The Best Parts of My Week - 2/16/15--2/20/15

Hi everyone,
     I finally felt like I was back in the groove this week.  Aside from President's Day on Monday, we were in school every day on time and all day!  Once again, there were so many great moments to share!

.....Our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador group has come together so nicely this year.  This is the first year that we put together a group of students to be leaders and good examples of healthy choices for our Fuel Up to Play 60 program and while I had an idea of what I wanted to accomplish, I knew that it would be a year of learning and figuring out the best way to move forward.  The week began with a meeting before school with an amazing group of students eager to be leaders and work together.  We talked about the success of our Brain Break Week and then students entered the Physical Activity Play details on their FUTP60 dashboard after we brainstormed a list of reasons why we loved it.  We started to discuss the next project which will involve trying a new vegetable.  Students came up with a great list of vegetables to try:  kale, spinach, turnip, and even seaweed as in sushi!

.....Fitness Frankie to Go arrived back to school sporting a new shirt with a peace sign on it!  He went to ballet class, jazz class and had quite a bit of healthy food!

.....As a result of the generosity of a local paramedic group and support from our building principal, our fifth grade students will be participating in CPR awareness training next week.  This week I discussed this opportunity with our students and talked about the need for this important life skill.  One student shared that at some point in the future she will be taking a babysitting course that will include CPR training.  It was a great connection and I could see other students nodding along as they realized the potential value of this training.  This of course led to a discussion of babysitting in general and I shared that when I was a babysitter I earned $1.00 per hour!  They couldn't believe it!

.....I am absolutely loving a new app called Plickers.  I learned about this app on Twitter and it is amazing!  It allows me to ask a question and get immediate feedback from every student.  I used it this week with a fifth grade class and they seemed to like it too.   I can't wait to use it with more classes.  I love technology and when something like this comes along it makes me love technology even more!

.....The Science Fair was held at my school this week and I was not able to use the gymnasium for part of the day due to the location of the projects.  PE was held in the classroom for the morning classes and we had such a great time using Go Noodle!  One of the activity segments involves a simulated roller coaster and the inevitable screaming that happens when you ride one.  I'm not really a roller coaster kind of person so the virtual reality type was just fine for me!  Anyway, students were moving along to the music and screaming at the appropriate time.  Students were pretty good about keeping the noise in check but it was a bit loud.  Just as students were screaming at the appropriate time, the classroom teacher walked in.  I apologized for the noise but she smiled and said that she loved Go Noodle and they did this one all the time!  

.....The Science Fair day includes an evening session during which students and families come back to school to view the projects.  This year the event included some Science activities that students and families could participate in.  One of the activities was a QR Code scavenger hunt and Physical Eddie was one of the scavenger hunt items!  He was very excited to be asked and many students and families found him in the library.  He was happy to be found!

.....The week ended with primary students creating pathways using a variety of equipment.  Students have been learning about the importance of moving in straight, curved, and zig zag pathways and have been making connections between pathways, and letters, designs, movement, and shapes.  One of my second grade classes made the words PE out of bowling pins!  They wanted to make PE Rocks, but did not have enough pins!

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

The Best Parts of My Week - 2/9/15--2/13/15

Hi everyone,
      Well, let's see....Monday - snow day, Tuesday - 2 hour delay, Wednesday - full day, Thursday - early release, Friday - no school for President's weekend.  It was about as short a week as you can get and still call it a week!  Would you believe that I still have a full list of "Best Parts"?  Well, I do and I am excited to share!

.....My primary students are learning about pathways and they were asked to look around the gymnasium and point out things that showed a zig zag pathway.  One student pointed out that the points at the end of the Jump Rope For Heart Flags all in a row made a zig zag!  Now that is a great observation!

.....Most of my students know how much I love bears.  This week one of my students gave me a new bear for my collection!  A cheerleader bear with our high school logo and homemade pom poms!  I am overwhelmed with gratitude......

.....Second grade students work all year to complete a portfolio.  Students are told that all portfolio work should be "neat and complete".  Honestly, that is a bit difficult in the beginning of the year for some students and we work all year to improve the process and the product.  This week students completed a piece of work for their portfolio regarding the concept of balance and I was so proud of how much they have grown this year!

.....If you have read this blog before you probably know about the PE Password.  I have a fifth grade student this year who has embraced the concept of the PE Password like no other student before.  He tells me the PE Password every time I see him!  While many days this happens multiple times in one day it brings a smile to my face every time!

....Students in an upper elementary class were deciding on turn taking order and without any hesitation, several groups used rock-paper-scissors to make the decision!

.....I am fortunate to have a student teacher with me and it was great to see him take more of the teaching responsibility this week.  It is wonderful to be a part of helping the next generation of professionals!

.....Our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador group missed a meeting this week due to the winter weather.  I made an announcement one day this week so that I could meet briefly with the group to plan the next meeting.  Before I could get back to the gymnasium the entire group was there and ready to go!  Now that's enthusiasm!

.....Fourth grade students were recently given an assignment to complete a Fitness Wheel at home.  I do not often give homework but this year I decided to use the idea of homework to help students make some connections between school and home.  The idea of this assignment was to write down activities that were done outside of school that contributed to their physical fitness.  I was so proud of the activities that students shared on the fitness wheel!  One student even connected it to our current Healthy Highway road - Perseverance Path!

