Sunday, September 25, 2016

The Best Parts of My Week - 9/19/16--9/23/16

Hi everyone,
     School is in full swing and my notebook page was full this week!  There are many “Best Parts” to share!

……On Monday morning my principal and I were in the hallway talking and a student stopped by to introduce us to a new student.  After they walked away they moved toward the gymnasium.  The student giving the tour (a fourth grader) opened the door and said:  ”This is the PE room”.  How cool is that?  The word “gym” is not even in his vocabulary!

…..My students in grades 3-5 are learning how to use pedometers and this week I was going over an essential question that I wanted students to think about.  The question on our goal chart was:  “How can a pedometer help me to stay fit?”  After introducing that question I asked:  ”How many students think I exercise?”  I was so happy to see every hand up in the air!  They are correct, of course, and it nice that they know that it is important for adults to exercise too!

…..My second grade students were completing a warm-up this week that included wall sits for 30 seconds.  I was demonstrating how to do this when one of my students said”  ”You have muscles in your legs!”  I commented that I am glad that he noticed that it takes muscles to do exercise and I explained that I exercise to make my muscles strong too!

…..One of the pedometer activities that my students complete is an activity that uses Gel Boards.  Students take turns being a recorder and a runner during an activity during which students try to get as many steps as possible in a short period of time while doing two separate moves during different parts of the song.  I encourage the students who are the recorders to write positive messages on the boards while their partners are moving because the activity is challenging and students get tired quickly.  Then they are asked to record pedometer steps on the board as well when the task is completed.  At the end of the class I ask students how it felt when their partner wrote nice encouraging messages on the board.  My students wrote some amazing messages and had some incredibly insightful answers.  Students said that the messages made them feel good and also helped them complete the task but one student said that when someone says something nice to you it can make a bad day better…….I challenged them to continue to be positive all year long!  I even had one student write a message to me when they handed in their board.  They wrote:  “You rock!” and “I love Mrs. Robelee!”  These messages were definitely some of the best parts of my week!



…..Another introductory pedometer activity included using spinning tops, deck rings, and hula hoops.  Students used this equipment like timers.  They would spin the equipment and exercise as long as the equipment was spinning.   The idea was to get as many steps as possible during a spin.  I did not tell students which exercises to do because I wanted them to discover which exercises would increase their step counts the most.  I was impressed at the variety of exercises that students chose.  They did the obvious exercises like jumping jacks and running in place, but then they branched out to “wacky jacks”, scissor jumps, skier’s jumps, crab kicks, and even made up an exercise that we decided to call scissor claps!

…..During a warm-up this week students were jumping rope and a fifth grader called me over to see that he finally mastered the double under!  I wish I had a picture of his face!  It was the face of pure joy and pride!

…..My duty at school includes supervising the students who are picked up at the end of the day instead of riding a bus.  One student was complaining that his family member had not arrived yet and I told him that sometimes we need to have patience.  Right then and there a kindergarten student told me that she has a book about an elephant that needs to learn about patience.  I think I need to read that book and have it on hand! 

…..Primary students took a “solar system field trip” this week after reading Ziny’s Driving School by my friend Lynn Hefele.  As students arrived on different planets they were encouraged to explore.  After each planet exploration I asked students to share what they discovered.  My second grade students were so creative!  One student said that she saw an Alligator Taco and another said they saw a chocolate mountain with aliens eating marshmallows!  While some of the students shared their discoveries after raising their hands, I also asked students to “turn and talk” to a friend to share.  I love to hear the conversations!  While this only takes less than a minute it is a great way to make sure that all students are heard.  They were so creative and proud to to share with their classmates.  I shared their creativity with their teachers and before long they were talking about using this experience as a writing activity!  At the end of the activity I asked students to turn in their “quasar” (spaceship) keys so that I would have them for next year.  There were moans and groans!  They did not want to give up the keys because they were having so much fun!

…..I wear a lanyard with my school ID on it and I have decorated the lanyard over the years with pins from different places that we have traveled with Fitness Frankie.  This week one of my students happened to notice some of the pins and said:  ”I like your souvenir pins!”  I had fun telling her a bit about where they came from!

…..Like many of my students I have a new pair of sneakers for this school year.  I wear my old sneakers to school and then change into my new ones (keeps them cleaner that way!)  One day I noticed that I forgot to change into my new sneakers and commented on it during class.  One of my second grade students suggested that I write myself a reminder in my phone!  Students are so tech savvy!

…..A student was so excited about how well he could do push-ups and came over to me to ask ”Can I show you my push-ups?”  Of course!  I was happy that he wanted me to share in his success!

…..I noticed this week that my students are better able to complete fitness and high intensity activities than they were many years ago.  We have increased the amount of PE and physical activity that students participate in and I think it has made a difference!

…..At the end of the week I was fortunate to be able to talk with a former student who was in our building as a substitute teacher.  I did not even recognize her at first but when I realized who she was I was shocked that she was already an adult!  Time flies for sure!  We had a nice chat and I am so proud that she has chosen a career in education! 

 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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