The Best Parts of My Week - 1/23/17--1/27/17

Hi everyone,

I was reminded this week of the purpose and personal necessity of this blog.  There were some extremely sad moments this week and focusing on the positive and happy moments each day helped…..

…..As we continue to work on getting ready for Jump Rope for Heart I have been pointing out the Zoo Crew Characters that the American Heart Association created for this year’s theme.  Each animal has a healthy message to share and Rory Mc Fiercely III is the lion in the Zoo Crew.  His job is to help spread all of the healthy messages with a loud ROAR.  I learned this week that a lion’s roar can be heard from five miles away so his roar is definitely powerful.  I have been quite animated with the younger students but have toned it down a bit with the fifth grade students since they consider themselves more grown up at this time of the year.  I was ready to move on and one of the fifth grade students said:  “Can we roar?”  Of course I said yes and while I don’t know if our roars were heard five miles away they were certainly heard down the hall!

…..While I can’t really explain it, we have been having a bit of trouble keeping our Fitness Frankie to Go bears safe and sound this year.  Students have been very careful but for some reason the bears have gone missing more than once this year.  One student had taken him home before Christmas but just could not locate him despite help from many family members.  I kept checking in to encourage the search to continue.  I was hoping for the best but feared the worst.  On Monday morning this week I was met at the gymnasium by two students who triumphantly held him up to show me he had indeed been found!  WHEW!  

…..I have been teaching my students some partner tricks to practice while we work on our rope jumping skills.  One of our essential questions is “How can I challenge myself?” One of the tricks is called the 2 in 2 side by side.  After I demonstrated with a student partner (who did really well!), one student raised her hand and said “Can we do 3?”  Of course I said Yes!  A little while later they were doing it!  Now THAT’s finding a way to challenge yourself!

…..One of my third grade students was able to jump 116 times in a long turning rope turned by an adult!  She was excited to come over to tell me and she was a bit tired after that exercise!

…...After school one day this week I hung up this year’s Jump Rope for Heart banner.  It was a bittersweet moment.  As I get ready to retire I have experienced many important events that I will do for the last time as a teacher at this school.   I spent some time looking at the banners on the wall and reminiscing…….I am so proud of the work of my students, staff and my community……  The next day some students noticed the new banner right away and were very excited and proud too!

…..I like to decorate our hallways with Jump Rope for Heart posters in preparation for the event.  It is a great way for students to get involved and it also shows me that they understand the message and importance of the event.  I announced that I would be accepting posters and by the end of the day I had already gotten six fantastic posters!  More and more come in each day!  Click here to see more pictures of these posters!

…..I have been teaching the kindergarten students to jump in a long rope that I turn and very often I give a high five to a student after they finished his/her turn.  I guess I forgot to give one to one student because she came over to me and said:   “High five????”   She kept me on my toes!

…..A second grade student decided to use Math to count successful jumps.  Each time he jumped using different jumping stations he added the numbers together!  He was even going to remember the number and add on to it during the next PE class!

…..Fitness Frankie to Go went to basketball practice with his host student last weekend.  I looked at the journal entry which had the most adorable picture of the student at the level of the basket holding Fitness Frankie inside the net.  He wrote about the adventure and added “I dunked him!”

…..Fitness Frankie to Go in another second grade went for a walk on a local college campus and then went shopping for fruit!  Included in this journal was a fantastic picture of the student in front of the yummy looking fruit with the caption:  “Frankie likes apples!”

…..After adding a Hippity Hop station to our class activity this week a kindergarten student came over to me and said with a smile:  “Now that was super, super, super fun!”

…..One of the Zoo Crew members is Savannah Bolt.  Savannah is a zebra and her message is:  “Go Wild for Water”.  This was a great connection to our PE Password this week which is Dehydration.  She also teaches students that there are eight teaspoons of sugar in one can of soda.  I asked students if they would put eight teaspoons of sugar on their cereal and saw the most wonderful look of disgust on the face of one of my students!  They got the message that soda is not a healthy choice!

