Hi everyone,
We had some truly special (and interesting)
events this week, which made the “Best Parts” even more special!
…..This week NYS AHPERD sponsored the first ever
PE Gets NY Moving Week! The idea was to showcase quality PE programs across NYS
so that we can advocate for our profession and share what we do on a daily
basis. I had been planning for this week for quite some time and I was
excited about the possibilities that this week could bring. The week did not disappoint!
I wanted the students to be excited about the week so to generate some
interest I made daily announcements about the week. The announcements
included fun facts and reasons why PE is so important and I asked students to
respond by letting me know about their favorite way to move in PE. I
created an online survey as well as paper strips on a bulletin board in the
hallway. I was overwhelmed with the popularity of these responses!
Each day I would read a few of the responses during the announcements but
each day I received more and more answers! One day I noticed two students
counting out the paper strips and asked if they needed help. They said
that they were counting them out because everyone in their class was going to
put in an answer! More about PE Gets NY Moving Week a bit later in this
blog……..
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| www.nysahperd.org |
…..I learned a new game called Cone Ball at a
Care to Share event I went to recently. It was a natural extension to our
Lacrosse unit which just finished so I thought it would be fun to teach the
game to my students and enjoy the outdoors for a few more precious days.
When I was explaining the game one of my fourth grade students commented
that it was just like Team Handball! He was correct! I was
surprised because I certainly did not know what Team Handball was when I was in
fourth grade!
…..I learned about Tabata warm-ups last year and
I absolutely love them! Tabatas are great because students in
kindergarten can do them just as well as students in fifth grade and it is a high-energy
way to start PE class. I have a Tabata timer on my iPad as well as some
Tabata music and this week I created a beanbag Tabata warm-up to go along with
our PE Gets NY Moving Week. One of the four exercises as part of the
Tabata was a curl-up that could be done alone or with a partner. Students
were asked to do a curl-up with the beanbag and then either touch toes or use
one beanbag with a partner and give the beanbag away. One group was so
creative that they decided to use two beanbags and switch on the curl-up!
…..If you have read this blog before you
probably know about Fitness Frankie and his friends. The original Fitness
Frankie travels with me but second graders take a “stunt double” (Fitness
Frankie stuffed bear but not the original) home for a weekend to have a healthy
adventure and add to his journal. We have three classes so we have three
“stunt doubles”. I had a great conversation with a student who brought FF
back after his weekend. He had a great time while having a health
adventure!
…..Our other fitness bears stay at school and
spend time in classrooms and travel to specials and other places at school.
This week Basketball Betty and Physical Eddie were ready to begin their
classroom adventures. I was tickled at the reaction I got when I
delivered Basketball Betty to a third grade class and Physical Eddie to a K-1
class! Stay tuned for some pictures of their adventures later this year!
…..Early in the week my second graders were
using the 4 Square skills I taught them to play outside on the recess courts.
They were having a great time and one second grader had a great play in
motion. He was so happy he said it was ”Totally Super Agent Style!”
…..My hope is that all students will be good
sports during all activities. I teach students what it means to be a team
player, how to play fair, how to problem solve and so on. All I really
need is one of my second graders to be an example! This student is the
absolute best sport and champion of all students that I have ever seen!
It is a pleasure to see her kind heart in action………
…..The Walkway Over the Hudson is basically in
our backyard and one of our NYS Learning Standards for PE is Resource
Management so the combination is perfect! We have had the tremendous
opportunity to take fifth grade students on a field trip to the Walkway for
several years. It was scheduled for Tuesday this week, and this was
fantastic because it was PE Gets NY Moving Week! It is always an awesome
trip and this year was no different. Students wear pedometers and log
steps. All fifth grade students attend with their classroom teachers.
Students pair up and share a pedometer. One student wears it on the
way over and the other wears it on the way back. They had a great time
seeing how many steps they could accumulate! Classroom teachers taught
them about the history of the Walkway and our community on the Hudson River,
and students enjoyed chatting and traveling with friends. I love this
trip for so many reasons. It is great exercise, we collaborate with
classroom teachers, students use a community resource, we enjoy the beautiful
fall colors and weather, I get to talk with students as we walk, and this year
we even saw an eagle!
…..As I was walking down the hall as students
were arriving one day a student stopped to tell me how excited he was to be
playing soccer with his team during halftime at a local college game! I
would be excited too!
…..I was asking students to tell me about how
they use offense and defense during a game of Cone ball. They were right
on the mark! After the discussion I thought that we don’t always get to
know if students really and truly understand certain concepts and strategies but
this was one of those moments that made me feel good that they were really
learning what I was teaching!
…..The most unusual thing happened this week
that might not necessarily qualify for the “best part” but it certainly was the
most interesting part of my week! During a sport practice in the
gymnasium after school one afternoon an outside door was opened to let in some
fresh air. Before we knew it two birds flew in the gym! I was in my
office and heard all of the commotion and soon realized what happened!
The team players tried to get them out and when things calmed down I
thought they had been successful. However, the next morning, I realized
how wrong I was. Not only were the birds still in the gym in the morning,
they stayed there all day! We could not imagine why they did not want to
go outside! Eventually, and fortunately, they left. I guess it
qualifies for this blog because all of the great discussion and excitement that
was created!
…..Primary students have been exploring levels
and this week we set up a series of stations using lots of colorful equipment
so that students could continue the exploration. When the students came
to the door their faces said it all! I love the WOW factor when students
arrive to PE!
…..At one of the levels stations students took
turns throwing a ball at the basketball backboard at a high level. When
one of the balls got stuck in the bars that support the backboard one of the
students said: “Let’s make a game of it” That’s exactly what they
did! They made a game of trying to get it down!
…..Earlier I mentioned that we have three
Fitness Frankie packs for second graders to take home for a healthy adventure.
Sadly, one of them went missing last week. When he was returned to
school I was absent and when I returned no one seemed to know where he was.
Needless to say we looked everywhere! I was upset because the pack
contained two years of student journal entries that could not be replaced.
One of the teachers suggested I create a “Missing” poster and put it up
around the school and another suggested I make an announcement to students and
ask for everyone’s help. I did both of those things and the very next day
he was found! We were all so happy! When I announced it from the
main office we could hear the cheers from the classrooms!
…..Students are natural helpers and I want to
make an effort to remember that more often. Sometimes it’s easier to do
it myself but I saw so many times this week that students are so happy to help!
…..All this week I worked diligently to finish our class contracts. It is a tremendous amount of work to cut out the hands, glue them on, write the student-generated rules, laminate them, and hang them up. On Friday afternoon at about 5:00 I finally finished them. It was worth it! What do you think?
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
