The Best Parts of My Week - 3/20/17--3/24/17

Hi everyone,

    While I had a great time at the SHAPE America Convention in Boston it was nice to get back to school.  I had planned a busy week which was going to include snowshoeing, a Veggie Taste Test Day, a CPR/AED training event for our fifth grade students, and of course many classes of Physical Education.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to fit it all in but I was ready to embrace the week!  

…..The excitement in the air on Monday morning was incredible!  Students were ready to snowshoe.  I had previously taught the students a bit about how to put on the snowshoes during an indoor class but then we did not have any snow.  The week before last we had a huge snowstorm but I was away at a conference.  I was hoping that the snow would last and it did!  We had a great time outside and as we were coming in I asked students for some comments on the experience.  Some of the comments included:  “Can we do this again?”, “Where can you buy them?”, “I’m going to ask for them for my birthday!”, “This was fun!”, “It’s hard”, “It’s challenging”, “Sometimes you fall”, and  “It was fun!”  While many students needed my help to strap on the shoes it was so wonderful to see those students who were independent and then helped others!

…..I brought my snowshoes in so that I could snowshoe along with my students.  They are pink and for some reason my students were surprised that I would have pink snowshoes!  I guess I don’t wear pink very often…….  :-)

…..During part of one of the PE classes that I took outside to snowshoe I did not put my snowshoes on because I wanted students to see the difference in how my feet sank in the snow as compared to how their feet stayed on top of the snow.  I asked students why this was happening.  One of my fourth graders explained how when you have snowshoes on the pressure on the snow is spread out  so you can stay on top and when you don’t your foot is pushing on the same spot and sinks.  Yes!  Not only could students experience and understand the value of snowshoeing but they could explain it and verbalize it!  Mission accomplished!

…..One of the activities that I like students to do when they are snowshoeing is to look for animal tracks.  They love to explore and found this task very exciting.  One student told another student that she found bear tracks.  The other student’s response was to explain that bears sleep during the winter so the tracks could not be bear tracks!

…..Another activity that I encourage students to try while snowshoeing is to climb the snowbanks.  Now, normally this is not allowed during recess so students were surprised that I was going to let them do this in snowshoes.  At the conference I attended one of the sessions was about teaching students how to manage risk and that if we constantly “bubble wrap” our children they will not learn how to do this.  I thought that climbing the snowbanks with supervision would be a perfect opportunity to help students understand the benefit of hiking in snowshoes as well as build confidence as they learned how to manage risk.  Off we went to the large snowbank at the end of the parking lot and students loved it!  While some were hesitant and others completely confident, most students attempted the task.  One student in particular showed me her confidence when, as I reached out to help her she smiled and said:  “I got this!”  She absolutely had it under control and confidently climbed up and down the snowbank!  

…...One day this week our dismissal was very late due to a fire in our town which closed one of the roads.  Thankfully no one was hurt in the fire.  Students waiting for their busses were housed in the gym and I had a great time chatting with students.  One conversation was about my step count on my FitBit.  Students started guessing about how many steps I took that day so far.  They were surprised to find out that I was already nearing 25,000!

…..We held our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador Veggie Taste Test Day this week.  We met on Tuesday morning before school to organize the event.  This year’s taste test included a salad mix of shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, shredded brussel sprouts and a bit of Italian dressing.  Our families helped by donating some of the vegetables and other materials that we needed for the event. Their generosity was amazing! Our Student Ambassadors are such a great group!  They busied themselves by dancing away using Go Noodle while they waited for their turn to help with the vegetables.  They were so organized and excited to lead the event.  We asked them why we were doing the taste test so that they could practice the answers that they would need to give to their classmates when asked.  They had wonderful responses.  They said that it is good to try something new, when vegetables are mixed they sometimes taste better, that you need to taste something at least ten times before you can be sure that you like it or not, and that this is a great way to get family support to try new vegetables at home!  They could not wait to get started!

