreaking does not happen overnight. Puppies will make messes, and accidents will happen. Patience is an important part of raising a puppy with the right behavior. Much of a dog’s habits are picked up by their owners, and therefore it’s important to be positive, praiseful, and patient when teaching your puppy the house rules. Praising your puppy for performing the right behaviors will encourage them to continue that good behavior.

Punishing a puppy is not advised. Punishment may cause them to avert from the desired behavior altogether. Remember that your puppy may not understand what they are being punished for, and at the end of the day you may end up with a larger problem altogether.

Create Cues

Make sure that you create cues to help your puppy associate certain commands with actions. Commit to using the same word for each cue, such as “potty,” “dinnertime,” or “night night” to help your puppy associate certain behaviors with your verbal commands.

The choice to bring a puppy into your home is a big endeavor. With all the cuteness, cuddliness, and little puppy fidgeting, there also comes the consistency, patience, and commitment required to create a happy, housetrained puppy.

Home offices have become a common part of many homes these days. As Americans strive for higher productivity and spend more time connected to the web, home offices are cropping up all over the nation.

San Diego home remodelers are keen to this new trend, as they must often map out space for home offices when planning home additions.

One of the most important parts of making your home office a productive space that is a time saver and not a time waster, is to make sure that it functions as a separate part of your home.

If you’re planning on incorporating a home office into your San Diego remodel, keep these tips in mind to help get the most out of your productive space.

Plan Appropriately

Before you start mapping out your space, check with a San Diego design build contractor to see what your local zoning laws will allow. If you’re building out your home or converting your garage, local zoning laws may have regulations that affect your planned additions.

Keep it Quiet

A quiet space is important to maintaining productivity in a home office. If you’re planning out an addition to your home, keep in mind where your new office will be situated in relation to other rooms and noise outside the home. Privacy is a must, especially if your work hours will be overlapping times when there is household noise from children who are coming home from school, pets up and about, or other noisy events are at hand.

Brighten Your Space

 If you’re repurposing an existing room, make sure that it has a bright window, or install track lighting and floor lamps to brighten up your working space.  Having adequate light also helps keep you sharp and alert throughout your workday.

Fixate on the Furniture

You’ll likely be spending a lot of time in your home office, so comfort is an important part of your overall planning. Ensure that you don’t cramp your space, but put enough in your office that you have room to spread out. Find a comfortable chair, bring in some plants for ambiance, pick up a filing cabinet and find a desk that is large enough to support your work but does not cramp you.

Home offices are becoming more and more popular as we become more connected through email, phone, and the web. Many people come home from their day jobs and continue miscellaneous from-home work to help with expenses. Fixing up a home office just requires some proper planning, a quiet space, adequate lighting, and some comfortable furniture.

The holidays are coming up quick. As stores begin stocking turkeys and yams, it’s also time to begin thinking about what you’re going to need to begin “wrapping up” for Christmas. 

Anyone can stop by their grocery store on the way to the family gathering and pick up a handful of gift cards, but in a world of easy purchases, sometimes it’s the customization that really counts. Luckily a quick search can yield some interesting twists on everyday pieces that can help you put some pizazz into your presents.

Unique Christmas gifts are hard to find these days. With consumerism outweighing creativity, it takes a close eye and concentrated approach to find a gift that will make an impression. Christmas gifts that come with special meaning for your loved ones take both time and thought to purchase. Here are some one-of-a-kind gifts to help you outfit your recipients with unique gifts that will outlast the holiday season.

• Have anyone in your family who is getting married or has a special occasion coming up? Buy a cake topper specially made to look like them! Customize the face and clothes to look like your recipient to help them shine on their special day.
• Personalized Christmas plates are an inexpensive way to customize your gift. Create a family portrait, inscribe a special phrase, or get your family to sign a platter that you can bring back year after year.
• Christmas bobble heads are a new, fun idea that is bound to be a hit. Choose hair, skin, lip, and eye colors to perfectly match your bobble head to your loved one and get them bouncing along to the tune of Christmas. These amazing gifts are fun to create, allowing you to upload pictures of your recipient or dress them up in their own style. 
• Do you have a son or husband to shop for? Try outfitting their man-cave with something that they won’t look at once and then stash away for eternity. Give their den a personalized sign designed for a billiard parlor, tackle shop, golf course, or hunting lodge.

Whatever you find to be the fancy of your family and friends, there is more out there to offer in Christmas spirit than a simple gift card. Look around for something with a little personalization to bring lasting family fun into your festivities.