As we look forward to Spring I decided to try some new things this week. They were pretty successful so they are definitely included as some of the "Best Parts!"
.....We held our annual Science Fair this week and as the "Digital Media Coordinator" (basically the webmaster of the school website) I had the chance to take some pictures of the event in action. The projects were fantastic and one of them was called: "Get Moving!" It was all about using a pedometer to measure how active you could be doing different sports, games, and exercises. It caught my eye as I was taking pictures and I was impressed that it was done by a second grade student! I guess he already gets the message that it is important to move!
......I was taking pictures as the older students were being judged on their projects and I ran into one of the judges who asked me if I remembered her. Our judges are high school students who are in advanced Science classes and I said "Of course I do"! It was great to see her and catch up! I am certainly proud of her accomplishments and it is so great when students come back to school and are excited to be there!
.....Some of the Science Fair projects are set up in the gymnasium so as a result, PE classes are held in the classroom on Science Fair day. While this is not ideal I always try to make the best of this day. I have been wanting to try out Kahoot and took this opportunity to set up a Kahoot for my older classes. Kahoot is an online game and students enter answers on tablets or smartphones. Students earn points for correct and speedy answers. I told my fourth grade class that I know that they are open to new ideas so they are my "go to" class when I want to try out a new idea. They seemed excited and after I explained the basics we began the game. We had a great time! We played a twenty question game which included questions on nutrition, muscles, physical fitness, and even Fitness Frankie! At the end of the game I asked students for feedback and I was impressed with their thoughts. I explained that I was proud of how they worked together and took turns with our iPad minis. I said that it would be nice to have more devices but that I am grateful that we have three to use. One student said that she thought it was good that we had large groups because it helped them to work together and another said that he like the game because it helped him learn the knowledge! This is why they are my "go to" class!
.....Fitness Frankie was invited to be a part of the evening Science Fair activities this year! He was part of a scavenger hunt. Students were asked to look for him based on some clues. Parents took pictures and a great time was had by all! I love that he is involved in everything - not just PE activities!
.....We finished Jump Rope for Heart a couple of weeks ago but this week one of my students made a special poster celebrating our efforts and offered it to the American Heart Association! It was such a thoughtful gesture.....what a great heart........
.....One of my first grade students who was waiting to be picked up came over to me with a worried look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that her friend who always gets picked up too was not in the gym and she was worried. I told her I would help and we figured out that this student had been picked up a bit early that day and all was fine.... I was struck by the fact that this student was so caring and wanted to make sure a friend was ok.......
.....I tried a new Tabata warm-up with my students this week. Older students did a Tabata with four exercises using a basketball and younger students used a scarf for their Tabata warm-up. The warm-ups were challenging but fun and I used a special Tabata timer on my iPad. Kindergarten students enjoyed counting down out loud, older students enjoyed using the basketball to exercise, other students enjoyed the challenge, and a first grader told me: "This is so awesome I could do this forever!" How can you not love your job when you have days like this!
.....One of my third grade students was smiling from ear to ear at the end of class one day this week. I asked her why she was so happy and she said that it was the first time she had logged more than 1,000 steps on her pedometer. She had met the goal and she was so proud of herself!
.....Speaking of happy.........As students in grades K-2 are improving their ability to bounce and dribble a ball I asked them to spell words using letter tiles and letter spots on the floor. After spelling a word, students were asked to come to me at the whiteboard and tell me the word that they spelled so that I could write it on the white board and add it to the list. Second graders were asked to spell PE words, first graders were asked to spell words that they know, and Kindergartners were asked to spell their names and also words that they know. I was blown away by the word selections and spelling ability! One of my kindergarten students came to me with a grin on his face and said that he spelled happy! He sure was!!!! When classroom teachers came to pick up their classes I was happy to share the list and classroom teachers were very proud!
.....I am honored and proud to be the president of the Southeastern Zone of NYS AHPERD and this week our zone sponsored a Co-Ed Volleyball Tournament. While all of the work to organize and run this event was done by other members, I wanted to go to the event to support it. What a great event! I was so impressed by the energy in the gymnasiums, the hard work of the teams, the sportsmanship of the teenagers, and the quality of the event! I am so glad that I went. Our young people of today are our future and what an impressive group it was and will continue to be I am sure!
.....We finished up the week with a Friday morning Fitness Friday activity. We got the whole school moving at once and when I asked students about it later they said that they had so much fun! What a great way to start the day!
.....On Friday afternoon I was treated to a healthy birthday treat that one of my students left for me. This student brought cantaloupe in for his birthday snack! Can you say HEALTHY?
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.
Follow me on Twitter! @mrobPE
