North Park Physical Education

The Best Parts of My Week - 1/23/12-1/27/12

2012-01-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
It was a great week! We are still waiting for snow here in the Northeast.......We are hoping to snowshoe soon!

.....As part of our Healthy Highway program we began "driving" down Consideration Court. My heart smiled when I watched my primary students help each other on the low balance beam......they were certainly being considerate!

.....As part of a warm-up this week, students traveled to different stations to complete a variety of activities. When a group of students arrived at one of the stations, a student said "Yea! Crab kicks!" Another student asked: "Who invented the push-up?"

.....A number of years ago I learned that one of our classrooms used "Butterfly Claps" to show enthusiasm quietly. I adopted the use of "Butterfly Claps" and encourage my students to use them when they are excited about something in PE, especially when they arrive to the gymnasium and see the equipment set up for the day. This week there were many "Butterfly Claps" as students arrived for gymnastics!

.....I had a great discussion this week with some students about quality work. I talked with students about how their teachers display exemplary work on bulletin boards and that during PE class I am looking for a display of exemplary work in their actions. I told students that creating a bulletin board of PE actions is difficult but one of the students suggested that I use photographs of students displaying exemplary work on a bulletin board instead! What a great idea!

.....One of the gymnastics stations this week was the high balance beam. Most students were really excited to climb up and walk on the balance beam, but some were somewhat apprehensive due to the height. I was proud of and honored by the trust that students put in me as I held hands and supported their work on the balance beam!

.....Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie had a great time during gymnastics this week! The classes that were hosting Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie brought them to PE every day and smiled as they balanced on the balance beam!

.....One of my students this week brought in a box of game cards to share with me and the class! He thought I might want to learn some knew games. He was right!

.....At the end of most gymnastics classes, my students and I participate in some cool-down stretches. We count using something I call "share-count stretching". During the stretch, I count one number and the students say the number that comes next. This is always fun as I change my voice during the stretches and students copy my counting voice! Additionally, we count in several different languages! Most students know Spanish (even my kindergarten students!), but when I asked my students if they knew any other languages, they responded enthusiastically and as a result we also learned to count in French, Korean, Arabic, and German!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website if you would like more information about the PE program at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week - 1/16/12--1/20/12

2012-01-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
The school was buzzing this week in anticipation of gymnastics! It was a great week!

.....We had a great week participating in different gymnastics activities! The students are always so excited to begin and I heard many comments this week about how fun PE is!!!!

.....I watched as a third grader patiently tied the shoes of another who needed help after gymnastics......

.....A third grader stopped me in the hall to tell me that he had brought in a healthy snack - trail mix - for his birthday as a treat to share with the class!

.....As I was informing a class that we would be having a Healthy Highway assembly this week, several responded with an enthusiastic fist pump and a "Yesssss!"

.....Some of my third grade friends read their Fitness Frankie journal entry over the PA system this week. They did a terrific job and wistfully said good-bye to Fitness Frankie when they left the office!

.....As I was getting ready for a class early this week, a student stopped by and called in "Hi" to me across the gym. He wanted to tell me about the jobs that he had this week and that he was excited to be coming to PE to participate in gymnastics!

.....I had a t-shirt on this week that says: "Every BODY needs PE!" One of my kindergarten (yes kindergarten) students read my t-shirt and explained to me that PE is good for you because you exercise in PE and it helps you to get healthy!

.....We had a wonderful Healthy Highway assembly this week. We are driving down "Consideration Court" and we challenged students and adults to consider the feelings of others, consider how they take care of themselves and participate fully in the upcoming No Name Calling Week by calling everyone by their first names only.......

.....I am always happy when my students make some connections between Science and Physical Education. I was happy this week when some fifth grade students asked to borrow a heart rate monitor to use in a Science project. The students will be investigating the effect that music has on heart rate!

.....We held a school-wide Fitness Friday activity using our PA system. I took Fitness Frankie to a fifth grade class to exercise. We had a great time! On the way back I chatted with another student and asked if he had a good time during Fitness Friday. He had a big smile on his face as he answered YES!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website if you would like more information about the PE program at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week - 1/9/12-1/13/12

2012-01-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
It has felt more like Spring than Winter lately......we are hoping for some snow! I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....During a warm-up with a 5th grade class this week, I overheard one of the students say to a friend while jogging "pull-over..." In and of itself, this phrase is not exciting, but since our school is a Healthy Highway school, it was great to hear students using the "traffic lingo" too!

.....As I was walking down the hallway one morning this week I greeted one of my students who said: "I can't wait for PE today!" That made me smile!