.....At the end of the week we held a Healthy Highway assembly and introduced the next road that we will travel down; Diversity Drive.  It was an absolutely wonderful assembly and maybe one of the best that we have had in quite some time.  We had a terrific group of teachers work on this assembly and the creativity and teamwork showed.  We always talk about the road in terms of Character Education (discussed by the principal), Nutrition Education (discussed by a classroom teacher), and Physical Education/Physical Fitness (discussed by me).  There are so many reasons to teach students about diversity in these terms and based on student responses, we really got the message across.  When it was my turn to discuss how diversity relates to physical activity I showed students pictures of diverse people participating in games and sports.  There were pictures of people of differing abilities, ages, beliefs, and genders.  One example I used was a picture of a girl playing football and another of boys dancing.  The last picture was of a girl playing quarterback with a caption “Never let someone stop you from doing what you love.”  I asked students why I that picture my represent diversity.  I was absolutely blown away by one of my fourth graders answer.  Among other things, she said that girls should be able to play what they want and not have anyone tell them that they can’t do something just because they are a boy or a girl.  Her comments were so right on the mark I was speechless!  As I was walking by her at the end of the assembly I gave her a high five and told her how proud I was of her!  Next we went into classrooms and students paired up with their buddies in upper grade levels.  They completed another activity and had wonderful conversations that showed that they understand the importance of diversity and not labeling people.  They said they learned that it is ok to be different, that you should not judge a book by it’s cover, and that you should get to know everyone by talking with them.  It was truly a heartwarming afternoon.   

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 - 1/17/17--1/20/17

Hi everyone,

      As I looked at my “Best Parts” notes, it is hard to believe that I actually only worked for two and a half days this week due to MLK day, a 2 hour delay, and a sick day!

…..I’m not absent from school all that often so on Wednesday morning I smiled when a kindergarten student smiled and exclaimed:  “You’re back!”

…..Fitness Frankie to Go had a healthy hiking adventure this week!  The pictures were great and the student who took care of him was proud to share!  

…...I have bus duty this month and my job is to supervise students in the gymnasium who are being picked up at dismissal.  This week one of my students was waiting to be picked up and looked at the hanging pocket on the door that contains our exit question and answer choices.  All of a sudden he said:  “Those are emoji’s!”  Now, I have been using this exit assessment for many years and created them using clip art well before the word emoji even existed!  It was so funny to me that I never even considered them to be emojis that I laughed out loud!

…..We held our winter concert this week and students in the various musical groups always perform for our school as a dress rehearsal for the evening performance.  I am always impressed with the talent and hard work of our students and our music department and this concert did not disappoint.  However, one moment stuck out and brought about so much emotion during the concert.  Our chorus sang a song in tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and included the refrain:  “I have a dream…….”  It was a beautiful tribute and was sung with beautiful voices.  As I looked at the very large group I was struck by the amazing diversity of the group and thought that this tribute would have made Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proud…….

…..One of my second grade classes was working on a writing activity and a few of the students chose to write about PE and Jump Rope for Heart!  They brought me their finished work and were so proud to share!  I asked if I could make a copy to keep for myself and they were pleased to say yes!  When anything that is taught in PE transfers to the classroom and beyond I feel like I have made a difference……..Aren’t these fantastic!

…..It is always a challenge to have all students remember to wear sneakers during this time of year.  Students often wear boots for recess and don’t always pack sneakers to change into for PE.  This week one of my students arrived to PE and said:  “Look what I have on my feet!” He finally remembered to wear sneakers and we were both happy about it!  I gave him a double high five!

