The Best Parts of My Week - 11/21/16--11/22/16

Hi everyone,

As weeks go it was incredibly short due to the Thanksgiving holiday and parent/teacher conferences but it was a good week to reflect on what I am thankful for…….

…..Tuesday was the 50th day of school and for many years some of the primary classes have celebrated with 1950’s themed activities.  I have had the opportunity to celebrate with them by creating the 50th Day of School Sock Hop.  During this event, students and teachers dress up as if they were living in the 1950’s and then we dance some of the popular dances of the time.  I showed the students a YouTube video of Chubby Checker doing the twist on American Bandstand (no color TV back then!) and then we danced to the Twist, Hand Jive and the Lollipop Song.  We also played with hula hoops to the Hula Hoop Song.  It was so much fun!  Of course, I have a bear with a poodle skirt so “Sandy” comes out for the event as well!  Click here for pictures!

…..Fitness Frankie is being taken care of by a fourth grade class and we are collaborating with a fourth grade class from Texas!  This week I filmed some video of a blindfold trust activity to share with our friends from Texas.  Fitness Frankie got into the act too!  The students did a great job and thought FF was adorable! Don't you think so too?

…..A fourth grader came to PE this week and immediately showed off his new hair cut.  His dad’s badge number was shaved into the hair cut!  His dad is a firefighter and his son is very proud……...We are thankful for his service!

.....Circus Week is coming next week! I had fun making this display case this week!

Other things I am thankful for:

…...my family

……my friends

…....a career that I love

…...a beautiful gymnasium

…..incredible professional development opportunities

…..my student teacher and the chance to share my experience

…..technology

…..coffee

…..clean water

…..exercise - kayaking, golf, bicycling, working out

…..the beautiful Hudson Valley

…..food to eat, work to do, time to play

…..my school

…..my home

…..a chance to share all of this using this blog!

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.  

The Best Parts of My Week - 11/14/16--11/20/16

Hi everyone,

    It was an unconventional week but the “Best Parts” continue to happen!  Just when I think that I can not write about anything new or interesting, something happens to make my day!  

…..Students in the primary grades were beginning to learn how to cooperate using the parachute.  The parachute is so much fun and I was recalling the different parachutes I have had over the years.  The original parachute we used was actually a real parachute!  We started by going over the safety rules and one of the kindergarten students said that you should not jump out of a plane without one!  We had so much fun bringing the parachute up and down and then we played a game that I call “Under the Rainbow”.   The idea is to bring the parachute up and take a step in so the it rises higher.  When students have taken a few steps and the parachute is nice and high we go under it and sit down on the edge to keep the air in as long as possible.  One of the students was so excited I could see it on his face.  His eyes lit up and he said:  “This is AWESOME!”

…...As I was eating lunch in my office one day I noticed that Physical Eddie (who is being cared for by a fourth grade class) was outside playing 4 Square at recess!  It looked like he was having fun!  Check out the adventures of Fitness Frankie and Friends by clicking here!

…..We had a Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador meeting this week and I continued to feel grateful to be a part of this great group of students!  We hung up a Fuel Up to Play 60 banner in the cafeteria and they were so proud….me too!  We are continuing to work on the Great Fitness Calendar Race and I am so proud that this idea came directly from the students.  When we started this group we hoped that they would step up and lead the charge to encourage their peers to make healthy choices and that is exactly what they are doing!  

…..We have been using feelings cards as a way to assess how students were feeling during a cooperative activity.  One student said:   “I felt frustrated because I couldn’t talk and sometimes I just need to talk!”  I totally get it!  Check out our Cooperative Activities Unit by clicking here!

…..I was only at school for Monday and Tuesday and then I had the honor and privilege of attending and presenting at the NYS AHPERD Conference for the rest of the week.  While I miss the students at school, I know that I am growing professionally and sharing some of our successes when I present.  I learned so many new things and spent time with some of the best and brightest of our profession.  I continue to be humbled to be a part of this group…...My advice to any and all who will listen is “Never Stop Learning!”  This is my 34th school year and these kinds of opportunities continue to energize me to do my very best!  I am grateful to work in a district that recognizes that and allows me to grow…..

