The Best Parts of My Week - 3/14/16--3/18/16

Hi everyone,

     After the wonderful intensity of circus week last week it was nice to get back to a fun but relatively normal week.  That being said, there were so many “Best Parts!”

…..Speaking of the intensity of circus week, I had so many things to write about last week that I actually forgot to add one of the “Best Parts!”  One day after school during circus week a few of our teachers came down to the gym while we were cleaning up.  Two of the teachers wanted to walk on the wire and the other one wanted to practice spinning a plate.  The circus artists from the National Circus Project were fantastic and brought the wire back out so that these teachers could try it.  They were encouraging and engaging and took the extra time with these teachers that made this experience one to remember for sure!  I had a chance to interact with the teacher who wanted to practice spinning a plate.  We had a terrific conversation!  He shared with me that when he was a student the National Circus Project came to his school (he is much younger than I am…..) and he remembered the week fondly.  He talked about the acts that he performed in and wanted to see if he could remember how to do the plate spinning.  What a powerful message that these kinds of experiences can have long-range effects……

…..Sometimes students say the most adorable and memorable things!  On Monday, one of my students was trying to tie his shoes and was having a bit of trouble.  I commented that the shoelaces seemed a bit slippery.  I mentioned this to him and he agreed and said:  “Slippery Dippery”!

…..This week my students were finishing a set of stations that were being used to help students improve their ball handling skills.  One of the stations involved dribbling a ball to create a personal “world record”.  I encouraged students to share their world record with me.  One student came up to me and said:  “I beat my world record!  I went from 44-53!”

…..During these stations, students were able to watch themselves on video after they dribbled a ball using a zig-zag pathway around some cones.  While watching himself one student called over to me to say:  “Hey Mrs. R, I’m getting better!”  I asked:  “ Do you think the camera is helping?”  He replied with an enthusiastic “YES!”

…..This week I began a warm-up involving an active version of Rock, Paper, Scissors that we had started prior to circus week.  I was reminding a first grade class of the rules and procedures and how rock breaks scissors, scissors cuts papers, and paper covers rock when one of the students said:  “it’s like they all have weaknesses!”  I was struck by this comment as it showed an interesting level of thinking and it was also a great way to explain the procedures of the game.

…..While a fifth grade class was beginning their warm-up using the Rock, Paper, Scissors game I noticed one student helping another student who is learning English Language for the first time learn the game.  I stood back and observed the process and was impressed.  I was thinking that this student might be a future teacher! 

…..As I planned for the week I needed to write substitute plans for Friday because I was going to be at a conference.  I wrote the plans and shared them before Friday with the person who was going to substitute for me since she was in school as a substitute for another teacher.  The next day this person told me that she shared the Rock, Paper, Scissors warm-up with her husband and daughter who is in high school.  They had so much fun playing it at home!  That made me smile!

…..During a second grade class I had a great conversation with a student who is very interested in rocks and minerals.  He mentioned that his birthday month birthstone meant that he had courage.  He asked me about my birthday month and based on my answer he thought that mine meant hope.  The next day I happened to be in his classroom and he took the time to share his book with me.  We looked up my birthstone and he was correct.  It was so great to be able to  take part in something that he was interested in outside of PE class! 

…..On Wednesday I had the pleasure of having a visitor come to my school.  This person is a friend (on Twitter @PEtop5) but also a representative for the US Games OPEN (Online Physical Education Network).  Truly by accident I had happened to be using the OPEN resources and it was so fun to be able to show how we were using the program at North Park!  I have learned so much from so many amazing professionals and I am always happy to share what I have learned.  I often say and I always believe "Together we are stronger!"

…..Physical Eddie was being taken care of by a kindergarten class and he got right into the middle of the action during our station work to get better at bouncing and catching a ball! 

……On Friday I was at Adelphi University for the Nassau Zone of NYS AHPERD conference.  It was fun to see friends and like-minded professionals and continue to learn from others.  I know that I have so many opportunities to attend and present at conferences and I try very hard not to take these opportunities for granted.  I presented two sessions and met some fantastic PE professionals.  There were so many great moments at the conference but the best one was the conversation I had with a former student who is now a PE teacher and Athletic Director himself!  We had the best time reminiscing and I was so touched when he thanked me for teaching him……..I responded that moments like this are a rare privilege and they touch my heart in ways that I can’t express…..