…..As we get ready for our annual Jump Rope for Heart event, students are practicing many different jumping and rope jumping activities.  As I took a moment to step back and observe my classes this week I noticed boys and girls jumping rope together and boys enjoying the challenge of the activities just as much as the girls.  I was reminded of my experiences many years ago when I first started to introduce the skills of jumping rope.  Back then there was some resistance because it was traditionally seen as a “girls only” activity (yes I am that old…..)  I remember that I had to explain the benefits and talk about how many athletes - male and female - jump rope for fitness, timing, and rhythm.  I will never forget one moment in particular.  As we began a lesson on how to jump rope a third grade boy started crying.  I asked him what was wrong and through his tears he said that boys don’t jump rope, only girls do.  Of course I explained to him why that was not true but he was not buying into those theories.  Finally, I realized that he was having trouble with the skill itself and I offered him the chance to borrow a jump rope and practice at home.  He accepted the offer and as his skill improved so did his attitude about boys and girls participating!  Times have certainly changed!  ALL of my students love learning how to jump rope and do rope tricks, despite the frustration of the difficulty of the task.  It has been a pleasure to see the barriers and stereotypes being broken down over the years.  We still have work to do but I am happy to say that the progress in my career has been positive!  Full steam ahead!  

…..One of my students was fixing his pedometer clip before trying a partner rope trick.  I was getting ready to help them with the trick.  My student then said:  “I support safety.  I see you do too by the looks of your pin!” Of course, he is correct!

….A comment from a 3rd grader regarding his ability to jump rope as he left PE with a red sweaty face on Friday:  “I’m getting better!”

…..I received a Jump Rope for Heart poster from a student on Friday afternoon.  It had some wonderful messages about working together and helping others!

…...As we worked on partner rope tricks this week it was wonderful to see the excitement from students as they were successful at learning the tricks!  Click here to see some videos!

…..Physical Eddie is being hosted by a first grade class that I do not see for PE class this year.  On Friday I was getting ready to go to lunch as my colleague was getting ready to teach this class.  As I walked across the gym a student brought Physical Eddie to me with a proud smile on her face.  We decided to put him in the frog pond so that he could practice his jumping!  

…..Every Friday is Fitness Friday at my school and this week our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador group was debuting a video that we made as our “Physical Activity Play” for the program.  Students worked in pairs and small groups to do an exercise that could be done in the classroom for a Fitness Friday activity.  I recorded the segments and then put them together in a short movie that was shared with all of the classroom teachers and the families of our Student Ambassadors.  We are so fortunate because each classroom has a smart board and teachers played the video so that students could exercise along with our Student Ambassadors!  We had many positive comments from families, principal, and teachers!  I went around to various classrooms as the video was being played and heard great comments from the students as they were exercising such as:  “That’s my book buddy!” and “She’s on my bus!”  One teacher even said that she could play it again for exercise on other days and one class did it twice already!  I saw many of our Student Ambassadors during the day and told them how proud I was of their leadership and willingness to be a part of the video.  I asked them if they felt like rock stars and many said YES!, and smiled.  I guess it was their 15 minutes of fame!

 

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 - 1/9/17--1/13/17

 Hi everyone,

Aside from an early release day on Friday it was a full week and a great week to get back in the groove!  After I mentioned in an earlier blog that I am retiring at the end of this school year I have been answering many questions and it has been helpful to talk about it!  

…..At the beginning of the week I was fixing the PE Password folder that hangs in the hallway.  It lasts for quite some time but every once in awhile it needs some TLC.  There was a class across the hall waiting to go into the Art room.  I knew they wanted to “peek” but they weren’t sure if they could since they were waiting quietly for the Art teacher.  Since I noticed this I held the cover up so that they could see the PE Password and they smiled and nodded as they said “intensity” (the PE password)!

…..Students have been working hard to practice their rope jumping skills.  They are persevering as some of the skills are quite challenging.  One of my 5th graders was successful doing a skill called "The Double Under" this week!  The look on his face was priceless!  I have been practicing but I can’t do it just yet……..stay tuned!

…..Physical Eddie continues his adventure in a fourth grade class.  On the way out of school one day a student stopped to say:  “Physical Eddie sat with my while I did my homework!”  I asked:  “Did he help you?”  She responded:  “Yes!”  I thought....what a smart bear!

…..A second grader arriving to PE says:  “PE is my favorite special!”  

…...A second grader leaving PE says:  “I wish we had PE every day!”  I responded:  “Me too!”