 

…..During the taste test I had the chance to visit some classes.  I think this was one of our best taste tests yet!  Students loved the salad mix and I got several thumbs up from students participating in the taste test!  Many students asked for more, some said they were going to ask their mom to make it at home and one fifth grader told me that he was going to make it at home himself!  Indeed he did just that!  That evening I received an email from his mom who told me that he made it for dinner!  I saw this particular student the next day and complimented him and he told me that he also had just had it for lunch!  I feel so grateful for the opportunity and support that allows us to give students the chance to experience the joy of trying new and healthy foods!  

…..Physical Eddie came to PE with a fourth grade class and luckily I had his snowshoes ready!  He decided that mine were too big for him but his were just the right size!

…..While all of the snowshoeing was happening with the upper grades, primary students were practicing ball control.  I was impressed when a kindergarten student came over to me and said:  “Watch this!”  He was doing a crossover dribble!

…...Our warm-ups have included a variety of dances lately.  I teach my students that dance is great exercise and it requires respect.  We had fun doing line dances and partner dances this week.  One of our K-1 teachers stayed for a minute at the beginning of class and I asked her if she needed me for something.  She responded that she wanted to stay so that she could join in the dancing!  

…..Another one of our special events this week was a CPR/AED training for 5th grade students.  I was so proud of their maturity and sense of purpose that they exhibited during the event. Our trainers were impressed at their behavior and attention and we are all truly grateful for the opportunity to have our students learn a lifesaving skill….....

…..One of our paramedics who came for the CPR/AED training is the grandmother of one of our 5th grade students.  Her son was in my first kindergarten class and now (since I am retiring) her granddaughter (her son’s niece) is in my last fifth grade.  How is that for full circle???

…...I can’t believe that I am still finding students whose parents were my students! This week a first grader asked me how long the basketball hoops had been in the gym.  When I told her that they had been there forever she said that means that they must have been there when her mom went to school.  After a bit more conversation I discovered who her mom is and I now I see the resemblance!  

…..As a second grade student was working on ball control using letter tiles to spell words she came over to me to say “I spelled health!

.....A fourth grade student asked me what was the name of my favorite basketball team. I told him that my favorite basketball team is a college team nearby. He said: "No, I mean a real team!" I responded that college teams are real teams but he insisted that NBA teams are the only real teams! When I told him that I really did not follow NBA basketball he was disappointed but wanted to know if I at least knew the names of some of the players. He was happy to know that I at least I could name a few pros!

…..I started Friday knowing that I have two more classes to take out for a snowshoe experience before the snow is gone.  One was scheduled for Friday and the other for this coming Monday.  I have been hoping that every class in grades 3-5 will be able to get out for one class.  It has certainly been a challenge!  This week we had snow but one day was too cold to go out!  Well, we barely squeaked one in on Friday because right after we finished it started sleeting and raining!    One more class to go!  Hopefully I will be writing about that class next week in 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 - 3/12/17--3/17/16

Hi everyone,
     This may be the shortest post I have written in quite some time but the impact on my life has been no less important than longer entries......it was an amazing week in many ways!

.....I only went to school on Monday this past week.  It was a great day as we anticipated the blizzard about to arrive in our area!  Students were excited and I was happy to tell them that we may indeed be able to snowshoe this year!

.....On Tuesday the blizzard arrived and it was an impressive storm!  School closed for two days straight as we dug out of the 24 + inches that blanketed our town.  On a personal note, it was also my son's birthday and while he is an adult, we reminisced about the large number of spring snowstorms that arrived on his birthday. We especially laughed about the year that we got him a bicycle and instead of riding it outside he resorted to riding it in the living room!

.....Wednesday my husband and I left to attend the SHAPE America National Convention in Boston, MA.  I was happy that we were able to go since the winter storm had placed doubts in my mind as well as many others.  Unless you have attended a national convention it is hard to describe the energy, excitement, enthusiasm, and hope that surround everything that happens during the convention.  Everyone from young future professionals to retirees was smiling, participating in activity sessions, learning, and collaborating, which will only improve our practice and move our profession forward.  I was fortunate to be able to present two sessions, one on Technology, and one with a group of dynamic and outstanding colleagues and friends from NY.  I love sharing and am so grateful to those who attended my sessions as well as those who shared their knowledge with me.   I had a wonderful time and even though I am retiring soon, I still learned new activities and am determined to try out a few new ideas before June!

