The Best Parts of My Week - 9/24/12--9/28/12

Hi everyone,
     As September drew to a close, it felt as if we are back in the rhythm again!

.....My primary students were creating obstacle courses this week while they were learning the concepts of over and under.  I reminded my students that while cartwheels are fun, the surface of they gym floor is not safe for indoor cartwheels.  One of my students came up to me and said:  "Guess what?  My mom is 33 and she can do a cartwheel!"

.....My third grade students are using pedometers for the first time during PE class and they are very excited!  One student left PE class this week and said:  "I feel like I still have my pedometer on!"

.....We have many new friends at North Park this year and many have not had as much jump roping practice as some of other friends.  I smiled when I saw a student master a jump rope skill this week for the first time!

.....We have some new bear friends this year at North Park to reinforce our Healthy Highway program. This year, Physical Eddie and Healthy Hannah from Savannah are with us and they made their classroom debuts this week!  Healthy Hannah came to PE class and one of the students asked if she could take Healthy Hannah for a run during the warm-up!

.....All of our students completed baseline PE assessments this week for the very first time.  They required diligence and perseverance from all.  I was impressed at the work ethic of our students and their willingness to take the assessments seriously!

.....One of my kindergarten classes had enough time to play outside at the end of their baseline assessment task.  Unfortunately, one of the students took a tumble on a piece of equipment.  While I was making sure that he was OK, another student came up and gave him a hug to make him feel better!

.....At the beginning of the year my students created their "hand cut-outs" for a class contract.  This week after cutting out all of the hands and asking students about the rules that they felt were important to include, I was putting the contracts together.  It struck me that for the first time, one of the rules that students felt was important was "Eat Healthy".  How about that?  It was great to see that our efforts to include nutrition and healthy choices are starting to pay off!

.....My primary students were participating in a warm-up called "Alphabet Soup".  During this warm-up students touch letters, spell their names or spell words that they know while moving in different locomotor patterns to music.  One of my second graders came up to me during the warm-up and said:  "I just spelled Healthy, now I am going to spell Highway!"

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  http://classrooms.hydeparkschools.org/webpages/MRobelee/

See you next week!

The Best Parts of My Week! 9/17/12--9/21/12

Hi everyone,
     It has been a very exciting start to the school year at North Park!  We have so many new students and families and I think that I made some progress this week in getting to know everyone!

.....I was impressed by a fourth grade student who completely understood the concept of pacing himself during a warm-up and fitness activity this week.  It is a hard concept to teach and I am always thrilled when the message gets through!

.....My upper elementary students were assigned their pedometer numbers this week.  This is always exciting and when it was time to put the pedometers away I rattled off the odd numbers from 1-30 so that those students could clean up first.  One of my fifth graders looked at me while I was doing this and said "impressive!"  I responded - "Thanks!  I like Math!"

.....My younger students were playing a game called "Find My Color", which I use to reinforce the assignment of color groups at the beginning of the year.  Students look under cones to find foam sticks that match their color group.  One of the rules is "No Peeking".  One of my first graders took this rule very seriously and it was great to watch him play by the rules!

.....One of our early pedometer activities is an activity during which students walk for six minutes and attempt to get as many steps as possible.  It is always a challenge to walk and not run during this test.  I was proud of how well the students followed the directions and was also impressed at the number of steps they walked!  They were too!

.....During the course of the week I heard comments from several adults about how PE has changed over the years.  They are glad for the opportunities their students have to learn about nutrition and lifetime fitness during PE class and wish they'd had that opportunity when they were growing up......

.....We are off to a great start in our journey down the Healthy Highway!  One of the opportunities that our students have is to earn a bracelet and a mile for their class if they bring a healthy snack for their birthday treat to share with class.  We have had so many take advantage of this opportunity already this year!  Students have brought in homemade blueberry muffins, zucchini cakes, popcorn, and more to share with classmates as they celebrate their birthdays!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  http://classrooms.hydeparkschools.org/webpages/MRobelee/

See you next week!

The Best Parts of My Week - 9/10/12--9/14/12

Hi everyone,
     School is in full swing and in many ways it feels as if we never left!  It was a busy week!

.....We started the week with our first Healthy Highway Assembly of the year.  This was very exciting because we have so many new students.  It was great to be able to introduce the program and how North Park travels down the Healthy Highway to so many new students and adults!  I read Fitness Frankie's Summer Adventure book to everyone and we explained the meaning of our traffic light sticks and our very first road of the year:  Courage Crossroads!  Our school motto is:  "We have the COURAGE to do the right thing!"  "Physical Eddie" and "Healthy Hannah" made their debut and of course, we danced!  At the end of the day I was talking with some students and asked them about their favorite part of the day.  Several of the students  commented on the assembly and about how much they liked the dance!  It was great to start the year on such a positive note!

.....During the summer I created a bulletin board that I call "Fitness Frankie Approved!"  The board contains ten different summer activities and some paw prints.  I asked the students to place paw print stickers on the activities that they participated in this summer.  Each student and adult received four paw print stickers and they were asked to place them on the activity board.  It was great to see the excitement from the students and adults!  One of the students asked me if I put my stickers on too!  I was happy to share that my stickers were put on the activity boards for kayaking, walking, bicycling, and golf!  Fitness Frankie was watching as the students placed the stickers.  Some of the students in one of the fifth grade classes asked me if they could hold him.  They were very excited to pass him around and said that they loved his new hoodie!

.....This week we held our annual Meet Your Teacher nights.  I enjoyed so much meeting so many new parents and the opportunity to share what North Park PE is all about with parents and grandparents with a slide show celebrating last year's activities.  I had some great conversations!  I finished showing this slide show to my students as well this week and it was great to hear comments like "I love that!" when students were watching all of the activities that they participated in last year!

.....My primary students are learning about moving in general space safely with a game called "Bubbles".  Students use hoops to create a bubble and attempt to move throughout the gymnasium without popping!  When I explained that the hoops would be pretend bubbles, one of my first graders suggested that they could also be a force field!  How creative!

.....I ended the week with the signing of the Healthy Highway pledge board.  It was wonderful to see the students sign carefully and take the pledge seriously!  I invited the adults in the building to sign it as well and they were delighted to be a part of it!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  http://classrooms.hydeparkschools.org/webpages/MRobelee/

See you next week!

The Best Parts of My Week - 9/4/12--9/7/12

Hi everyone,
    Well, the summer flew by!  I had some wonderful adventures, time to rest and relax, and time to get ready for the new school year!  Summers are wonderful but when they are over, I am always ready to get back to school!  I had a great first week!

.....If you follow this blog, you may already know that the end of last year was challenging because a school in our district had to be closed.  As a result, most of the students from that school were scheduled to come to North Park in the fall.  It has been terrific meeting so many new friends!

.....The first day of school is always so exciting!  There were many smiles, only a few tears, and much anticipation for the opportunities and promise of a new year!

.....As I was getting to know our new students I recognized some names from the past.  It turns out that several of our new students had parents and family members who went to North Park as well!

.....During our Cooperative Hands Project, where students decorate a paper hand as a promise to follow the class contract, I noticed that one of the students was decorating his hand with an American Flag........it was great to see such patriotism from such a young student!

.....The first PE class of the year involves a brief movie of pictures from the previous year's activities.  I find that this is a great way to introduce new students to North Park PE, and to remind current students of the amazing opportunities that we have.  During the primary classes, I encouraged the students to look for Fitness Frankie during the show.  It was so great to see the students point him out to our new friends, and the delight on their faces each time they saw him!  (He is all over the place!)

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  http://classrooms.hydeparkschools.org/webpages/MRobelee/

See you next week!