A short week never fails to supply many "Best Parts of My Week"!
.....Physical Eddie is spending a few weeks in a fifth grade class while Healthy Hannah is being taken care of by a K-1 class. No matter the age, students are always thrilled when one of our mascot bears arrive at a classroom to be taken care of! It's heartwarming to see such enthusiasm and care taking by so many!
.....My upper elementary students use pedometers each PE day and now that we have practiced using them, students are able to accumulate many steps during our PE class. One day this week we were playing a cooperative game called "Scrunchie Tag". This is a very active game and students are required to skip to move. At the end of the class a fourth grade student was getting ready to fill out his log card and said "YES!" He was very pleased with this step count and so was I!
.....As I mentioned above, students in grades three through five were playing "Scrunchie Tag" this week. This is a cooperative activity that asks students to "donate" scrunchies to those who have none. It is a terrific game and really shows the value of cooperation to students. One of my third grade students remarked: "This is a good game to learn how to be kind!" I was so happy that she really understood the purpose of the game!
.....My primary students are also learning about cooperation. This unit is always especially important to me because I think that it is vital for students to learn how to work together. It is a lifetime skill that can not be underestimated or under valued. We were playing a game called "How low can you go". In a way, it is like a cooperative version of Musical Chairs using hoops. Students must work together to include all students when the music stops, even when hoops are taken away. The object is to fit the entire class safely in the lowest number of hoops possible. During this activity, students invite others to join their hoop when needed so everyone is included. I never tire of seeing the looks on the faces of the students who are invited as well as those who are working hard to include everyone!
.....At the end of the week I received an e-mail from a teacher at a different school in our district. We have started a Pen-Pal project between her class and "Soccer Sal" - their classroom bear, and Fitness Frankie! The e-mail contained the second letter from Soccer Sal and her class to Fitness Frankie. This project is taking on a life of it's own and is so much fun! It's great to collaborate with colleagues beyond the boundaries of the school! More to come as the year moves forward!
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!
