Exershine Kids POWER Bootcamp and Training Academy

09/18/2025

https://www.nbcot.org/news-events/news/spotlight-amy-wheadon

National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

06/05/2025

Ever wonder why burpees are more than just cardio?
Burpees look simple but activate multiple muscle groups and sensory systems—building core strength and body awareness in one move.

Stay tuned—you’ll learn the full breakdown later this week!

04/13/2025

The science behind movement- and this is just walking! Imagine the amplified impact of high intensity exercise on the brain- for cognitive, social and sensory motor development !

What happens to a child’s brain after just 20 minutes of walking? 🧠

Dr. Chuck Hillman’s widely shared brain scans show a powerful contrast: one image after a child sits quietly, and another after 20 minutes of walking. The difference is dramatic. Blue areas represent low activity. Red/orange show high activity.

After walking, the brain lights up—especially in areas responsible for focus, memory, and executive function. This isn’t just about "getting the wiggles out." Movement actually prepares the brain for learning.

Hillman’s research found that physical activity boosts cognitive performance almost immediately. Children perform better on attention and memory tasks right after they move. Just 20 minutes of walking can improve focus and self-regulation.

Yet, we often operate under the misconception that children must sit still in order to learn. Stillness is praised, fidgeting is corrected, and movement is treated as a disruption. But neuroscience tells a different story: sitting still may actually suppress the brain activity needed for learning. By emphasizing quiet compliance, we may be unintentionally discouraging the very behaviors—like movement and play—that fuel thinking, focus, and growth.

But here’s the problem: kids today are sitting more than ever. Screen time is up, recess is down, and physical activity is often viewed as a break from learning—not a part of it.

We need to shift that mindset.

Movement is essential for brain development. It strengthens the neural pathways that support learning, emotional regulation, and long-term academic success. And it doesn’t have to be complicated—nature walks, active play, and short movement breaks during the day all make a difference! So get out there and move - EVERYONE! 🏃🏾🏃‍♀️🏃🏿‍♂️🏃🏻‍♀️

09/14/2024

Attention OT friends! I’m hosting a 2 hr workshop on 9/30 full of exercise-based tx ideas and more! Super low cost, interactive, and includes certificate of completion for CEUS. Who wants the link and details? Comment below 🙋🏻‍♀️

04/17/2024

Hoping to inspire OTPs everywhere to embrace our framework! High intensity exercise can be a catalyst for regulation, social participation and for building confidence in kiddos! Thank you AOTA for spreading the word!

04/09/2024

I’m so excited to announce that my article about EXERSHINEkids has been published in OT Practice Magazine! KidSHINE LLC Exershine Kids POWER Bootcamp and Training Academy
If any OT friends have an extra print copy that they are willing to mail to me, I would very much appreciate it! Hoping the Link works if you are interested in reading it! https://bit.ly/3PTCuoc

07/29/2023

Worlds collide… I had the incredible opportunity
To spend two days in Nashville at the Dup15q Alliance National Conference-

Dup15q Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by having an extra copy of a portion of chromosome 15 in the 11.2 – 13.1 region in combination with a number of symptoms that may include hypotonia and motor delays, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and epilepsy, including infantile spasms.

I attended this conference as an exhibitor for and as an .ot pediatric occupational therapist helping out in the staffed care afternoon program with the “Dupers” ages 3-22. I also ended up running impromptu Bootcamp classes for the siblings of affected kiddos.

It was surreal to watch all 3 of my passions happening all at once… as all 3 of my worlds collided.

And most importantly, I met the most incredible and inspiring people who are a part of the dup15q community- Dupers, parents, caregivers, siblings, paras, therapists, volunteers - all together for a common purpose-

So grateful to be able to be a part of this and to help with many different hats. 💕

And I got to squeeze in checking out downtown Nashville too!

07/16/2023

Love this!

Research shows that high-quality school recess contributes significantly to children’s executive functioning (focusing, making plans, and solving problems efficiently), self-control, positive classroom behavior, and resilience. Children who have more time to play at recess are better able to overcome adversity, recover from mistakes, and cope with change.

