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.
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| 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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