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

The Best Parts of My Week - 3/7/16--3/11/16

Hi everyone,
     This past week was Circus Week and it is one of the most amazing, intense, enjoyable, amazing, exhausting, incredible, and fun weeks of the year!  Our PTA is so generous and it is no small task to support this project.  I am so grateful and I have so many "Best Parts" to share that I had to use two pages of paper to write it all down!

.....During Circus Week the National Circus Project comes to our school to do an artist in residency program.  Two circus artists spend the week at school teaching our students how to do a variety of skills but students learn so much more than how to juggle, walk on stilts, spin plates, use a diablo, balance feathers, and use flower sticks.  The week begins with a show by the artists and this year's beginning assembly did not disappoint!  The students have been waiting for Circus Week to begin so the excitement in the air on Monday morning was palpable!  Students were walking by the gym and peeking in the doorway to see what was set up and it was so nice to see the smiles spread across their faces when they saw the backdrop, balloons, and equipment set up!

.....So it was time for the show to begin and students filed into the gymnasium.  They could barely contain their excitement!  Since I know what the week entails, I could hardly contain my excitement too!  The show was amazing and the circus artists impressed us with their incredible juggling skills, balancing and dance moves, plate spinning, clowning, and showmanship!  Students left the show and could not wait to come back to learn the skills themselves!

.....The general idea of the week is that all students come to the gymnasium for workshops to learn circus skills and that the fifth grade students pick and act to learn, practice all week, and then perform for the school on Friday morning and then again for families and friends on Friday evening.   As the first groups came in they could not wait to begin.  I was so proud of how the students behaved.  They made me proud this week!

.....As fifth graders were trying out all of the different skills they were asked to find a skill that they would like to perform in the show.  The show is divided into eight acts:  plate spinning, clowning, stilt walking, diablo, flower sticks, balancing, juggling, and wire (yes - the wire!).  Students must show their skill to a circus artist and then be signed up for the act.  One of the fifth graders had just made the plate spinning team and he smiled and said:  "I have been waiting my whole life to be on that team!

.....As students in other classes came to the gymnasium for their chance to learn circus skills many of them commented on what skill they will perform when they are in fifth grade.  It is so great that they are planning ahead!  

.....I love to practice my circus skills too and this week I was practicing my stilt walking (how many people can say that???).  It was great to hear one of my fifth grade students encouraging my while I worked hard to walk without falling!

.....After school we have an enrichment program that meets a few days per week.  One of the groups is using some electronics to create circuits that turn things on and off.  After school this week a group came to the gym to show me that they created a circuit that would make a clown nose light up!

.....Having nothing to do with circus week we met with our student ambassadors on Tuesday morning.  They are a wonderful group and I smiled when one of the fifth graders arrived with a clown nose on!  She was planning on being on the clown team and was dressing in character!

.....From time to time I have students who are reluctant to participate in PE for a variety of reasons.  I could not believe it this week when one of those students arrived prepared for PE and excited to learn how to spin a plate!  This is one of the many benefits of this type of program.....

.....Due to the change in the PE schedule this week I took a kindergarten class outside on the playground for PE class.  This almost never happens but it was a beautiful day and the gym was being used for the circus activities.  I was so touched when I saw a kindergarten student give up her swing for another student who was waiting to use one........

.....As the week continued I began to notice the progress that all students were making.  5th graders were becoming more confident, fourth graders were picking out their favorite skill and sticking with it, and first graders were surprised at what they could do by themselves.  At some moments I just stood back and enjoyed the view.........

.....As the fifth grade clown team was leaving a practice session this week one of the students called:  "Clown Huddle!"  They all stopped and huddled together.  What a team!

.....The circus artists invited me to juggle with them at the end of a first grade circus session.  We had a few minutes left and they were performing for the students.  They needed me for a trick.  I had no idea what to expect but readily volunteered.  They had me stand in the middle while they juggled clubs in front and behind me.  It was fun!  As the first graders left one of them said:  " I can't believe you were brave enough to do that!" 