07/07/2023

Don’t miss out on this chance to become trained and certified in the EXERSHINEkids POWER Bootcamp Program!

We are combining part one and part two together again one last time for this live distance learning, ONE DAY TWO PART webinar! $50 off for participants who register for the part one and part 2 same day July 21, 2023 bundle!

Starting in the fall, we will be back to two day trainings- so register now. This training is via zoom on July 21, 2023 from 8:30 AM- 5:30 PM

Clinicians love this program- it’s the opportunity to learn how to use high intensity exercise with kiddos to promote health, wellness, sensory processing, social relationships and overall strength and confidence!

Practice Owners also love this program because they are able to reach and help more members of the community by offering groups!

This training combines theory, evidence, frameworks, and practical application. At the end of this 9 hour training, you will have EVERYTHING you need to bring this amazing program to your practice. And OTPs will receive .8 AOTA professional development CEUS too!

Link in bio! therapy

07/07/2023

Don’t miss out on this chance to become trained and certified in the EXERSHINEkids POWER Bootcamp Program!

We are combining part one and part two together again one last time for this live distance learning, ONE DAY TWO PART webinar! $50 off for participants who register for the part one and part 2 same day July 21, 2023 bundle!

Starting in the fall, we will be back to two day trainings- so register now. This training is via zoom on July 21, 2023 from 8:30 AM- 5:30 PM

Clinicians love this program- it’s the opportunity to learn how to use high intensity exercise with kiddos to promote health, wellness, sensory processing, social relationships and overall strength and confidence!

Practice Owners also love this program because they are able to reach and help more members of the community by offering groups!

This training combines theory, evidence, frameworks, and practical application. At the end of this 9 hour training, you will have EVERYTHING you need to bring this amazing program to your practice. And OTPs will receive .8 AOTA professional development CEUS too!

Link in bio! therapy

04/04/2023

So excited for Progressive Beginnings to launch EXERSHINEkids at their clinic in WI! Can’t wait to hear all about their strong, regulated and confident kiddos! 💪🏻🌟

We are so excited to be the FIRST clinic in Wisconsin to offer the Exershine Kids POWER Bootcamp classes coming to Progressive Beginnings this summer!

This program uses intense physical exercise to improve strength and self regulation in children. Our Exershine Kids POWER Bootcamp will improve core strength, balance, coordination, spatial awareness, motor planning, sensory processing skills, and executive functioning skills using a uniquely designed, OT inspired, evidence based program.

Weekly classes are highly structured, thematic, and adult guided to practice focus, concentration, listening skills, peer cooperation, and social skills. Sessions are eight weeks in length with 45 minute classes, 1x/week. Additional details coming soon on our social media and website!

03/16/2023

At EXERSHINEkids, we LOVE to connect exercises to themes and stories and holidays - (like St Patrick’s Day) are an easy way to do just that. By building in themed activities that are meaningful and fun, you’re able to inspire participation in activities that may otherwise be challenging.

When planning our activities using our novel EXERSHINEkids philosophy of merging OT and high intensity exercise, we’re able to target core strength, shoulder stability, endurance, bilateral coordination, crossing midline, sequencing, visual motor integration while providing proprioceptive and vestibular input to target sensory processing, which helps kiddos get the biggest bang for their buck!

At our clinic, we made shamrocks with specific weight bearing or high intensity exercises on them and created a shamrock exercise path to a pot of gold.

Some of our favorite exercises include burpees, tuck jumps, rocketships and more! You can grade the exercises by ability level and by sensory target area (prop, vestibular, both). Depending on how much exercise and input they need, you can also have kiddos roll a dice to see how many reps of each exercise they need to do before moving to the next shamrock

When kiddos reach the pot of gold, they can add to the rainbow chain.

We also encourage kiddos to write on a vertical surface and draw their own leprechaun, rainbow, or gold coins! Dry erase crayons provide good feedback and resistance on a white board and you can encourage midline crossing and balance by having your kiddo do this activity while standing on a BOSU ball (blue side less of a challenge than the black side!)

Try this with your kiddos this week and let me know what you notice - is this activity targeting all of the goals you need to target? Is your kiddo calmer after this activity?
Stay Strong and SHINE ON!