.....Fitness Frankie has some fun in Boston as well!  It was fun taking him along and taking advantage of some great photo ops!

.....On Friday night of the conference we celebrated with the annual Hall of Fame dinner.  It was a great chance to celebrate this year's Teachers of the Year, the success of the conference, and friends new and old..........I was sad to see the conference end but I am already looking forward to next year!

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 - 3/6/17--3/10/17

Hi everyone,

    This week was all about the future as we held College and Career Week!  It was a wonderful week!  

…..Last Friday I had scheduled a “Fitness Friday” activity with a first grade class and then realized that we were having an assembly.  I spoke to the classroom teacher about it and asked if I could come in on Monday of this week instead.  She readily agreed and I decided that we could call it “Move-it Monday!”  I arrived as a surprise to the students on Monday morning and told them why I was there.  We had great fun doing some Go Noodle and the idea of “Move-it Monday” caught right on!  It’s a good thing we can be flexible!

…..As a follow up to last week’s assembly where we introduced “The Road to Your Future”, we held College and Career Week this week!  On Monday adults were encouraged to wear college shirts.  These were either colleges that the adults attended, local colleges, or a college that a family member attended.  I was proud to wear my SUNY Cortland shirt and had a fantastic time explaining to students why I was wearing that shirt.  I had a chance to explain that I knew when I was twelve years old that I wanted to be a PE teacher (I truly did!) and that SUNY Cortland was (and is) a great college to learn how to be one!  I also had fun asking other adults why they were wearing a particular shirt.  As well as I know my colleagues, I realized that I did not always know what college they attended!  

…..As I was walking down the hall on Tuesday I noticed a first grade class sitting facing a graph on the wall.  The teachers were describing the different career categories and each student got to pick which category they thought that they would like a career in.  It was fun to watch!

…..Meanwhile, in PE students are learning about basketball and about how to dribble different kinds of balls.  During one of the activities a fifth grader observed and remarked that all of the dribbling “sounds like music!”  When I stopped to really listen to it I agreed!  What a great observation!

…..At the end of the PE classes this week I made some time for students to shoot baskets.  While it is not the major objective of the lesson students love it and we are fortunate to have six baskets in my gym.  A fourth grade was leaving PE after having had a few minutes to shoot baskets.  One of the students told me on the way out:  ”I made my first basket today!”  She had a great smile on her face and so did I!

…..As we continued to work on some dribbling activities we played a game called “Dribble Duel”.  Basically this is like a game you may know called “Cleanies and Messies” or “Builders and Bulldozers”.  The idea is to move a bean bag either on top of a cone or underneath it while you are dribbling.  It can be quite challenging and so I was asking a third grade class about their strategy for the game.  They had some fantastic answers.  One student thought that as long as the ball was bouncing he could move the bean bag quickly and then return to dribble and another explained how he kept the dribble going and used his other hand to move the bean bag.  I love that students are using their brains while they are practicing!

…..I have a fifth grade class this year that is particularly good at sportsmanship.  This week they were cheering each other on as small groups were spending some time shooting baskets.  All of a sudden it got very loud and I realized that one group was cheering on their classroom teacher who had come to pick them up and decided to play!

…..One day this week I walked  out of the gymnasium door to get ready to meet a class and saw two people walking down the hall.  I checked to make sure that they had visitors badges and then started to say hello.  Suddenly I realized that one of the visitors was holding a snake!  I reacted by backing up immediately and must have had a very shocked look on my face.  I must admit I am not a snake person and she must have realized that.  She kept walking and said:  “Don’t worry….she’s gentle….”   This was perhaps not the best part of my week but it was certainly the most interesting!  :-)  

…..A second grade class wowed me with their knowledge of basketball after reading the book Swish! by my friend Lynn Hefele.  I asked them to remember the basketball words in the book and then tell me what they meant.  They could explain what a crossover dribble is as well as a jump, stop, and pivot move!

