The Best Parts of My Week - 4/4/16--4/11/16

Hi everyone,

     It was nice (although a bit hectic) to get back into the school routine this week after spending last week at the SHAPE Convention in Minneapolis.  The weather is beginning to warm and Spring is actually in the air!

…..Fitness Frankie came back after having two weeks of adventures!  He continues to have some amazing healthy adventures and this week his picture was taken with his second grade friend as they worked out in a home gym!

…..It is nice to be missed!  Students definitely noticed that I was back this week and I got quite a few hugs and smiles and even a few “yay’s!”

…..I was delivering PhysicalEddie to a classroom early in the week and I walked by a student who was on his way back to his classroom with breakfast in his hands.  I reminded him to be careful as he was carrying it precariously down the hall when he looked up at me.  He seemed very surprised (I thought it was because I was back in school.) and he said:  “Hey!  I know you from the gym!”

……NYS Math Testing was on the schedule this week and that always means that the master schedule changes to accommodate the testing schedule.  I have learned to be flexible over the years and just go with the flow.  This week the schedule changes meant that I would have a second grade class that I don’t usually have because they are taught by my co-worker who travels between buildings in the district.  While I see the students on a regular basis, I am not their PE teacher and I definitely miss them!  Now, of course they love their regular PE teacher, but when they arrived at the gym door and I told them that I would be their teacher for the day I saw many smiles and was greeted with lots of hugs!  That greeting made my heart smile! 

…..I began a unit on balance with my students in grades K-2 and on the first day I asked them to do a series of balance challenges using various body parts and differing numbers of body parts so that the balances would be progressively more difficult.  I preceded each challenge with a question asking students if they were ready for the next challenge.  I smiled and giggled a bit when my kindergarten students answered with “Easy Peasy!”  I love that expression!  Students were ready for the challenges!

…..After discussing the need for strength when balancing and then having students practice I noticed a kindergarten student checking to see if her muscles were stronger.  She immediately came over to me and said with a smile:  “Look at my muscles!”

.....One of the balance challenges included a mat balance beam, a bean bag turtle, a bean bag frog, and a playground ball.  Second graders were allowed to use the equipment to find a way to balance and walk across the beam.  One of my students came over to me after taking a turn and said:  “I didn’t think I could do it but I did!”  I gave her a high five and she left with a smile a mile wide!

…..Another balance challenge included using peacock feathers and balancing them on different body parts.  I always underestimate how popular this station is and how excited students get when using the feathers.  Of course, feathers are very fragile and excitement + fragile sometimes = broken feathers!  I learned from a National Circus Project artist recently about using the idea of the “feather hospital”, which is where feathers go when they break.  I was reminding students to be careful with the feathers and told them about the “feather hospital” and asked them if they knew that I was indeed a “feather doctor”.  Some students giggled out loud because they thought that was the funniest thing ever! 

…..I have been experimenting quite a bit this year with student choice.  I love doing stations and I have used what I call “freedom with responsibility” (I learned this phrase from another PE teacher some years ago.) as a treat at the end of a unit.  However, this year I have been using that on a regular basis with the expectation that students must be working on the goal for the day in order to have the freedom.  I have found this approach to be very effective but this week I wanted to know what the students thought about it.  I asked my second grade students what they liked about being able to choose.  They were incredibly thoughtful and had some great conversations when I asked them to “turn and talk” about it.  They shared that they liked it because they thought it saved time and they could do more of the activities.  They are absolutely correct because time is not wasted on transition from station to station, especially when one group is not ready to move on when the others are ready to go.  They also said that they liked being able to do what they wanted to do when they wanted to do it.  Don’t’ we all????  What is interesting to me is that in the end, most students tried most, if not all, of the activities.  They played fair, played safe, and worked hard on the goal of balancing.  It also put the responsibility on the students to make good choices and gave them the ownership of the activity.  I am planning on expanding this idea of student choice as the year continues.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

…..My students in grades 3-5 are beginning the “Fitness Challenge” as I call it.  I stopped calling it a Fitness Test last year because of the number of tests students take and the negative connotation of tests in general.  I want students to do their best and use the information gained by participating in the challenges to make healthier choices going forward.  This week we worked on the PACER Challenge and I was proud of how hard students worked to meet and exceed the goals set in the Healthy Fitness Zones!

…..Friday was a beautiful day and students were outside for recess.  The playground is right outside my office window and I was working at my desk as a third grade group was outside.  I was happy to see a hopscotch game drawn in chalk on the blacktop and several students actually playing it!  Sometimes the “oldies” are the best!

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.  

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