Hi everyone,
The final countdown to the end of the school year has begun! Excitement is in the air and talk of
Field Day has taken over all parts of the school. In reality, I have been planning for months, but now the
students are acutely aware that Field Days are next week!
…..Our primary students continued practicing Yoga this
week. I have a variety of
resources such as DVD’s, apps, and such.
At the end of a first grade class one of my students asked me where I
got the DVD that we were using. I
told him that I had bought it quite some time ago and could not quite remember
where I got it. I asked him why he
wanted to know. He told me that
his family is not that active and he thought that Yoga would be a great way to
get the family moving! How great
is that? I am proud his courage to
take this message of the need for healthy choices and physical activity home to
his family.
…..A first grade teacher told me that when her students were
wondering if they were going outside for PE or if they were going to do Yoga,
she asked them which they would prefer.
Yoga won!
…..The saying:
“Necessity is the mother of invention” was never truer this week. I had intended to continue our Yoga
practice with another resource that I have when my computer decided not to
work. It was the beginning of a
kindergarten class and it had been working just moments before. After a few frustrating moments I
decided to get my iPad and hook it up.
My colleague had been searching for Yoga resources the day before and
came across Cosmic Kids Yoga. I
decided to try it and my students loved it! I remarked more than once in the next day or two that if you
had told me thirty years ago that we would have the technology to play videos
from YouTube on a large screen while students practiced Yoga with enthusiasm I
would have never believed it!
…..We held our last Fuel Up To Play 60 Student Ambassador
meeting this week and we wrapped up the year with smoothies and some raffle prizes,
which were generously donated by FUTP60 and the American Dairy Council. It was a great year and we had so much
fun with this group! Our Let'sDance Fitness Friday, Veggie Taste Test Day, and Bike Rodeo and Safety Clinic
were very successful and it was a pleasure working with this group of
students. We made smoothies with
yogurt, milk, frozen fruit, and bananas and they were delicious. It was a great way to start the day!
…..Our older students have been learning how to throw and
catch Frisbees using different targets and games. We have been having lots of fun outside and the students are
getting quite good at the skills!
I learned a warm-up from my colleague that we have been using for this
unit. It involves a “Frisbee Flip”. Students pair up and flip the Frisbee
in the air. One student calls
heads or tails and if the Frisbee lands face up it is heads and face down it is
tails. If the student caller is
correct, he/she gets to pick a warm-up exercise and if not, the other student
picks the exercise. Students take
turns flipping the Frisbee and completing exercises. It is a fun and simple warm-up that students have been
enjoying. This week one of our
third grade students told me that she asked her cheerleading coach if they
could do the Frisbee Flip warm-up at practice and the coach said yes! It was fun to have her make a
connection and share something she enjoyed outside of PE class!
…..Friday after school I began to set up an obstacle course
in preparation for Field Day. I
always enjoy being creative with this obstacle course and I added something
this year based on something I saw a student do with a Frisbee target. It was very windy this week and I
wanted to create a target that students could throw a Frisbee through. I ended up using floor tape to tape two flexible jumps stick to a large hoop and then I stuck the ends of the sticks in two cones. I noticed one student aimed for the target, threw the Frisbee accurately through it, and then retrieved the Frisbee by climbing through the hoop!
Now, it wasn’t exactly the correct thing to do but it worked and seemed
to be great fun! I took that idea
and made a few more that were lower to the ground for the Field Day obstacle
course! Stay tuned next week for
pictures!
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.
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