.....After all of the wonderful moments of the week and getting to know the circus artists it was Show Time!  The fifth graders were nervous of course, but they were indeed ready to perform!  I could not have been more proud and I was happy to tell them so!  The daytime show was super and students were so excited to perform for their teachers, siblings and friends.  When the applause began after each act finished you could see the looks of relief and pride on the faces of the students.  I definitely had a tear or two in my eyes as I watched students persevere and succeed at a difficult trick.  The evening show was held at our high school gymnasium to accommodate a larger crowd and our PTA supported the event with popcorn, face painting, decorations, and circus games while the performers were getting ready.  It was so great to have so much help and support!  Again, it was an amazing show and if possible, even better the second time around!  At the end of the evening when all was said and done I was happy and exhausted and I did not even have to perform!

.....I can't say enough about this program but one of the great things about it is that it is a program that finds success for all.  Regardless of physical limitations, academic challenges, language barriers and more, every single student found success on some level this week.  My principal is a great advocate for this program and knows that there is more to school than test scores.......!!!!  I am fortunate and grateful to so many for so much........

Fitness Frankie enjoyed the circus too!  

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

The Best Parts of My Week - 2/29/16 - 3/4/16

Hi everyone,
   It was a great week and I have so many reasons to be grateful...........

.....Our school runs on a six day cycle so Monday is not always "A" day.  This week Monday was actually "D" day and so I continued some of the activities with new classes that I had started the week before.  One of those activities was combining dribbling practice with spelling practice.  One of my second grade classes was working on this activity and when I asked a student which word he spelled he said "Pride".  When I commented that it was a great word and asked why he chose that word he showed me that he was using a ball that had Character Education traits written on it and PRIDE was clearly spelled out!  What a great problem solving strategy!

.....I also continued a Tabata warm-up that I had been using the week before and I giggled when I heard one of my kindergarten students say:  "OK team!  Follow me!"  Is she a leader in the making???? I think so!

.....I have many opportunities to share ideas with my colleagues and recently I shared how I use Plickers with my students to assess learning.  I always hope what I share has use and value for others.  This week I learned that one of my colleagues is so excited about Plickers and uses it everyday!  It makes me happy to know that someone else is as excited about Plickers as I am and it also reminds me that sharing our knowledge makes us all stronger.....

.....Students in all grades are learning about different ways to bounce and dribble a ball and older students are learning about the knowledge, skills, and values needed for the sport of basketball.  As one of my second graders was practicing her skills she came up to me and said:  You know, basketball is actually Math!"  She went on to tell me that angles were really important in basketball for bouncing and shooting the ball.  I was shocked that she knew so much about the connection between Math and Basketball and I asked her where she learned that.  She responded that she learned it by watching a TV show!  She asked if she could share her knowledge with the class.  At the end of class she did just that and impressed us all!

.....My first graders were practicing bouncing a ball to a partner and playing a game where the object was to hit a fluff ball on the bounce.  It is a simple yet fun game and the students were having a great time.  I overheard one of the students really getting into the game as he asked to see the instant replay in slow motion!

.....Later in the week I set up a variety of stations so that students could practice their ball handling skills in a fun and exciting way.  In the younger classes, students were allowed to choose how they would spend their PE time by choosing which areas they were most interested in, as long as they were working on the class goals.  As I stood back a bit to observe each class work on the goals it struck me how different each class and each student is.  No two classes were alike and just when I began to think that a station area was not that popular and that I should make some changes, a group of students arrived to the area and enjoyed it tremendously!   

.....As a first grade class came into the gymnasium and saw all of the equipment set up for the stations a student said:  "You worked hard on this!"  I just smiled and felt good that my hard work was appreciated!  We have so much wonderful equipment and I try to remember to be grateful but when I see that my students are grateful it warms my heart.........

.....A tremendous amount of excitement this past week had to do with the anticipation of Circus Week.  The National Circus Project is coming to North Park during the week of March 7-11 and everyone is so excited!  I set up a display case in our lobby with spinning plates, clowns, stilts, juggling equipment, and pictures of popcorn and circus tickets.  I had fun setting it up but even more fun seeing the faces of the students and staff as they realized that Circus Week was coming soon!  Stay tuned for the Best Parts of My Week next week as it will surely be filled with moments from this special week!


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