Walk or Wheel Week Ideas

Walk to School Week October 2-6, 2023

What are the Benefits?

Studies show that students who walk or bike to school learn better and have higher test scores.

Download your Walk to School Week materials:

Walk to School Week Flyer (English/Spanish)

Walk to School Week Social Media/Newsletter Graphic – English

Walk to School Week Social Media/Newsletter Graphic – Spanish

Safety Tips (English/Spanish)

Hosting a Walk to School Week?
Check out these ideas to encourage students and parents to participate all week long.

Hold a Spirit Week with these fun ideas:

  • Encourage your parents/caregivers to walk too, with a secret dress-up theme for them (Crazy Hair Day, Crazy Socks, Let your student choose your outfit for the day).
  • Neon/Bright Color Day – this pairs great withe the “Wear Bright Colors” safety tip!
  • Funky Sneaker Day
  • School Pride Day
  • Buddy Day – Find a friend and walk together
  • Family Walk to School Day
  • Walk with Kindness – students make signs with positive messages for their walk

Chalk the Walk – Have students, parents or teachers write positive messages on the sidewalks leading up to the school.

Classroom/Individual Competitions (Golden Sneaker Award) – Reach out to local businesses (restaurants, library, gyms) for prizes for classroom or individual competitions for the highest student participation or farthest distanced walked during the week.

Host a School Wide Walking Parade – During school (lunchtime, morning announcements, etc.) have classrooms can learn a Stomping Cadence Song to sing, or play music for the students.

Visual Scavenger Hunt – Play “I Spy” on the walk to school.  Ask parents/school champions to hide fun things along the routes to school for students to look for as they walk to school. Choose up to a 2 or 3 block radius and tie balloons, hide printed photos of the school mascot, make signs with positive statements, hide photos of animals or other out of the ordinary items to make catch students attention as they walk to school.

Encourage a Family Walk to School Day -Have some coffee or morning treats for families that walk to school, or host a “Coffee with the Principal” meeting one morning.

End of WOW Week Raffle – Give a daily raffle ticket to students that walked/wheeled to school. Students place their tickets into a raffle box for a prize drawing on Friday. (Ask us how we can help with prizes)

Provide walking and biking safety tips – Share tips with  students during the morning announcement. Help them stay safe on their walk.

Share Pedestrian Safety Videos in PE class or during morning announcements.

WOW Week Posters – Have students make posters to promote walking/biking/scootering to school or WOW Week. Put up around your school. Can do as a school contest also.

”Show” how many kids walked to school on a given day or for the week –  Provide cutouts of a shoe or foot.  Students that participated write their name on the cutout and tape it onto a large piece of paper taped up at the school entrance with the heading “See Who Walked or Wheeled Today”.

Show how walking is good for the environment – Put up a blank tree and have students hang leaves on it each day they walk.  (Ask us about supplies for this project)

Hold a Competition – Have a grade level, individual or class competition and award a prize (or Golden Sneaker award -ask us about our toolkit) to the class with the most number of students who walked/wheeled on a given day or for the week. Teachers will keep track on a daily tally sheet. Announce winning class/grade school PA or during the morning announcement.

Facebook
Like Us on Facebook
Instagram
Follow us on Instagram
ma