An exciting week!
.....More often than I would like, students are not prepared for PE class and must watch instead of play. I always tell my students that I feel bad that they can not play if they are not wearing sneakers, but I will feel worse if they get hurt. That being said, it is important that their time on the side is productive and as a result, I provide my students with nutrition and Physical Education word searches and puzzles, books on different activities and sports, and coloring pages about vegetables, fruits, and activities. This week one of my students was coloring a page about vegetables and took it upon herself to write a story on the back about her favorite vegetable! She is a first grader and I was very proud of her!
.....Students return completed Fitness Calendars at the beginning of the month and are designated as "Fitness Fanatics" in our newsletter and website as well as a chart at school. The response this year has been amazing! This week I received a fitness calendar from a student who is now in the middle school but sent her calendar in with a sibling! Fantastic!
.....Students in second grade learned for the very first time how to spot their classmates as they climb our traverse rock wall. It is a tremendous responsibility and I was proud of how these students learned the spotting commands and kept their classmates and friends safe!
.....As we come to the end of our cooperative activities unit, our fifth graders were participating in an activity during which only non-verbal communication was allowed. At the end of the activity, I asked the students how silence helped contribute to their success. They were absolutely correct in their answer that silence helped them to focus and pay attention!
.....I introduced the "Magic Microphone" to my third and fourth grade students this week. This is a plastic microphone that is "magic" because it only allows the person that has it to speak. I use this tool to de-brief some cooperative activities when I ask students to share at the end of class. It is a simple, but very effective tool. This week one of my third grade classes enjoyed using the "Magic Microphone" and one of the students used it to thank me for helping with their strategy! Another student used it to say that she liked it when her team trusted her!
.....As I was helping a younger group at the rock wall, other students were working independently at different stations. One of the stations contained "noodle bits" and some other equipment for students to build creative structures. One of my students was excited to show me her "healthy castle"! It had a blueberry river, and was made of strawberries and healthy vegetables! How cool is that!
.....As exciting as this week was, it was also a challenge because I was not feeling well and did not have much of a voice for most of the week. I asked students to be helpful so that I did not have to talk any more than was necessary and they were very helpful indeed! One of my students wondered why I was even at school when I was not feeling well and I explained to her that sometimes you have to do things that are important even when you do not feel your best - a teachable moment for sure! Several other students wished me well as they left the gymnasium and encouraged me to "feel better". It felt great to know that others cared!
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!
