The Best Parts of My Week - 3/28/16--4/1/16

Hi everyone,
    After a wonderful Spring Break it was time to get back to work!  Well, work yes, but the "best part" of course is that I LOVE my job so as I headed out the door on Monday morning I had a smile on my face for sure!

.....Not only was it the beginning of the week as we started back from Spring Break but it was also "A" Day.  We work on a six-day cycle:  Days A-F, so sometimes Monday is not really Monday.  Every "A" day a new cycle begins so it is always nice when coming back from a break we are starting a new cycle.  This means that I began a new warm-up as well as a new unit.  Our new warm-up was an activity that I created using play money.  I have seen many lesson ideas using play money and I have always wanted to try some out.  I finally got the play money I needed and one thing led to another as I created this warm-up for students in grades K-5 that I call "Money Madness".  The basic idea is that students must "earn" the money they pick from the center of the gymnasium as they work to solve a money math problem.  Students "earned" the money by completing an exercise based on whether the coin or paper bill was greater than, less than, or equal to $1.00.  I explained that adults have jobs to earn money and I asked students what my job is.  I got the most wonderful responses!  Some students said that my job is to keep them safe, others said it is to help them get stronger, and still others said that my job is to be a PE Teacher - all correct!  I also had the pleasure of saying that I have the best job in the world because I get to teach them!  When I said that the students smiled! (me too...!)

.....I posted a few pictures of my Money Madness warm-up on Twitter and was so happy at the response from my PE learning community!  Many wanted more information to try it out.  I was happy to share!  

.....Since March is National Nutrition month, I began some lessons this week teaching students about healthy choices and good nutrition using active games.  We are a Healthy Highway school and focus on health and wellness quite a bit but still, I was impressed with the knowledge that students already posses about nutrition.  When I asked a third grade class to give an example of a food in the protein group one student answered:  "duck"!  I was also proud of my kindergarten students who remembered food that they learned from one class this week and transferred that knowledge to the next PE class.  They let me know that they learned about the differences between fruits and vegetables and told me that asparagus was a vegetable that they learned about!  

.....Sometimes students randomly share their healthy choices with me as I am walking by them in the hallway.  This week I saw a student who was happy to share that she had eaten an apple that day!  I am so glad that they know that I am interested in their healthy choices!  

.....As a part of the Healthy Highway philosophy we teach students about Red Light, Yellow Light, and Green Light foods.  We played a game using paper plates and food cards based on the idea that food is fuel.  In one round of the game students try to give away Red Light foods and take healthy foods to fill up their plate.  I chuckled at the reaction one of my students had when she returned to her plate to find a Red Light food (brownies).  She said:  "UGH"!  

.....Even Physical Eddie learned about healthy foods this week!

.....Fitness Frankie to Go came back to school after a long Spring Break with one of my second grade friends.  He had such a great vacation!  He went to NYC, went to the doctor to make sure he was healthy, played outside, and had some healthy food!  All of this great adventure was documented with a beautiful photo collage and a story to go with it.  It was great fun talking with the student and her mom about the adventurous week!  

.....One of the nutrition activities that I do with my students is all about creating a healthy plate of food.  The idea is that students work in small groups and must choose bean bags matching the color of each food group on My Plate.  When a group has a plate with five bean bags (one of each color) they shout:  "We have a healthy plate!".  Each time they create a healthy plate they receive a tower piece.  Their goal is to create the tallest tower possible and at the end of the activity I make the connection between building a tower and growing healthy bones and muscles.  Students in first and second grade are allowed to get their own tower piece but I deliver the tower piece to kindergarten student groups.  It was fun to run around and deliver the pieces as groups shouted that they created a healthy plate.  At the end of the activity I showed students how hard I worked by showing them how fast my heart was beating.  They were impressed and I had the chance to make the point that it is important for adults to exercise too!  

.....During bus duty one day this week I was putting away some equipment while waiting for students to be called.  I lifted up a rolling cart that my goal chart hangs on.  (Idon't want to scratch my beautiful new floor!)  One of my kindergarten students exclaimed:  "You're strong!"  I thanked her and said that being strong is healthy but I also confessed that the cart was lighter than it looked.  She was surprised and still thought I was pretty strong to have carried it across the gym!

.....I am a proud member of NYS AHPERD.  Our state organization is divided into zones and my zone is the Southeastern Zone.  We sponsor an Elementary/Middle School Award ceremony in May to honor students nominated by their PE teacher.  These students are leaders, physically literate, good sports and good citizens.  They display courage and are great role models for their peers.  This week I had the honor of nominating my students for this year's award and sharing the news with them.  I am so proud of them and can't wait for the ceremony in May!   

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