Summer’s the time for your kids to be active—to jump, run, play ball and have fun. And it turns out that all that free-wheelin’ exercise is good for the minds of your children, too.

Scientists have detected evidence that exercise help keeps neurons alive and stimulates cell growth. Researchers at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, found that mice living in an environment that included running wheels, tunnels and toys improved their learning ability and doubled the number of new neurons in an area of the brain that involves long-term memory.

At Princeton University, research shows the number of new brain cells produced per day more than doubled in monkeys who regularly took part in exercises that used motor and decision-making skills.

At the eight branches of the Springfield-Greene County Library District, story times always include movement of some type—dancing, hopping up and down—followed by the three-year-olds sitting quietly while the librarian reads a book. It’s a balance of mind and body exercise—what we call the Minds in Motion initiative.

Make this connection in your kids by checking out any of these books from the Library:

• Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull—Dramatically visualized, this remarkable story shows how “the sickliest child from Clarksville, Tennessee,” became an Olympic champion.
  
• It’s Just a Game by John Farrell—Winning or losing, it’s all about how you play the game. The soccer kids teach the adult fans and coaches this important lifetime lesson.
  
• Allie’s Basketball Dream by Barbara E. Barber—All sports have their ups and downs—it’s how you cope with them that counts. Allie’s story is a tribute to perseverance.
  
• The Team That Couldn’t Lose by Matt Christopher—A chapter book for older kids, this is the story of a football team that can’t figure out where their fantastic new plays are coming from.