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

The Best Parts of My Week 2/2/15--2/6/15

Hi everyone,
     This winter has certainly been a bit of a challenge!  It has been difficult to get into any kind of rhythm due to weather related delays, early releases, and closures and this week was more of the same.......a snow day Monday, a delay on Tuesday, a snow day on Thursday, and I was away at a conference on Friday!  Some weeks I think that I am not going to have enough to write about but believe it or not, this is rarely the case.  Despite the (really) short week, there were many great parts!

.....This week our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassadors sponsored a Brain Break Week.  Our goal was to increase activity time and promote the idea that students who are more physically active do better in school.  Each classroom was introduced to a website called Go Noodle which has an abundance of short activities for student use in the classroom.  Student Ambassadors made posters to advertise the week and also helped out with announcements each day to remind everyone to be physically active.  Even though the week was short, I received wonderful positive feedback about the event!  Students and teachers stopped me in the hall to tell me which activities they had done and even our librarian added a brain break to her library class!  In fact, most everyone wants to continue the idea of brain breaks in the classroom!  

....."Fitness Frankie to Go" had an extended weekend with his host students.  One student brought him back with new pajamas that her mom had made for him!  I absolutely love it when someone takes an idea and goes above and beyond!  She was so proud of his new pajamas her smile was a mile wide!

.....Students in my primary classes have been exploring balance and one second grader had a simple idea and shared it with his classmates.  He said that when you start to lose your balance you "just lean the other way!"  His advice was simple and effective!

.....Students in the fourth grade were given Fitness Wheels to complete at home.  Students had been participating in fitness stations to learn the components of fitness and I wanted them to make real world connections to activities that they do on their own.  One of the Fitness Wheels was turned in by a student who not only added her dance classes to the wheel but also described her need for perseverance to learn the dances!  As a school we are traveling down "Perseverance Path" and I was so proud of her connection!

.....In the last few months I created a Twitter account and have become a part of an amazing Professional Learning Community!  I have learned so much from so many great people!  One of the things I learned about on Twitter is an app called Comic Life.  This week I created a balance assessment for first grade students.  It was simple, but it gave me great information about whether or not students learned about balance.  I am pleased to say that they indeed learned about the concept of balance!  You can follow me on Twitter - @mrobPE

.....At the end of the week I was fortunate to be able to attend and present at the SHAPE America Eastern District Convention in Springfield, Massachusetts.  It was a great conference and not only did I meet some really great professionals (some that I knew only through Twitter so it was great to meet them in person) but I also learned some new ideas that I can't wait to try out!  After 31 years of teaching it would be easy to maintain the status quo, but working constantly to improve my teaching and practice is my goal and I am grateful to my district and my colleagues who support my professional development!  

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

The Best Parts of My Week 1/26/15--1/30/15

Hi everyone,
     Another week of stops and starts as winter is in full swing!  Each week I keep a notepad in the gymnasium and as these "best parts" happen, I jot them down.  Despite the short week, my notes are plentiful!

.....This week a student teacher began his experience with me at North Park.  I enjoy being a cooperating teacher for many reasons.  I always learn something new from my student teachers, and I hope they benefit from my experience!  I was impressed this week as students became comfortable right away with our new student teacher.  Some asked him to tie shoes, others showed off their skills, and many more asked for help!

.....Fitness Frankie to Go came back this week after having weekend adventures of horseback riding and fun in the snow!  

.....Primary students are working on the concept of balance.  They are exploring many different ways to balance using all kinds of equipment in a station format.  We are so fortunate to have so much equipment and I always enjoy this unit because students have so much fun and work so hard to balance on see-saw rockers, balance boards, balance beams, exercise balls, duck walkers, and more.  One of my first graders commented that she balanced better when she was calm and steady!  I found myself sharing that sentiment all week long and students agreed that it worked for them too!

.....Upper elementary students are learning about the components of Physical Fitness and have been participating in fitness stations that focus on each component.  On the second day of the station activities one of my fourth grade students told me that his muscles felt better and are stronger after having done the exercises!

.....During the Physical Fitness stations this week one fifth grader was encouraging a friend to work hard at doing push-ups correctly.  As I was walking around to each station I heard his encouraging words.  He looked at me and said:  "I'm the motivator!"

.....Third grade students are learning about the components of Physical Fitness as well and participate in fitness testing for the first time this year.   In addition, they are introduced to pedometers and wear them on a daily basis for PE.  This week I noticed that a third grade student had what looked like his own pedometer or accelerometer attached to his pocket.  I asked him about it and he said that he got it for Christmas and that his mom wears one too.  What a great example of family support of physical activity!  

.....Our exit question this week was "Did you challenge yourself?  We discussed ways to challenge yourself even when something was easy and students came up with some great challenges!  One student was participating in the push-up station where students had a variety of push-up exercises to try.  One student asked to borrow an exercise ball from the abdominal exercise station so that he could do push-ups while his feet were balanced on the ball.  Now that's a challenge!

.....If you have read this blog in the last few weeks you know that the National Circus Project was at North Park for Circus Week a few weeks ago.  One of my fifth grade students who became quite good at the diablo told me that his dad was going to buy him a diablo!  He was so excited.  I asked him to bring it in when he gets it so I can see 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:  North Park Physical Education