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.  

The Best Parts of My Week - 11/7/16--11/11/16

Hi everyone,

    It was a choppy week since teachers had a Teacher Training Day (more about that later) and school was closed on Friday for Veterans Day.  Nonetheless, we packed a lot into three days! 

●      On Monday morning one of my students was eager to tell me that he went to a football game over the weekend.  I asked him what game it was and he said Army vs. Air Force.  Then he said:  “Air Force Won!”  When I expressed my sadness for him thinking that he wanted Army to wind because we are so close to West Point he corrected me and said that he wanted Air Force to win!  I guess you never know.  My dad always said:  “Know your audience.”  That is good advice……next time I will follow it!

●      Our Fuel Up to Play Student Ambassadors have come up with a great idea to generate interest in our Fitness Calendar program.  It is called the Great Fitness CalendarRace and the idea is that each class has to submit a minimum number of completed Fitness Calendars at the end of each month in order to stay in the race.  Each month, the minimum number increases.  Each class gets one miss and the class that stays in the race the longest will be designated as the winner of the race!  This week we gathered to find out who is still in the race.  One of the ambassadors brought Physical Eddie to the meeting because he is being taken care of by her class.  She said:  “He’s one of us!”  Students are so excited!  It is definitely generating interest and I am so proud of their idea! 

●      Second graders are having a great time bringing FitnessFrankie home during the weekends.  He came back right on time this week after a healthy weekend adventure!  Every time I get to peek in his backpack to see the newest journal entry I smile!

●      Students have been participating in cooperative activities recently and students in grades three through five have been working on a game called Islands.  I spoke about it last week in my blog.  I was interested to find out how students felt during the game because these kinds of activities often bring up a myriad of feelings and debriefing can be powerful.  Students were asked to answer the question using Plickers and had a choice of four feelings:  alone, proud, happy, and frustrated.  Along with the question, students had cards to view to help them choose.  Physical Eddie decided to work on it too!  The results were interesting and powerful…….which reminds me of the impact that cooperative education can have on student learning……..

●      A second grader wore a shirt this week that said:  “Spread kindness like confetti….” What a great shirt and they are words to live by! 

●      Just when I was having a challenging day students appeared with random hugs….

●      A fourth grade class is hosting Physical Eddie this week and he came to PE to play the Islands game.  He does not appear to be afraid of our sharks!  Not only did he come to PE this week but he also had fun in Technology class!  He is having an excellent adventure!

                                                   

●      During the Teacher Training Day on Tuesday I had the opportunity to be a part of a conference hosted by the Southeastern Zone of NYS AHPERD.  I am proud to be the president of this zone and our conference directors and conference team did an amazing job putting on this conference!  I met some incredible teachers and presenters from across the country!  It was a terrific day to learn and grow professionally!  I learned some new ideas that I can’t wait to try! 

●      One of the connections I made during this conference was with Jim DeLine of Texas.  He is so unbelievably professional and humble and he is a fantastic teacher!  While I was talking with him after the conference we realized that we have some things in common and are working on getting our students to work on a project together!  More on that as the weeks progress but suffice it to say that Fitness Frankie is involved!  There are so many exciting possibilities!  

●      During an activity using blindfolds, one student decided to wear his glasses over the blindfold.  He looked just like a superhero!  Maybe he is…….. J

●      At the end of the week a second grade invited some Veterans to a ceremony thanking them for their service.  As the Webmaster for our school website, I received some pictures of the event to put up on the website.  Our second grade students wrote thank you notes to our Veterans and dressed up in red, white, and blue.  What an inspiring project……….Our second graders said thank you and so will I.  Thank you to all of our Veterans for your service.  I am grateful……..

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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The Best Parts of My Week - 10/31/16--11/4/16

      

Hi everyone,

     This week flew by!  We had some snow recently and we are fast forwarding through the Fall Students are already starting to sing holiday songs.........but we are working hard to stay on task!  Hope you enjoying reading about the "Best Parts!"