.....During another warm-up with one of my classes this week, students were jump roping and a student called me over to show me her performance of the "double-under". This is a difficult move and one that takes a great deal of practice to master. As I was watching her I thought about how far these students have come in their jump rope skills.........I always teach them that practice helps you get better and it is nice to see that hard work pay off!

.....One of my third grade classes were participating in a game this week and one of the activities was jumping jacks. One of the students called me over to show me a new variation on jumping jacks and said: "This is a re-mix!"

.....A new student arrived this week and when the student's class came to PE, one of the other students took the time to introduce me!

.....Near the end of this week we began our gymnastics unit. We are so very fortunate to have a wonderful set-up for gymnastics which includes multiple balance beams, bars, wedge and other mats, vaulting boards and a beautiful carpeted floor for many activities. I am always grateful for the equipment we have and despite the work that it takes to set everything up, I am excited to begin the unit. My students were so excited this week as they saw the gym transformed! Many teachers commented on how gymnastics was the main topic of excitement during the day! The faces on the kindergarten students were especially priceless as they walked into the gym to see all of the equipment set up for the first time!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website if you would like more information about the PE program at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week - 1/3/12-1/6/12

2012-01-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
Could it really be 2012? My career began in January of 1984, so I have officially started my 29th year of teaching! To say it has gone by fast is an understatement.......I feel like I still have so much to do! When you have such great moments to reflect on, time seems to fly by!

.....I tried a new parachute activity this week called the "washing machine". During the activity, students pretend to be the clothes under the parachute and the other students make the parachute move in specific movements to wash, rinse, and spin-dry the clothes! I had fun with my students during this activity! During one class I asked the "clothes" (students) how they were doing under the parachute. One student remarked "clothes can't talk!" Of course, he said this with a grin and I smiled too!

.....My upper elementary students were playing a game that I created using that uses pedometers and chips. Based on the number of steps that students logged during a particular exercise, they put chips in a cup. At the end of the activity we compared the exercises based on the number of chips in each cup. The visual of the chips in the cup helped students to make the connection, but when I asked "does this make sense?" - they all agreed!

.....My primary students used dice this week to complete a warm-up. Their task was to roll the dice and then use the number to perform an exercise of their choosing. I was impressed at the choices that they made! Kindergarten students in particular came up with terrific exercises; including abdominal and upper body exercises! As I walked around the gym and commented on some of the exercises I noticed a kindergarten student who repeated several push-ups. I asked her if she liked push-ups and she said: "not really, but I figure if I get better at them maybe I will like them more!" I must repeat - a kindergarten student actually said this!!!

.....A second grade teacher commented to me that when her class was beginning a Science unit, she asked her students if they had heard the term "energy" before. One of her students answered that she had heard of the word energy in PE class!

.....During a parachute activity with my primary students I used number spots that were shaken on the parachute. Students were asked to add up the numbers that were facing up when we stopped shaking the parachute. I was impressed with their math skills as they added up the numbers!

.....As classes were lined up ready for their teachers to pick them up this week I asked if students had eaten healthy snacks during vacation. Students readily volunteered the snacks that they had eaten. Some of the answers I heard were: grapes, apples, clementines, carrots, bananas, and more!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website if you would like more information about the PE program at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week - 12/19/11-12/23/11

2011-12-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
The week before Christmas is always exciting! We had some wonderful events to celebrate the season!

.....My primary students had fun playing "Save the Turkeys!" Students ride scooters to save foam turkeys from the "Turkey Gobblers"! When it was one of the students turn to be the Turkey Gobbler, she was so happy she said: "Excitement, Excitement!" We added some math to the activity as we counted how many turkeys were saved! When it was time to clean up and I asked students to share, one pair of students shared one turkey together - one hand each - and exclaimed: "We shared!"

.....My older students had a ball playing "Scooter Blitz" this week. It was fun watching as the students figured out strategies to defend their bowling pins as well as knock down the opposing team's pins!

.....I smiled as one of my students presented me with an origami bird he had learned to make in art class!

.....A colleague shared this week that she had read an article in the NY Times about childhood obesity and what schools can do to teach students how to make healthy choices. I was pleased when she said that we were on the right track at North Park because we were doing exactly what the article suggested!

.....We made it snow in the gymnasium this week! Well, not really, but it was fun pretending to make it snow by tapping white balloons up and down in the air to some holiday music about snow and winter!

.....One of the lasting legacies of a former music teacher who has since passed away is an event called "The Brotherhood Pageant". This event was started more than 25 years ago and is intended as an event to give to those less fortunate than ourselves. Students and adults donate food and sing holiday songs in a school-wide event. We had a wonderful time during our Brotherhood Pageant this week and it was nice to see alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends attend as well!

