Hi everyone,
Where did October go? We finished the month with some exciting activities!
.....On Monday I was finally able to go with my fifth grade students and their teachers on our Walkway Over the Hudson field trip. We had scheduled it twice before and both times the weather did not cooperate! I guess the third time was the charm because we had an amazing day! The weather was gorgeous and the whole experience was simply wonderful! The Walkway Over the Hudson is basically in our backyard and is a renovated train bridge that has become an exercise destination for so many residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond! This field trip is a truly collaborative project involving the classroom teachers and myself. Students share pedometers and make predictions about step counts and then use the data in a math activity back at school. Classroom teachers share the history of the Walkway and students use the experience to write a personal narrative! We walked over and back and then enjoyed a healthy snack! I love this trip for so many reasons! When we returned to school I thanked our principal for supporting the trip. There is so much to do and so little time to do it but this project allows students to learn on many levels while using a community resource that is accessible to all!
.....Fitness Frankie to Go came back right on time Monday morning! He spent the weekend bicycling on a rail trail with a family that included a picture in his journal! This project is so much fun!
.....Back at school we are continuing our cooperative activities unit and this week fourth grade students participated in a trust activity. Students chose partners and then guided their blindfolded partners through the gymnasium that was strewn with balls, cones, etc. Students were very responsible during the activity and it is always interesting to see the different reactions by blindfolded students. Some are very hesitant while others seem to have no fear at all! At the end of the activity, I asked students to talk to their partners and finish the statement: "I felt safe because........" When I asked students to share, the responses were so genuine and showed the trust that they have in their friends!
.....My primary students learned a new warm-up this week that uses our "Rainbow track", as I call it. We have floor tape in six colors outlining a track and some activity happens inside the track and some activity happens outside the track. This week students paired up and while one student was jogging, the other was stretching. I encourage students to "look both ways" before they "pull out" onto the track. My kindergarten students took this very seriously! They were adorable!
.....As I watched my primary students completing a building activity with a partner I was struck by the looks of pure joy on their faces as they played! Sometimes it is easy to get distracted by the frenzy that occurs sometimes when there is not enough time, but this is when we need to let the children PLAY! They were learning for sure, but they were also having so much fun!
.....Another cooperative activity with my primary students this week involved a game during which students shared a scooter (a garbage truck) by sitting back to back, and then worked together to clean up the "garbage" on the floor. One of my kindergarten students was being my helper to demonstrate the game and he came up with a way to back up the truck in a way that I had never thought of! His thinking was amazing and my teaching partner and I were both struck by his creativity!
.....Fitness Frankie spent some time in the gymnasium this week and I positioned him by the door so that students could see him and say hello and goodbye. They were so happy to see him and gave him high fives on the way out!
.....At the end of the week I was teaching my upper elementary students how to do trust leans in preparation for use of our rock wall. I asked for a volunteer that trusted me. A student volunteered and said: "I trust all teachers!" How great is that!
I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!" To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website: North Park Physical Education
