Hi everyone,
Well, we made through a full week this week with just a delay or two! It's been quite a winter here in the northeast! I am looking forward to being able to snowshoe with my students soon! I hope you enjoy my "Best Parts" of this week!
.....As gymnastics continues I have been pointing out to students at the end of each class something positive that happened during the lesson and then I have been moving the "class PE car" (part of our Healthy Highway program) down the road as a result of the positive behavior. I had the opportunity this week to highlight the following behaviors from students:
-giving up their turn on a piece of equipment so someone else could have a turn.
-doing the right thing even when someone else in his/her group was not.
-trying new activities even if they were hard.
-waiting patiently for a turn to ensure the safety of all.
-helping each other tie shoes.
-complimenting others on good performances or nice tries.
-showing respect even when I made a mistake!
.....I had the pleasure of listening to two students read the class journal entry for Fitness Frankie's week in their class to the entire school!
.....Fitness Frankie spent this week in a kindergarten class and they brought him to PE. They had such fun with him it was easy to smile!
.....We held our next Healthy Highway assembly this week. We introduced "Perseverance Path" Students from each class and some special areas were recognized by their teachers as working very hard during the first half of the school year. Students were so proud as they stood when their names were announced!
.....We danced the Healthy Highway dance at the end of the assembly. It was great to see everyone - adults and students alike - enjoying and dancing so well!
.....I mistakenly called Fitness Frankie just "Frankie" to one of my kindergarten students. He quickly corrected me and said "You mean FITNESS Frankie don't you?"
.....I introduced the high balance beam to my primary students this week. I am always in awe of the trust that they put in me as I hold their hand to walk across the beam! It reminds me of the tremendous responsibility that we have as teachers. Some students were more anxious than others, and some students held my hand tighter than others or not at all, but 99% of students get up on the beam to try it! Each and every one of the students that finish their turn on the high beam are proud of their effort! It is especially exciting when a student walks across the beam for the first time by himself/herself. They almost always exclaim "I did it!"
.....I was thinking this week about how our journey down the Healthy Highway has really improved our focus on character education, physical fitness, healthy choices, and good nutrition in our school. Not only has this focus benefited our students, but I truly feel that I (and I hope other adults in our building) am benefiting from this program as well! It's true, I have always tried to exercise and eat nutritiously, but I do believe my choices are definitely influenced in a positive way by this program as I try to "practice what I preach"!
Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!
E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com