.....We ended the week with an event called Winter Workshops. Our principal came up with this idea several years ago as a way to celebrate the season in a way that would include all children and make a productive last day before the winter break. More than 25 workshops are offered during the day and range from cookie making to making healthy snacks to chess, yoga, making holiday ornaments and more! A colleague of mine and I conducted a Circus Acts workshop and we had a terrific time! I had an opportunity to visit some of the other workshops during the day and students were enjoying them all! It was a great way to end the week and begin the celebration!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website if you would like more information about the PE program at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week - 12/12/11-12/16/11

2011-12-18T16:25:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
On Friday afternoon I had logged over 71,000 steps for the week! It was a busy one, but definitely a fun one!

.....A third grader was using a heart rate monitor and suddenly said: "Look at my heart beating!"

.....We have many wonderful adults who work in our building as aides. As one class was leaving PE this week and choosing a face to answer the question: "Did you help out in PE today?" an aide in the class answered it to! She chose the happy face because she was a great help!

.....I have begun to create a PE portfolio for my second grade students this year. I have been talking to students about the portfolio and the kinds of things that will be a part of it. I recently had created the file with all of the students names in individual files and this week students had completed a Rock Wall Safety Test to be put in the portfolio. I showed the students the box and their reaction was "Oooooh!" They were very excited!

.....Our upper grades finished their lessons on the rock wall this week with a number climb. Climbers chose a number from a cup and then had to climb to the next number randomly placed on the wall. Groups of three took turns being the climber, spotter, and recorder. Recorders wrote down all of the numbers on a white board and at the end of class worked together to add up the numbers. I was impressed at the excitement that a combination of Math and PE could create!

.....My primary students have moved on to lessons learning about levels. During one of the activities, a student smiled and said: "My cat jumps in a high level!" Another activity to reinforce the concept of levels is called the "Zany Zoo". Students choose cards with animals and then pretend to be that animal in a zoo ring that I had created out of noodles. One student said this week "Look! The animals are escaping from the zoo!"

.....I asked two students to help me this week put the rock wall mats back in place so I could get ready for my afternoon classes. I smiled when they reminisced about the lesson that was set up for the younger students coming that afternoon. They remembered fondly the lesson from a previous year and were happy to help!

.....A bean bag frog landed on a student's head during an activity and as she was giggling about it I commented on how silly it was to have a frog land on your head. She replied: "Yes, that's why I'm laughing!"

.....Exercise Ernie spent the week in a K-1 class and participated in PE several times this week. One of the days that he was in the gymnasium, a first grader noticed that "PE Paddy"(Fitness Frankie's friend from Ireland) was out and asked if PE Paddy and Ernie could play together!

.....Fitness Frankie spent the week in a 5th grade class. On Friday I was in the library and asked the students how he was as I hadn't seen him all week because it was so busy. A group of students chatted with me about all of the activities that he had participated in during the week. He was as busy as I was this week!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website if you would like more information about the PE program at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week! 12/5/11--12/9/11

2011-12-11T17:00:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,
The holidays are approaching and the excitement is building!

.....I was in the lunch line this week when a kindergarten student turned to me and said: "I always eat a healthy lunch"!

.....Prior to using the climbing wall with my upper elementary classes, we engaged in a trust lean activity. This activity requires a significant amount of trust on my part as well as on the part of my students. I take the lesson seriously and expect that of my students as well. When I asked for a volunteer in one of my classes, I was happy to see many hands go up. I chose one student to help me demonstrate the trust lean. I was so pleased at the trust this student placed in me as we showed the rest of the class how to do the trust lean......when the rest of the class participated in the activity, I was pleased at the trust they placed in each other!

......We continued to climb our rock wall this week. We have a magnetic rock wall and a set of letters that I can add to the wall randomly or in words. One of the upper elementary classes asked "Are we spelling words today? That's fun!" Some students spelled their names, others read the words that I had made and yet another student spelled the word "pixy"! I think it's great that students want to spell and it is a great way to create an interdisciplinary approach to our Cooperative Activities unit!

.....We had our Winter Concert at school this week! For many of the students it is the first time that they have performed in front of a large group. We have wonderful music teachers who always have the students ready to perform and they did a great job! I always enjoy seeing the students in a different light and I am proud of how hard they (and their teachers) worked and I am impressed with their talent!

.......One of the things that makes North Park so amazing is how we come together as a community to work hard to make our school the best it can be and help others in need. This week our North Park family did both and I was proud to be a part of it...........

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website if you would like more information about the PE program at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week - 11/28/11-12/2/11

2011-12-04T15:57:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,
These are some of the best parts of my week! I hope you enjoy!

.....I delivered Exercise Ernie to a kindergarten classroom this week. They were so excited!