…..As a warm-up this week I have been asking students to practice the PACER running challenge by taking turns with a partner.  It is so hard for elementary students to understand the concept of pacing and when it comes time to do the fitness test later in the year it I want them to have had some time to practice.  After the warm-up we had a nice discussion about the PACER and how it is not helpful to race during the activity.  One of the students had a terrific explanation about why racing is not helpful.  He said that racing wastes energy and that it’s better if you go slower so that you have more energy for later in the activity.  YAY!  He understands and helped his classmates understand too!   

…..I was walking through our main office one day this week and our principal asked me if I had a minute.  Of course I said yes and she asked me if I could explain how I made one of my Fitness Bear books to a friend who was taking a break in the her office.  He was so impressed with the book about Physical Eddie and our trip to Lake Placid to learn about the Winter Olympics.  He was amazed that I had created and written the book and wanted to know how I did it.  I had a great time telling him about the trip and how I uploaded the pictures and created the book using an online resource.  I was so glad that he was enjoying it!

…..At the end of the day on Thursday a student stopped to tell me how many grams of sugar is in a bottle of soda.  He has been reading the food labels and knows that there is too much sugar in soda!

…..On Thursday night I had the pleasure of being a part of the NYS AHPERD SEZ Care to Share event with wonderful professionals who were excited to learn from each other.  We had a great time playing and learning and I left feeling more energized than ever even though my FitBit showed that I had moved more than 27,000 steps that day!  

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 - 2/27/17--3/3/17

Hi everyone,

    As my retirement draws closer people have started asking me if I am counting down the days.  My reply is:  "No, I am just trying to enjoy every day!"  Acknowledging the “Best Parts of My Week” helps me to do just that!  

…..Students were climbing the rock wall for most of this week.  We are very fortunate and have a forty-foot horizontal wall for students to climb.  The entire class can work on the wall at once with spotters and climbers working together as they climb from left to right.  I always start with Trust Leans so that students understand the responsibility of trust and spotting as well as how to spot their climber.  When demonstrating the technique I ask for a student volunteer.  I had so many volunteers!  As the students leaned back and I supported them I knew without a doubt that they were comfortable and trusted me with their safety.  It made me feel good to know that students trust me……..

Basketball Betty enjoyed climbing too! 

…..Students spotted and climbed very well this week!  In fact, I overheard so many positive comments as students finished their turn.  I smiled when I saw students giving each other high fives and then heard comments like:  “Good job spotting!”

…..As I left my house on Tuesday morning February 28th my husband remarked that I should tell my students that they should get a good night’s sleep tonight because tomorrow they will begin a 31 day March!  He is quite the jokester and I laughed and replied that I would share the joke and that I was sure that some of my students would indeed get the joke.  Well, the day was so busy and I forgot about it until my last class, which happened to be a second grade.  I thought I would try it out but thought that I might have to explain the joke.  To my surprise there were quite a few students who laughed right away, others who chuckled after a few seconds as they realized what the joke was, and only a few that I had to explain it to by acting it out and marching!  We had a good laugh to end the day!

…..I made a mistake with Fitness Frankie to Go last Friday and never got him to his host students.  For some reason Friday did not seem like the end of the week because it was a short week due to the President’s Day holiday.  Anyway, I realized my mistake on late Friday afternoon and felt terrible since I know that students look forward to their weekend with him.  Over the weekend I emailed their teachers and came up with a solution to offer them the choice to take Fitness Frankie on Monday and bring him back on Thursday or wait until the next weekend.  Both students accepted the weekday solution and one of my students told me that he was excited to take Fitness Frankie to Karate that evening.  The next day he came back with Fitness Frankie and a terrific picture of he and Fitness Frankie doing push-ups during Karate class! The other student brought Fitness Frankie back right on time with a picture of she and Fitness Frankie enjoying a healthy salad! Physical Activity + Nutrition = "Fitness Frankie Approved!"  

…..A fourth grader made a point of telling me at the beginning of our second day of rock climbing by saying proudly:  ”I’ve improved my climbing!”  When students want to tell me about their achievements it tells me that they know that goals are important and that I want to hear about how they are challenging themselves to meet and exceed their goals!  

