National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) is launching its annual Healthy Body, Happy Me campaign next week with the theme Busy Bodies.

Healthy Body, Happy Me, sponsored by Hope, will run from 24-28 March. It aims to encourage life-long health and happiness in young children by supporting early years practitioners through a week-long programme of free resources and activities.    

This year’s campaign is a celebration of movement, designed to get children moving and excited about physical play.  Active play will be promoted every day over the course of a week with a fun ten minute daily challenge encouraging children to jump, stretch, wriggle and roll. 

Research has shown that movement is essential for children’s overall development with studies exploring the connection between physical fitness and the development of motor skills, coordination and strength. This week of activities acknowledges the importance of early childhood experiences and the significant role that practitioners have in a child’s development.  

The campaign also recognises the vital importance of the home learning environment and includes resources to support families to continue and reinforce children being active and healthy at home. 

NDNA’s chief executive Purnima Tanuku said: “We know that even before birth, babies move instinctively, showing that physical activity is not simply about burning energy, it’s the foundation for learning, growth and long-term health. Our early years experts have created an action-packed week-long resource guide to support practitioners with tips and fun activities.”   

The Healthy Body, Happy Me resources include four activities a day, ranging from animal adventure yoga, beanbag balancing, a taste adventure, cooking, squeezing fruit for juices and rolling activities to music.

Each child that takes part in NDNA’s Healthy Body, Happy Me campaign is awarded a certificate at the end of the week and each practitioner receives a certificate for their support role.    

Settings are encouraged to share their healthy habits with parents, carers and NDNA throughout the week using the #HealthyBodyHappyMe hashtag.