.....Even though I have been teaching for 28 years, I am always looking for new ideas and new things to try. By doing this, I continue to learn and grow, and my students benefit from the new ideas and excitement as well! This week I tried two new activities. One of them I learned from PE Central, and the other as a result of attendance at the recent NYS AHPERD conference. One of the new lessons: Scooter Ships, was so much fun that students talked about the activity all afternoon. Before I knew it, I was adding "Space" music and using earth balls and asteroid balls as obstacles! The other: Noodle Bit Poppers, was enjoyed by all!

.....As a culminating activity to our Cooperative Activities Unit, students use the rock wall and older students learn to spot each other as they climb. When classes arrived this week and saw that the rock wall was open, they screamed with excitement!

.....A fifth grade class was working together to create a "pipeline" so that various objects could travel through it. I was especially proud of the perseverance that students showed and two students in particular were proud of their accomplishment even though it was difficult. When I asked them how it felt when they accomplished the goal, they smiled wide and said: "Awesome!"

.....I smiled when a student smiled at me this week and said: "I made a new friend today!"

.....We held a school-wide Fitness Friday activity this week where I played a song over the PA system and students exercised. I saw a kindergarten student in the hallway after we finished and she said with a smile: "I'm worn out! I need a drink!"

.....After Fitness Friday, I received an e-mail from a teacher who was happy to share that a student in her class who had been reluctant to participate in Fitness Friday as well as other activities, willingly participated without prompting and even volunteered to be the "Monkey" who decided on the exercise while friends followed along!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website if you would like more information about the PE program at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week 11/21/11-11/25/11

2011-11-27T15:59:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,
It was a short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday and Parent/Teacher Conferences. I am always asking my students to show their "Attitude of Gratitude" so I thought I would show my gratitude this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving and pause to give thanks......
I am thankful for.....

.....the 50th day of school during which we celebrated with a 50's style Sock Hop!

.....the amazing colleagues that I have the pleasure of working with every day.

.....the hard working, curious, funny, talented, smart, helpful, caring students that I have the good fortune to be able to teach every day.

.....a wonderful gymnasium to teach in.

.....beautiful fields to play on.

.....terrific equipment to use that provides great learning experiences for my students.

.....a loving family that supports me in my work.

.....technology that I love to use every day!

.....a supportive administration that believes in the importance of Physical Education!

.....Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie!

.....Healthy Highway!

.....the many PE professionals that I have met on my journey.

.....the opportunity to learn and grow every day!!!

Thanks for reading about the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Learn more about our PE program by visiting the North Park PE Website!

The Best Parts of My Week 11/14/11--11/18/11

2011-11-23T06:23:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,
It was a week of challenges and triumphs.......and my friends and family supported me during both!

.....I spent most of the week at the NYS AHPERD Conference. This conference is held annually and is a wonderful chance to learn new things and to grow professionally. I was thrilled to be able to present several sessions at this conference with colleagues and I am always happy to meet new people and learn from their experiences as well. This conference was special because I was honored to be receiving an award from NYS AHPERD. From the beginning of the conference I felt welcome and special. I had great fun with Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie at the conference too! Everyone who meets them loves them! They are truly ambassadors for healthy choices! At the end of the conference, my friends and my family - my Pit Crew - helped me celebrate. In fact, my two best friends surprised me by coming to the dinner unannounced! It was an amazing surprise!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website and the new North Park PE Website for more information about our program!

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

2011-11-23T06:03:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,
I hope you enjoy reading about the Best Parts of My Week! I would love to hear about yours! E-mail me at northparkpe@yahoo.com!

.....I was discussing cooperation with my younger students and I asked them how they should react when their partner makes a mistake. One student raised his hand and said: "We should help them".........wouldn't it be great if we all reacted that way? It was a great opportunity to reinforce the idea that good teammates help each other learn......

.....One day this week I heard a spontaneous reaction from a student on the way in to PE class: "I LOVE GYM!" It made me smile!

.....Recently the NYC Marathon was held. One of my students was very proud that his dad had run in the marathon and he was thrilled to tell me about it. He actually brought in his dad's medal to show me!

.....I had a great opportunity to attend and present at the SEZ of NYS AHPERD Election Day conference this week. I am so fortunate to be able to participate in some wonderful professional development during the year. It's always a great chance to meet some passionate professionals and to learn some new ideas! I can't wait to try out some of the new things I learned! Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie attended too! They were a hit!

.....The weather here in the Northeast has been unusually warm lately. I took some of my classes outside this week and I was suddenly struck by how beautiful our play area is and how lucky we are to have such great spaces to play and work in!