…..Students have been challenging themselves with many new jump rope skills and when they are successful the looks on their faces always make the list of the “Best Parts!”  I have certainly seen the look of success on the faces of many students during my career but it never gets old.  I think it’s because each student is different and I am invested in their success no matter what the skill is or how old they are (or I am!)......

…..I like to use BAM Video delay when students are learning jump rope skills.  If you have not used it before it is a fantastic app that records activity on a loop and allows students to see themselves performing a skill without touching the screen.  I tell students they are allowed to use it to either help them get better at a skill or to see how awesome they are at a skill!  Many students are surprised to see themselves and it almost always helps them improve! Physical Eddie was working on improving too!

…..Fitness Frankie played basketball over the weekend with his friends and great pictures came back in his journal!  One student told me that his dad was bringing in the picture later in the week and asked if he could bring it down to me when it arrived.  Of course I said yes and sure enough it arrived.  He was so proud and had a smile a mile wide when he brought it down to the gymnasium!

…..My fourth grade class finished their introduction papers this week. We are planning to send them to a class that we are connecting with in Texas.  They are terrific!  The students worked hard on the pictures and writing and included great questions for our friends.  I can’t wait to send them and share them!

…..We had a Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador meeting this week. This is a wonderful group of students and they make each meeting worthwhile. I have said this before but it continues to be true. This week we worked on making a video for Fitness Friday.  Students paired up and chose an exercise to do for 10 seconds.  They were so enthusiastic!  The video is done and we are going to share it this coming week for a Fitness Friday activity.  They will be celebrities in their classrooms!

…..I was working with a student on basic rope jumping skills this week and frustration was setting in for a few students.  I explained that these skills are very hard and it is ok to be frustrated but no ok to quit.  I gave him an option to say:  I can’t do it yet…..not right now……. and I’m still working on it.  He tried it and it definitely helped!  I used those lines as the week went on and described some skills that I am still working on (the double under as previously noted……).  It was wonderful to see students embrace the challenge and continue to persevere!

…..I took plenty of pictures of Physical Eddie this week and showed some of the fourth graders from the class that is hosting him.  They loved the pictures!  They said:  “Awwwww…..” and smiled from ear to ear!  It’s funny….some classes seem to enjoy the bears but other classes simply love each and every minute!  This class is one of those classes!

Warming up with Deck Workout

Learning about the PE Password

Answering a Plickers question

…...As a 4th grader left PE this week after practicing his rope jumping skills he said:  ”Thanks for the good advice!”

…..At the end of the week a second grade class was waiting to be picked up and we were chatting.  One of the students said:  “For some reason I jump rope better with my eyes closed……”  I told him that I thought I had the answer.  I explained that some students jump rope better with their eyes closed because it helps them focus and eliminate other distractions.  I explained that rhythm is important when you jump rope and you need to focus on the beat.  When his teacher arrived I asked him to tell her what he noticed.  She wondered if that strategy would help with other skills!  I guess you never know!  :-)  

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: 1/3/17--1/6/17

 Hi everyone,

While the holiday break was great, it was time to get back to work!  I talked last week about my upcoming retirement and so I began this week with an acute sense of time and decided to work hard to enjoy every day!  

…..When I arrive in the morning there is usually a before school day care group at school and sometimes they use the gym to play.  They have been taught to greet me with an enthusiastic “Good Morning!”, which I always return with just as much enthusiasm!  This week was no different and when I arrived on the first day after vacation, the group greeted me.  Then, one of the first graders asked me if Santa brought me anything for Christmas!  I was caught off guard by the question because usually students tell me what Santa brought them.  This student was interested and so I was happy to tell her that Santa had indeed come to my house and left me some wonderful gifts!

…...I was teaching our kindergarten and first grade students about the concept of objects rolling and I started by showing them the word.  Most could read it and that did not really surprise me at this time of year.  Next, I asked students to tell me what kinds of things roll.  The first few answers were what you would expect these students to say.  They responded with ball, hula hoop, basketball, soccer ball, etc.  One response, however, was quite unusual.  A kindergarten student raised her hand and answered:  “cylinder!”  I was so surprised I said:  “Whaaaat?  Are you sure you are a kindergartner?”  She smiled and then one of the aides told me that they were learning about cylinders in class that morning!  I thought for a quick second and said that I thought I had a cylinder to show them.  It was a foam bowling pin shaped like a cylinder.  All students agreed it was indeed a cylinder and then I rolled it across the gym just to be sure!  I had fun later telling her teacher that what had been taught in the classroom transferred to the gymnasium.  I don’t think I learned about cylinders until I took geometry in high school!  

