Many school districts were on vacation for a mid-winter break but in our county teachers worked during a conference day on Tuesday and students were in attendance from Wednesday-Friday. After a jam-packed Jump Rope for Heart last week it was a quieter week, but still, there were some amazing "Best Parts"!
.....On Tuesday I had the opportunity to present a professional development session on Plickers to my district PE colleagues. I learned about Plickers on Twitter about one year ago and I have been experimenting with it ever since. I absolutely love using it to assess my students and I shared that excitement with my colleagues. They got pretty excited about it too!
.....We started a Basketball/Ball Handling unit with our students this week and used a YouTube video about a young boy who is amazing at basketball to begin the unit. He has some incredible moves and shots and he put on quite a show. It was fun to watch the look on my students' faces when they saw him dribble and make some terrific shots! It got them excited but it also gave me the opportunity to remind them that practice is important when you want to achieve a goal! (PS....the PE Password is Achievement!)
.....I shared the book SWISH by my friend Lynn Hefele (LEPE, Inc.) this week as my younger students were beginning our ball handling unit. They loved it and Fitness Frankie loved it too!
.....I spent a good part of this week cutting out what I am calling "Honor Hearts". My students completed these as part of a Jump Rope for Heart station activity. The idea was that students were honoring themselves and others for their hard work in getting ready for and participating in Jump Rope for Heart as well as those whom they were jumping for. Since the station times were brief there was not time for everyone to cut them out. Cutting out more than 400 hearts is no small task but while I was doing it (in shifts.... of course) I had the chance to enjoy the work that the students put into the task. I originally thought that I would put some on my bulletin board in the hallway but they were so amazing that I could not choose which to display so I decided to glue them on poster paper and hang them all up. I saw some students looking for their heart on the bulletin board later in the week and they were so proud when they found their own heart displayed! These pictures show just some of the amazing hearts!
.....I received a new key chain this week that one of my fourth graders made. I am so touched when a student takes time to think of me.......
.....Fitness Frankie had a great adventure at a birthday party last weekend! He went rollerskating with a bunch of classmates! This second grade program has been so fun this year! In one class, the student whose turn it is to take him home on the weekend gets to keep him on his/her desk all week. One student decided to bring him to PE one week and now everyone does! He has a great time and so do I!
....We had a Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador meeting this week. The energy is incredible and these students have such great ideas! We are planning some spring events, completed a School Wellness Investigation by asking our Cafeteria Manager some questions, and scored some points on our dashboards by completing some mini-lessons. It was a busy meeting!
.....Unfortunately some students miss Jump Rope for Heart each year due to illness. One of my first graders missed the event but wanted to complete an Honor Heart because she worked so hard to get ready for the event. I gave her one to take home and it came back the next day! It was colorful and held great meaning for her...... The benefits of Jump Rope for Heart do not end when the event is over....
.....As I was walking down the hall during student arrival one morning a student took time to tell me how she stuck up for a friend of hers - our character education program in action!
Follow me on Twitter! @mrobPE