.....I was walking in the hallway and met up with some students who asked how many steps I had on my pedometer so far. I tell my students that I wear my pedometer all week and like to get a weekly total so I do not reset it until Monday morning. When I told my students how many steps I had walked so far this week they looked surprised so I also said: "I move a lot!" One of the students replied with a smile: "I can see that!"

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website and the new North Park PE Website for more information about our program!

Visit a preview of the new North Park PE website!

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

2011-11-06T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
We started the week in October and now it's already November! Our school is "traveling" down Pride Path and we are encouraging our students to take "Pride" in everything they do........I am so proud of my students as they show me that they have the "Courage to do the right thing"!

.....As my fifth graders were playing a game in partnerships, I noticed one student shake hands and wish each new partner "Good Luck"!

.....I played a cooperative game called Moon Ball with my fifth graders this week. This game requires students to work together to keep a special balloon ball up in the air with as many hits as possible in a row. In my many years of playing this game, I have never seen the cooperation, teamwork, fairness, and communication that one class in particular showed during this game. It was absolutely amazing!

.....At the end of the day, one student took the time to ask me "And how was your day today?"

.....After school one day this week three former students came to visit! As one of the students entered the gymnasium, he said "I told you I would come back to visit!" It was great to see them!

.....One of the activities we played this week involved students acting as different objects and animals. One of the levels in the game required students to act as eggs. While giving directions, I cautioned the students to be careful and move safely around their classmates. I said that we did not want to see any "scrambled eggs"! They (well, most) laughed!

.....We have a great opportunity to use pedometers on a daily basis with my students in grades 3-5. I smiled when I noticed that one of my students wears his own pedometer on a daily basis too!

.....I happened to be in the office when two kindergarten students came in to drop off the "North Park EZ-PASS" that they had earned during recess. This pass is given for good behavior and allows students to go to the front of the line for lunch in the cafeteria. These students were all smiles and very proud of themselves! I was too and showed my pride with a "high five"!

.....While getting milk for my lunch this week I was in the cafeteria line when a kindergarten student chose carrots instead of noodles when asked by the cafeteria staff. I was proud of his choice and told him that carrots were a healthy choice. He was proud too!

.....At the end of the week my kindergarten students were working together to build towers using foam bricks. These towers are built with one student holding the base of the tower while another student builds on top of the base. The towers inevitably fall and we talk about how good teammates react in those situations. I was reminded of the pure joy of play when one of my students laughed the biggest "belly laugh" I have heard in quite awhile each time the tower fell. I could not help but laugh myself!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website for more information about our program!

Visit a preview of the new North Park PE website!

The Best Parts of My Week 10/24/11-10/28/11I have recently

2011-10-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
It was a great week with many great moments! 28 years of teaching and I am still experiencing some things for the first time!

..... I had a great opportunity to go on a field trip with the 5th graders and their teachers to the Walkway Over the Hudson this week. This is an amazing walkway over the Hudson River. It was created as a restoration of a local train bridge and has spectacular views of the river and our beautiful Mid-Hudson Valley. It was the first time I had been on the Walkway and the views and experience did not disappoint! Students wore pedometers and made step count predictions ahead of time. They were excited to use our pedometers in a "real world" way! To be honest, I am not a fan of heights, so I was a little nervous about the trip, but my fears were calmed by the students' excitement, our ambassador's enthusiasm, and walkway's amazing views! Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie were in attendance as well and they were just as excited as we all were! This experience was a truly interdisciplinary one as Math, Science, Physical Education, Library Research, and Social Studies were all a part of the experience! Click this link to view some pictures!

.....After the Walkway field trip, Exercise Ernie and Fitness Frankie spent the week in two different third grade classes. During the week my third graders were sure to keep me posted as to their adventures! They both spent some time in PE class, but also enjoyed Art and classroom adventures!

......As my primary students were getting to know each other during our cooperative unit, I asked students to ask a friend "What is your favorite dinner?" One student answered: "Popcorn Shrimp!"

.....During another cooperative activity with my primary students, I challenged classes to fit as many students in as few hoops as possible during a game called "How Low Can You Go?" I was impressed as students were able to fit 18-20 students in just 2-3 hoops! (-safely of course!) It was great to see them including everyone!

.....As a result of my membership in the Southeastern Zone of NYSAHPERD, I had the opportunity this week to participate in a Care to Share event at Manhattanville College. I had fun sharing the game "Pigs in a Blanket", but it was even more fun sharing the experience with those preparing to become PE teachers!

.....I have recently begun a Cooperative Education unit with my students in grades K-5. I love this unit and always learn from it, even as I see the same activities create different outcomes year after year. This week my students in grades 3-5 played a game called "Scrunchie Tag". This game requires students to "donate" scrunchies to those who are out of scrunchies. At the conclusion of the game I ask students to relate how they felt when helping others, or when being helped. One of my students this week shared that it was more important to him to give away his last scrunchie rather than keep it for himself. THAT is the power of Cooperative Education!