• A fourth grade arrived to PE class this week and it was evident that the classroom teacher was absent.  I reminded students that the last line of our school pledge says, “even when no one is watching”, and that this also means even when their teacher is not in school.  Then I said that there should be no change in their behavior just because they have a substitute teacher.  One student raised his hand and said that the behavior should change because it should be even better!  I thought that was a great example and I complimented him on his observation and character.  That was a great way to set the tone for the class!  The next day his teacher was back in school and I had a chance to tell her the story.  She was proud of him too!
• It shouldn’t surprise me anymore that students like to report to me their healthy choices, yet each week I am pleased and proud when students stop me to tell me about what exercises they do and the healthy foods that they choose to eat. This week a fourth grader told me all about jogging with his younger sister up and down their long driveway.  I sometimes feel like the Healthy Highway police…. but I think that is a good thing!
•  I have a student teacher for the next few weeks and he is doing a cooperative activity called Islands.  I have done a similar activity for years but it has been refreshing to see it done in a new way.  As the cooperating teacher I have a chance to step back and observe.  I love the cooperative process, which includes students playing fair even if they think no one is watching, students who emerge as leaders, others who quietly plod along helping others, and the frustration that turns into smiles of success after hard work and problem solving!  During this particular activity talking is not allowed and it is amazing how that rule helped the process by helping students focus.  During a debriefing activity students had some great ideas to help them succeed on the next attempt.  I am looking forward to seeing them try out their solutions.  This activity has been the talk of the students in grades 3-5.  A second grade student who has a fifth grade sibling asked if he was going to do the activity during PE class.  We explained that it was a lesson for older classes.  He said that his sister was talking about it at home and he wanted to try it too!  When students talk at home about what they have done in PE class you know you have made an impact!  Click here for more pictures of our cooperative activities.

Basketball Betty made a friend during our Islands activity!

• A second grade student made a mistake during an activity.  A classmate immediately went over to him and said:  I learned that we all make mistakes sometimes.”  He was very caring and patted him on the shoulder while he was doing it.  What made this moment so special is the fact that until recently this student has had a very hard time accepting his mistakes.  It was such a wonderful moment…….and a good lesson for everyone! 
• A kindergarten student who loves dinosaurs (who doesn’t?) earned a reward of being able to see a special fossil after good behavior during PE class.  As he was leaving he said:  “Reminds me of 55 million years ago!” 
• I have mentioned before that our school was honored with the Let’s Move Active Schools National Recognition Award.  We are very proud of this accomplishment and this week I was hanging up the banner in our gym.  It is a wonderful reminder of the team effort from students, staff, administrators, and our community and I am proud to see it hang in the gymnasium.  The first class of the day came in not long after we finished hanging it up and they immediately noticed it and were very excited.  Even though I had made the announcement they had not yet seen the banner.  One student exclaimed:  “We won the national award!”  Basketball Betty is proud of it too and definitely wanted her picture taken with it! 

• One of the questions I like to ask students when we are working on a cooperative activity is what does Cooperation, look like, feels like, and sound like?  I love the answers that students give.  One student said that it feels good inside because you know you are helping...........
•  Second grade students were given the task of using foam bricks to cooperatively build a tower.  I noticed that one of the groups was not following directions and were kicking and throwing the bricks.  I went over to them and asked if they were following directions.  They of course said no and I responded by telling them that if they know they are not doing the right thing a little “bell” should be going off in their heads to tell them to stop.  Of course I was talking about a pretend bell but one of the students looked at me with surprise and said There's a bell inside your head?
• During the same cooperative brick building lesson another student described his experience by saying “That was intense!” 
• We often encourage students to use “butterfly claps” to show they are excited about an activity without making noise.  This week I learned a new way to do it from a second grade class.  They showed me how to do “Ghost claps”.  Basically they are claps that fall short of contact so no noise is made.  There is always room in the “Teacher toolbox” for one more tip!
• I invited two classes to come to the gym for a Fitness Friday activity.  Both classes accepted the invitation and we had some fun! We used a Wheel Of Fitness and students got to spin the wheel for an exercise and then we did the Cha Cha Slide!  It was great to see our teachers dancing right along with the students!  This team effort is what makes our school so wonderful!  Physical Eddie got a “Fitness Friday coupon, which earned him a mile! Students started off the day with exercise and then they were ready for the classroom!

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

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