…..The object of the rolling lesson was to have students work with a partner to explore rolling many different objects.  At the end of the lesson I asked students to share differences that they found between objects.  The responses were great!  Students talked about the sizes and shapes of the objects as well as what the objects were made of and how that changed how they rolled.  One student explained that a yarn ball rolled slower and a coated nerf ball rolled faster because it was smoother!  These were terrific mind and body connections!

…..I love to chat with students as they are coming and going in the morning during arrival and in the afternoon during dismissal when I can.  More often than not I am greeted with random hugs or reports of activities or healthy choices.  This week I passed a first grader on the way to breakfast.  She spontaneously said:  ”I’m going to eat healthy foods!”  I asked:  “What are you going to eat?”  Her response:  “vitamins!”

…..So many students received Fitbits or other activity trackers for Christmas gifts!  Many students were so excited to show me!  Could we be making some progress as we fight the childhood obesity crisis?  I sure hope so!  

…..I was finishing up castle ball with a group that had not had the chance to play prior to vacation.  One of the aides in the class noticed that as I was making a castle to teach a group that had not played yet one of the students showed a wide-eyed face and gave me a thumbs up! I guess he recognized that making the castle can be a challenge!  

…..A fifth grade class playing castle ball impressed me so much this week as they helped each other build castles without being asked……..

…..I delivered Physical Eddie to a fourth grade classroom one morning so that they could take care of him for a few weeks.  They were very excited but not all students had arrived yet.  I saw a student from the class in the hallway a few minutes later.  I asked him if he noticed that Physical Eddie was in his classroom.  He said:  “Of course I saw him…….everyone is mentioning him!  A little while later they were lining up for PE class and I was waiting in the doorway to the gymnasium.  Their classroom is just down the hallway from the gymnasium.  As they emerged from their classroom I heard someone say:  “Don’t forget Eddie!”  They brought him to PE and we had great fun with him!  We were enjoying Ben Pirillo’s “Would You Rather” warm-up! Basketball Betty enjoyed it too!

…….Later in the day I was in the hallway during dismissal and one of the students in that same classroom walked by me and said:  “Physical Eddie is HEALTHY!”

…...As I announced to my classes that we would be getting ready for Jump Rope for Heart I heard a chorus of “YESSSSSSS!!!!!....”  It is my favorite time of year as we get ready for the event by learning about and practicing jumping and and rope jumping skills.  Students truly want to do good for others and this event is a great opportunity to do just that.  Our school teaches students that we do Jump Rope for Heart because it is the right thing to do to help others who might not have hearts as healthy as we do and because it helps us learn how to get and keep a healthy heart.  I had a great time introducing this year’s American Heart Association JRFH theme - The Zoo Crew!  This is a theme that is right up my alley and fits right in with our fitness bears and our school theme of courage since the leader of the Zoo Crew is a lion named Rory Mc Fiercely III.  One of my third grade students even asked if I created it!  What a nice compliment!

www.heart.org/jump

…..Recently I decided that on Fitness Friday I would invite myself to a different classroom each week and do an activity with students (with the teacher’s permission of course!).  I have been welcomed each week by students and teachers and it has been quite fun!  This week I went to a second grade classroom and since it was a surprise they were so excited to find out why I was in their classroom!  We had a fantastic time doing some Go Noodle!

…..At the end of the day on Friday the students were on their way to their busses.  A student stopped to tell me that he had been cleared to participate in PE.  He had the biggest smile on his face!  He had been waiting for a very long time to be cleared and it has been quite a challenge to be sidelined (I completely understand….). I was so happy that we did double high fives!  It was a great way to end the week!

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.