.....My primary students participated in an "Alphabet Stretch" warm-up this week. During the week I changed the letters that students were creating. Later in the week the letters became more challenging and one of the letters that students were asked to create by stretching their bodies was the letter "Q". I smiled when I saw one of my kindergarten students making a terrific "Q" using one of his feet up in the air "just so" for the tail of the letter! Another student said "Look at my i!" He used his hand above his head as the dot!

.....I invited the 4th and 5th grade students to the gymnasium for Fitness Friday this week. We played UNO Fitness and danced the Cha Cha Slide. It was so much fun to see students working hard and having fun! Click this link to view pictures of some of our Fitness Friday pictures!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website for more information about our program!

Visit a preview of the new North Park PE website!

The Best Parts of My Week - 10/17/11--10/21/11

2011-10-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
It was a week to take a step back and appreciate the little things that can be easily taken for granted........

.....After playing a game with my kindergarten students called "Clean Up Your Backyard", one of my students commented while cleaning up at the end of class: "Oh look, we are recycling!"

.....One of the reasons that I like the game "Clean Up Your Backyard" is that it allows for some reinforcement of Math practice with my primary students. Students were counting and I was adding up the "garbage" on each side of the "fence" when one of my first graders offered to do the Math. He did a great job! He was 100% accurate!

.....Although I have been playing the game "Clean Up Your Backyard" for many years, I attended a conference last fall and went to a session about this game. Lynn Hefele, a PE teacher, wrote a book to accompany the game. I bought the book and added it to my lesson. It was terrific and my students loved it! Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie played too! One of the objects of the game is to aim for balloons that represent trees. One of my students hit the ribbon holding up the balloon and commented: "I hit a branch!"Visit Lynn's website at LEPE, inc. for more information about this book and game.

.....While outside with my upper elementary students this week, we had the opportunity to play one-on-one soccer games. It was a beautiful Fall week and we have such wonderful fields on which to play. It was hard not to be grateful.......

.....I watched has students in several classes this week assisted others in need of help for shoe tying. The students who helped did so willingly and without looking for thanks in return.....

.....I invited some second and third grade students to the gymnasium on Friday for a Fitness Friday activity. We had a great time with UNO Fitness and the Cupid Shuffle. A new faculty member joined in for the first time and said: "What a great way to start the day!" I agree!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park Physical Education website for more information about our program.

The Best Parts of My Week 10/11/11--10/14/11

2011-10-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
The days and weeks are flying by! It's hard to believe that we are halfway through October already! I wonder if time flies by as quickly for our students as it does for the adults in our building........

.....We had the opportunity to be outside participating in some soccer activities early this week. One of my second graders said "I used to play soccer, but I retired."

.....I had the pleasure of listening to a fifth grader read Fitness Frankie's journal entry for the week he spent in their class. She read with such great expression and enthusiasm I could have sworn that Fitness Frankie himself was speaking! My principal continues to remind me: "You know he is just a bear, right?" I am not so sure.........

.....I am always inspired by the kindness that I witness at the most unusual moments during the day. Several students this week definitely showed the "Courage to do the right thing" by being kind and helpful to other students who benefited greatly from their kindness. I had the pleasure of sharing this behavior with their classroom teacher. All involved were proud!

.....We held our October Healthy Highway assembly this week and introduced our new "characters". Courageous Carlos and Courageous Cassie are the newest addition to what we call "The Pride of North Park"! They are lions that will help our students with courage! The students and staff were all smiles and laughter as they lions made their debut! At the end of the assembly one of our fifth grade classes volunteered to dance our Healthy Highway dance on stage. They did a great job and are wonderful leaders in our school!

.....October is Fire Safety Month and we have a wonderful fire department that comes to our school each year to teach fire safety to our students. It is always an exciting day and I had an opportunity to take some kindergarten students to see the fire trucks. They were in awe of the firefighters and the equipment. We are so fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers keeping us safe!

....As a result of Fire Safety Day, I was not able to use the gymnasium and the weather did not cooperate so I spent the day in the music room playing Uno Fitness and Speedstacks with my classes. When a kindergarten class arrived, one of the students said: "I thought you were the gym teacher!" When I responded that I indeed am the PE teacher, he said: "Then what are you doing in here?"

.....Speedstacks are very popular with my students and we enjoy using them during the school year. Kindergarten students are just beginning to use them by building creatively. One student said to another when he was building: "You know the bigger the bottom, the higher you can build". I thought that this was quite a concept to understand at five years old! Maybe he will be an architect or an engineer someday - who knows??????

