It was Teacher Appreciation Week and there
were so many reasons t o feel appreciated!
…..Monday began with a
lovely breakfast provided by our PTA.
One of the many nice things about this breakfast was that there were
many healthy options to choose from! We have worked hard to teach our students about the
value of healthy foods and it has been nice to see the changes reflected in
what we choose to eat as adults too!
…..We started gymnastics
this week and we are so very lucky to have a beautiful gymnastics set up to use
for our unit. No matter how many
times I begin this unit, I am still surprised at how excited students get! They could not wait to take off their
shoes and get started!
…..It was a VERY rainy week
here in the Northeast so our outdoor plans for our Project ACES event on
Tuesday had to be changed. Our
plan was to have our Student Ambassadors for Fuel Up to Play 60 be the “bus
drivers of the day” and have them lead bus groups of buddy classes to different
“bus stops” to do different exercises.
It would have worked better outside for sure but we made it work inside
despite some wrinkles in the plan.
I asked one of our ambassadors at the end of the day what she thought of
the event. She said: “It was tough” then she paused (which
made me nervous) and smiled wide and continued with “but it was SO MUCH
FUN!” It was a relief to hear that
she enjoyed it! Fitness Frankie helped too!
…..I have been using the
idea of a Tabata (interval type exercises) as a warm-up with my students. This week I used noodles and taught
students a noodle tabata that I learned on Twitter and modified for our
classes. It was super fun! Students really liked the music and the
warm-up! One primary student said:
“This is like going to the
gym!” Another remarked: “This is a
workout!” Still another said: “I Iove this music!” I smiled and thought…..that’s the idea!
…..A teacher stopped by my
office to tell me that her students were choosing to eat apples for snack
instead of the unhealthy foods that some had brought in to school. Apparently there are some leftover
apples from breakfast that come her way each day. She shares them with the students who need a snack. Some students began to ask her if they
could have one too and put away their unhealthy snack. How great is that! I was so happy she shared!
…..Wednesday our PTA put on
a delicious luncheon to continue the celebration of Teacher Appreciation
Week. While some parents were
getting the luncheon ready I had a chance to chat with some of the moms who
were volunteering. One of the moms
is my former student and we had a nice time reminiscing. Our school will be celebrating 50 years
next year and we were talking about the history of the school. It turns out that I am one of the few,
if only, teacher who has worked for all three principals of our school since it
opened…..wow!
……Physical Eddie spent some
time in a second grade class recently and he learned all about the parts of
plants. Students and Physical
Eddie also learned that different vegetables are actually parts of plants and
part of the lesson involved trying some new vegetables like broccoli, which is
the flower of a plant. The class
contributed to a journal entry in Physical Eddie’s journal and many said that
they learned so much and now like vegetables that they had not tried
before! I had a chance to
compliment the class and talk to them about the project. I love it when Physical Eddie’s
adventures (and the other bears too of course) involve cross-curricular
experiences!
…..One of the best parts of
my week unfortunately involves a tragedy that happened to one of my
co-workers. While I will not get
into the details of the sad event, as a result of it I was able to witness the strength
and resolve of those involved, and the outpouring of love and support from my
work family to all those affected.
North Park is the absolute best!
…..Friday was “bring a
flower to your teacher” day as a culminating event for Teacher Appreciation
Week. The idea is that students
bring a bunch of flowers and hand out one or two to many different teachers
that they appreciate. I received
so many beautiful flowers from my students and I feel loved and
appreciated. I am truly fortunate
and the smile never left my face on Friday as flowers kept arriving! These beauties are just a few of them!
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