…...As part of our rock wall lessons this week I was talking about the areas in the community where students can climb.  We have a few places nearby that have indoor climbing walls and I was surprised at how many students have been there!  We had a great discussion about the differences between our wall and vertical walls and some students voiced their opinions about which they liked better.  I am so happy when students can compare and contrast experiences between PE and their outside activities!

…..During the second day of climbing I added a noodle obstacle course to our wall.  It is a neat addition and requires students to really think about and plan their route.  The climb tends to be slower but definitely more challenging.  Some classes spent time planning and climbed carefully while others needed an incentive to be more careful so as not to knock out the noodles from their holders on the wall.  At some point I decided to add point totals to the climb.  Each climber and spotter started their climb with 20 points and the goal was to get to the end of the wall with as many points as possible.  Knocking a noodle out of the holder meant that the climber had to subtract one point.  Each time they started at the beginning their points reset to 20.  It was amazing how adding those points made such a difference for some classes!  While no winners were declared and there was no competition between climbers students were so proud when they got to the end of the wall with as many points as they did!  

…..A second grader regularly tells me about her physical activities with her family at home.  This week she shared this with me:  ”I’m running a race this year!”  She is so excited!  She is running with her mom and is ready to go!  When families exercise together everyone stays healthy!  

…..I have a few second grade students who always get picked up at the end of the day and since they are dismissed from the gymnasium they usually help me clean up.  This week there was a significant amount of equipment to clean up and while one student was helping me he said:  ”Is it hard to set all this stuff up?”  I answered:  “Yes but it keeps me healthy!”  It was nice that he noticed the effort that it takes to get the gym ready for excitement and learning!

…..As we continued with our “Number Bond” warm-up a  second grader suggested:  “We should count by 2’s!”  We did just that and even extended the challenge to count by 5’s!  I love it when students not only suggest challenges but are also excited by them!

…..A fifth grader came up to me to show me an exercise she was choosing as part of the warm-up and asked:  “Is this an exercise?”  She was doing a combination of jumping jacks and scissor jumps.  I smiled and responded:  “YES!”  We decided to call them Scissor Jacks!

…..My former student who is continuing his Eagle Scout project to create fitness bags and a storage shed is hard at work and the project is really taking shape.  This week I was at school while he was filming some videos for the project.  I am so proud of him and have been enjoying seeing the results of his hard work……..

…..On Friday we had a Healthy Highway assembly to introduce our new road, which is The Road to Your Future.  We decided to encourage students to think about how choices now impact what they may want to do or be in the future and that it is never too late to start thinking about what they want to be when they grow up.  As always, we relate the road to Character Education, Physical Education and Fitness, and Nutrition Education.  My role is usually to discuss the road in terms of Physical Education and Fitness (no surprise there…..).  I spoke to students about this connection and asked students why it is important to their future to exercise now.  One student raised her hand and responded that it was important so that they can become healthy adults.   BINGO!  I am so glad that at this young age they are recognizing the connection!

…..Our schedule is organized around a six day cycle rather than Monday-Friday.  As a result, sometimes Friday is "A" day.  This was the case this past Friday which meant that even though it was the end of the week, we were beginning a new cycle and a new unit.  In the beginning it definitely took awhile to get used to, but we have been doing this for a number of years now and most of the time it goes very smoothly.  That being said, a Friday being a bit like a Monday is always a bit confusing.  At any rate, this past Friday was A day so I began a new cycle of warm-ups and a new unit of ball handling.  The excitement was fantastic!  Students immediately ask if we are playing a game of basketball (we aren’t).  Most understand when I explain to them that if we play 5 v 5 basketball that means that 10 players get to play, everyone else gets to watch, and only one person gets the ball at a time!  We are lucky because I had more than 30 basketballs and playground balls available so that everyone got a chance to have a ball in their hand at the same time!  I happened to have a fourth grade class working on dribbling skills on Friday morning and a colleague walked by, popped her head in, and commented about how much control the students had.  She was impressed by the number of students who were moving safely at the same time and that each one had a ball to work with!  I thought to myself…..Yup!  That’s what we do!  I shared the compliment with the students and their classroom teacher and they were proud of themselves!  

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.