Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Best Parts of My Week - 9/12/16--9/16/16

Hi everyone,
    It was the first full week of school and it was full of “best parts”!
…..For the past several years I have begun the year asking third grade students to complete the sentence:  “PE is important because…….”  This week the responses came back and I posted them on my “Why PE?” bulletin board in the hallway.  The responses were great!  Some of the responses included:  “it makes you stronger”, “the exercise”, “you get strong and fast and good at things”, and “it keeps you healthy”!  How great is that?  Third grade students understand the importance of PE!  
            



…..As I was putting the Why PE? bulletin board together early in the week a student was coming down the hall toward his classroom.  Just as he passed by I happened to be putting his work on the board.  He was so excited!  What a coincidence!


…..Students in grade 3-5 are participating in a warm-up that includes jumping rope and jogging.  One of my new students was reluctant to jump rope because he had not done it in his other school.  After trying it and doing well he said:  “At least I’m learning!”


…..I use a game called Human Bingo with my students to help them get to know each other.  I have modified the activity to make it work for our school and I am the free space on the board.  The idea is that students ask classmates questions to “collect” their name on the board and create a Bingo.  Each student’s name can only be used once so students must talk to all classmates to be able to get a Bingo.  I love this activity because when I observe it from the beginning I see students talking to their best friends first but then the conversation grows and expands and pretty soon they are talking to everyone!  At the end of the activity I ask students to share what they learned about each other.  The responses are great and it shows that they are well on their way to becoming a cohesive group!


…..My school has a wonderfully diverse population.  This year we have several new students who do not speak English.  While doing Human Bingo one of my fifth grade students was kind enough to offer to translate and work as a team with our new friend!  It warmed my heart to see the goodness in hers……


…..I took Spanish in high school and remember some of the basic phrases.  It has come in handy at times when new Spanish speaking students arrive.  I mentioned to a class that I needed to brush up on my Spanish to help out with a new student.  The very next class one of the students asked me if I had learned my Spanish yet!  He was looking out for his new friend…..and for me!


…..When I told students that we would be introducing the use of pedometers this week I heard YES!  I guess they like using them!


…..My kindergarten students were warming up by following me around our rainbow track.  I have a new remote control for the music and when I started the music from far away one student looked so surprised and said:  “How did you do that?” Of course, my answer was:  “Magic!”  It’s always good to have some magic available!


 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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