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!

Please visit the North Park PE Website for more information about our program.

The Best Parts of My Week - 10/3/11-10/7/11

2011-10-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
We are enjoying the changing of the seasons here in the Northeast, but one thing that never changes is that there are many great moments during the week! Enjoy!

.....Exercise Ernie's journal entry was read by an enthusiastic first grader during morning announcements! It sounded like Ernie himself were reading!

.....One of our fifth grade classes took care of Fitness Frankie this week. They were just as happy as the kindergarten students to have him in their class! They helped him draw a picture in art and brought him to PE class with a pear! His blog will be updated soon!

.....At our faculty meeting on Monday my director presented me with a beautiful hand-made plaque in recognition of my NYS Elementary PE Teacher of the Year Award.....Words are not enough to say thank you. I continue to be overwhelmed...........

.....One of my kindergarten students brought in apples as healthy treat for his birthday celebration and brought me one too!

.....My primary students were creating obstacle courses this week. I was impressed at the creativity of many of my students. Each group used the same equipment, but there were so many creative ideas that I had not even thought of! Two of my kindergarten friends who were working together told me: "We made it so that we could go at the same time!....." They have already learned how to Play Fair!

.....As a warm-up activity this week, younger students were moving throughout the gymnasium as they found letters on the floor to spell words. Some spelled their name, others spelled a word on their spelling list. One second grade student told me he spelled "Photosynthesis"and another told me he spelled "Jump Rope for Heart!"

.....I was waiting for a class to be picked up from PE this week and I said to the third grade class: "I guess you will have to stay with me all day!" They responded enthusiastically "YEAH!" It doesn't get much better than that!

.....At the end of this week I had a wonderful opportunity to present two sessions at the Central South Zone of NYS AHPERD Mini-Conference at SUNY Cortland. It was a great experience! I am a SUNY Cortland graduate and it was a real treat to be back! As I was setting up for my session in the gymnasium, I had a moment to myself to be truly thankful for the journey that I have been on since my days at SUNY Cortland. I met some wonderful PE Majors and PE Professionals! Thanks to the CSZ for inviting me!

I hope you enjoyed reading about the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park Physical Education Website for more information about our program.

The Best Parts of My Week - 9/26/11--9/30/11

2011-10-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

September flew by! It's hard to believe that we have been in school for a month already! The leaves are starting to fall and we are enjoying the cooler weather! I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....This week students in the primary grades were learning a warm-up during which small groups take turns jogging around our "Rainbow Track". Each color starts in a different place, so I always remind students to "look both ways" before they enter and exit the track. Students take this direction seriously and I always smile when I see them doing it. One student was standing still in the middle of the track during her turn and turning her head from side to side. Other students jogged around her, and I went over to her to ask why she was standing still. She replied "You told me to look both ways!"

.....I had the pleasure of bringing Exercise Ernie down to a K-1 class this week as it was their turn to take care of him. They were so excited! Each time they attended PE, they brought him to the gymnasium. One kindergarten student proudly announced that they were teaching him how to eat healthy snacks!

.....I was touched this week when I saw a kindergarten student spontaneously go to another student to help with an activity. The student was having difficulty getting started and the other student went over quietly and helped without looking for any special thanks........

.....After Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie spend time in a classroom, students from that classroom read about their adventures to the school using our PA system. After two students read about Exercise Ernie's adventure this week they were walking back to their classroom when another student from their classroom stopped them and told them what a great job they did! He was so sincere and the students were beaming!

.....I have talked from time to time about how I enjoy doing bus duty at the end of the day. I often get to chat with students and ask about their day. This year I am assigned to the students who are being picked up. One student arrived to the gymnasium for dismissal and began doing jumping jacks! Her enthusiasm was infectious and soon the whole group was doing them!

.....I had the pleasure of moving some class PE cars down the road for classes that were doing a great job during PE. The students in the class were very excited and began using their "butterfly claps" to show how happy they were! Butterfly claps are quiet claps of fingers coming together. It is a great way for students to show enthusiasm and excitement without a tremendous amount of noise. It is always great to see them!

..... We had a great Fitness Friday this week! I invited some classes to the gymnasium for a Fitness Friday activity. Many of the students were from the kindergarten classes and had never been to a Fitness Friday activity in the gymnasium. They were so excited! It was clear that they did not know what to expect at first, and they realized quickly how much fun they were going to have! Me too!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park Physical Education Website for more information about our program!

The Best Parts of My Week - 9/19/11-9/23/11

2011-09-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
What a week! We are in full swing! I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie were ready to go at the beginning of the week! They were assigned to classrooms this week and the cheers from the classrooms that were picked this week were terrific! I had the pleasure of bringing Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie to their respective classrooms and the smiles from students and teachers alike warmed my heart!

