The Best Parts of My Week....9/20-9/24

Hi everyone,
It was once again a great week with many stories to share! Enjoy!

.....I was playing a game called the Incredible Shrinking Gymnasium with a group of my primary students. The object of the lesson is to pretend that the gymnasium shrinks little by little so that students learn to move safely in small spaces. I added something to the lesson this year that I called my "Magic Button" which makes the gymnasium grow larger and larger. I must be a pretty good actress because more than one of my students asked me if the button really works!!!!

.....During this week we held our annual "Meet the Staff" nights. We hold a night for grades K-2 and a separate one for grades 3-5. While special area teachers are not required to attend both nights, how can I pick which one is more important? The answer is that I can't, so I attend both nights. I am so glad that I did! Each year I meet so many interested parents and this year was no different! I had many wonderful conversations including one with three generations of interested family members; a mom, grandmother, and great grandmother! How wonderful for this child that there are so many people willing to be a part of her education! Another conversation included a parent asking me about a new program that I created called "PE Packs to GO!" I mentioned this program to my fifth grade students and while I got some positive reaction, I was not quite sure how it was received overall. This parent that came to visit me on "Meet the Staff" night said that the first thing that her child spoke about at the end of the day was the fact that 5th graders were going to be able to use the "PE Packs to GO!" I guess they were listening and excited!

.....At the end of this week I was playing a game called "Bubbles" with some primary students. This game involves students moving throughout the gymnasium holding hoops around them as if they were "Bubbles". The object of the game is to keep your "bubble" from popping by not touching any other "bubbles" . I'm sure that you know the phrase "Sorry to burst your bubble"; but how many six year old students know and understand that phrase? Well, sure enough, one of my primary students was playing the game and as she went by me during the game she said " don't want to burst your bubble!!!" with a big smile on her face! That made me smile and the fact that she understood the phrase was not lost on me!

I am looking forward to what fun awaits me next week! Have a great week!

The Best Parts of My Week 9/13-9/17

Hi everyone,
This was the first full week of school and there were many events that qualified for the best parts of my week! Enjoy!

.....Tuesday was Primary Day and our school serves as a polling place. During the day I ran into a former student who had arrived to vote. We had a wonderful conversation!

.....This week several of my classes earned their "PE Driver's License"! They were so excited! (So was I!) This is a part of the "Healthy Highway" program that our school is adopting this year.

.....As a result of our work to earn a "PE Driver's License" students learn the "PE Rules of the Road". The rules are associated with common traffic signs. After three days of teaching and review, one of my first grade students came up to me and said "Guess what - I saw the "Do Not Enter" (with food, drink, or candy) sign on the way to school today! I guess she was paying attention!

.....I hosted my first "Fitness Friday" of the year for students in kindergarten and first grade! We had a blast! The kindergarten students now know what "Fitness Friday" is all about!

The Best Parts of the First Week of School!

Welcome back to the 2010-2011 school year! I am so excited to be back at school! If you are new to my blog, I hope you enjoy the best parts of my week! At the end of each week, I write about what was great about the past week. It's a way for me to share funny stories, kid's quotes, and teachable moments, and helps me to focus on and share what is good in every week. Sure, there are challenges to face each week, but I believe that focusing on the positives helps me to appreciate all that is good about teaching! This week was the first week of school and teachers and students alike were happy to be back! There was an electricity in the building that is unlike any other beginning that I have experienced. I feel privileged to be able to be a part of this excitement every year! The smiles and hugs were endless when the bell rang and students arrived on Wednesday morning. I met several new students during the day, including some of our new kindergarten students. One student arrived for PE in the afternoon and upon entering the gymnasium said "Are we playing basketball today?" When I replied that there were many fun activities in store for him, but basketball was not on the list yet, he replied "Then what are we doing here?" It struck me that at five years old, he already had a preconceived notion as to what PE was all about. How does that happen???? I guess one of my challenges will be to teach him that PE is more than just basketball! One of the first day activities that I provide for my students is a slide show of last year's PE activities. The objective is to remind students of activities that they enjoyed and show students activities that they can look forward to this year. It also reminds me of how fortunate we are at North Park. We have so many wonderful opportunities! At the end of the week, I had the good fortune to be greeted with smiles and hugs from two former students. It is so gratifying to realize that you have made a difference in the lives of your students! It was a great week! I hope you enjoy this blog! Feel free to e-mail me the best parts of YOUR week! - northparkpe@yahoo.com