The Best Parts of My Week - 9/14/15--9/18/15

Hi everyone,
     Well, it's the second week of school and in some ways it feels like we never left in June!  While Monday was a holiday, the rest of the week flew by!  Students and teachers alike are getting back into the rhythm and that means more "Best Parts!"  I realized though that in my last post I did not fill you in on some of the "Best Parts" of my summer so here goes in abbreviated form:

• An amazing opportunity to present at the National PE Institute in Asheville, NC
• Meeting and spending time with amazing PE professionals from all over the world at the National PE Institute
• Continuing a summer adventure with my Fitness Bears - Fitness Frankie and Muscle Missy which included exercising, a tour of a yogurt facility, and logging 913,327 steps on my pedometer!
• Kayaking on the Great Sacandaga Lake
• Bicycling on Cape Cod, in Saratoga State Park, and in the Adirondacks of NYS
• Spending time working on a new project with a friend and college - Lynn Hefele
• Spending time with family and friends.......

It was a great summer!  Now, on to this week's "Best Parts"!

.....At the end of each warm-up I ask students to show me how hard they worked by feeling their heartbeat with one hand and then squeezing their other hand open and closed as fast as they feel the beat.   This is an idea I learned from Physical Best.  After doing this with a third grade class one of the students exclaimed:  "I can feel my pulse!"  

.....Kindergarten students begin the school year later than students in grades 1-5 due to assessments.  As a result, the first day for kindergarten students was on Tuesday.  They were so excited!  The look of wonder, confidence, excitement, and for some a bit of wariness, was priceless and never gets old!  

.....Students in grades 3-5 were asked to decide on the rules and guidelines for their PE class this week.  Each class contract is individualized since I ask students to tell me what they think is important to include in the contract.  All of the contracts are always well thought out but this year a third grade class in particular had some amazing vocabulary to add to the wording of the contract.  One of the students said that "Stay Hydrated" should be included in their contract.  I agreed!

.....At the beginning of the year I ask students to play a game called Human Bingo.  This is a game where students ask questions of other students and collect names to create a bingo.  I like to use it so that students get to know each other better and it is a great activity to foster communication.  I am always fascinated by the way this game plays out.  Initially, students only talk to those they know.  Since each name can only be used once, eventually students must talk to others if they want to achieve a bingo.  Little by little, students are moving about the gymnasium and talking to anyone and everyone!  As a closure activity I ask students if they learned anything new about anyone in the class.  The hands go up immediately and I find that I have learned something new about the students too!

.....Late in the week a new student arrived who does not speak much English.  Her primary language is French and while I don't know too much French I knew enough to greet her and ask her how she was.  The smile that spread across her face told me that she understood what I was saying and that she was happy to be here!   I guess sometimes it does not take much to make a difference, if only for a brief moment or two......

.....The quest for the PE Password began this week and over the years I have created a bit of a friendly competition between the fifth grade classes to see who can tell me what the PE Password is most often.  Each year classes embrace the challenge in different ways.  This year the classes are taking the challenge very seriously and are taking every opportunity to tell me what the PE Password is.  Some students even called it out as they were walking by the gymnasium.  The gym was empty and I was in my office but I heard them loud and clear!   

.....As kindergarten students were participating in a warm-up during the second day of PE class I noticed that they had improved so much just from the prior day's class.  I commented that they were working hard and one student said "Exercise!" as loud and as enthusiastic as could be!  What a great start!  

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.