Hi everyone,
How did we end up in December already? As we began the week one of my colleagues pointed out that there were only 15 school days until the Winter Break! She then added that this fact was both exciting and terrifying at the same time since there is much to do and not much time to do it! That being said, it was a busy and exciting week!
.....My primary students have been exploring different levels and I like to culminate the activity with a series of stations that use different levels and a variety of equipment. When a first grade class arrived at the door one student walked in with a smile and said: "Thank you for making this!" As the students completed the stations, one student increased the distance he was standing from a target at a high level and said: "I'm challenging myself!"
.....Students in the primary grades are learning vocabulary words that connect with work that the students are learning in their classroom related to the NYS Common Core. This week's words were "healthy" and "exercising". One first grade student pointed out that those words are connected because one leads to the other. What a smart student!
....I recently made some posters to illustrate the NYS Learning Standards for Physical Education and I asked my fourth and fifth grade students to read them and pick out something important to share. I was impressed with their conversations! They made some meaningful connections as to how our program meets the standards!
.....Fitness Frankie to Go is off on another weekend adventure! The student taking him home this weekend said: "I know it will be a healthy adventure! Another student suggested that Fitness Frankie could be put next to an apple and then she could draw or take a picture of that scene! I can't wait to see how his adventure went!
......I love to use music in my program. I believe in the power of music to motivate the students and this week that was proven again as one of my quietest students was dancing away as the music played!
.....I also love technology! This week I began to use a great app called Comic Life. It is wonderful and began to use it to do some simple assessments with students learning volleyball and others learning about levels. As students completed the assessment I was able to truly see what they had learned and what they still needed to know. I am looking forward to using it more and more!
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