.....Exercise Ernie came to PE this week with the class that was taking care of him. They were very proud to show him what PE is all about!

.....Early in the school year I teach a lesson to my primary students called "The Incredible Shrinking Gymnasium". It is a fun lesson that helps to teach students how to move safely in spaces of varying sizes and shapes. I always have fun pretending that the gymnasium is indeed shrinking and laughed out loud this week when my second grade class played right along by touching the imaginary wall and agreeing with me that the walls had moved!

.....We are very fortunate to have some great equipment for our program. This week I assigned pedometers to my students in grades 3-5 and began some introductory lessons on how to use them. They were so excited!

.....Tuesday and Wednesday nights were "Meet the Teacher" nights at my school. These nights are always a great chance to meet new parents, catch up with current parents, and talk about our PE program!
Exercise Ernie got into the act as well! Students in his class wrote notes to their parents about their classroom and included Exercise Ernie in the news! I had some wonderful conversations with parents and, as has happened in the last few years, talked with some new parents who were also my former students!

.....During one of my lessons this week I was inviting students to challenge themselves. One of my first graders said: "I love a challenge! It makes me smarter!"

.....As one of my classes arrived this week one of my first grade friends said: "Looking good Mrs. Robelee!" It made my day!

.....While waiting for a teacher to pick up her class this week our librarian across the hall needed some help with a dry erase board. I suggested a dry erase cleaner and offered her some that I had. One of my students said: "You share with everyone, don't you......" It made me feel good that he noticed some simple acts of kindness.......

.....During a lesson challenge with one class this week, one student began chanting: "Never Give Up! Never Give Up!" It caught on and soon everyone in the class was saying the same thing!

.....Every day I am thankful to be a part of North Park School. This week, the support from my colleagues was especially touching.......thank you to all........

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park Physical Education Website for more information about our program!

The Best Parts of My Week 9/12/11-9/16/11

2011-09-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Well, it was the first full week back to school and it was a week full of "best parts!" I hope you enjoy!

.....We began the week with our first North Park Healthy Highway assembly of the year! It was great fun! I was impressed at what the students remembered from last year's program and the fact that everyone seems excited to continue our journey down the Healthy Highway! Fitness Frankie shared his summer adventure with everyone and Exercise Ernie arrived to smiles and laughter! I am always proud of how our building comes together, students and staff alike, to embrace the programs provided!

.....I was introducing the PE Rules of the Road to my kindergarten students this week. I explained that classes would have the opportunity to earn their "PE Driver's License" and I showed them the road on the wall that class PE cars would travel down this year. At the end of the road there are two paper trophies to signify where students complete a lap. One of the kindergarten students asked what they were. Another student immediately answered "oh, that's the Piston Cup!"

.....Several of my classes earned their "PE Driver's License" this week after learning and demonstrating the PE Rules of the Road. They were very excited to receive their class car and it encouraged other classes to work hard to earn their "PE Driver's License" too!

.....One of my students this week stopped to tell me that her class was making very healthy choices in the cafeteria this week! She thought I should know about it and I was happy to hear it!

.....We have decided to add the Healthy Highway Pledge to our existing North Park Pledge that students say every morning during our morning announcements. I thought it would be a neat idea to make pledge cards and have the students sign the pledge by class. It was great to see the students embrace this idea and the pledge cards look great!

.....We recently had several retirements in my school. One of my students asked me this week how many more years it would be before I retired. I responded: "I am having too much fun to retire!" She agreed that my job was indeed fun, unless I had to send someone to the "Stop and think about it" center!

.....Fitness Frankie was given a gift by our friends who traveled this summer with us and enjoyed his adventure as well. The gift was a small bear from Dublin, Ireland who we named "PE Paddy". I had him hanging around the gymnasium this week and several students recognized him from Fitness Frankie's summer adventure pictures and were excited to see him!

.....At the end of the week two of my students enjoyed a birthday and instead of cupcakes, brought in a healthy alternative snack as a treat. At North Park, students who do this earn a "Fit Kids" bracelet and earn one mile for their class. The two students were in the same class and were telling me about the healthy treats they brought for the class. I gave them their bracelets and one other student raised his hand and told me that for his birthday he was going to bring in his grandma's home-made, whole grain chips. I said that sounded great and I asked him when his birthday was. He responded: "April!" I guess he is planning ahead!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park Physical Education Website for more information about our program!

The Best Parts of My Week......9-6-11--9-9-11

2011-09-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
School is back in session! It was a great week of smiles, new sneakers, and excitement! I hope you enjoy the Best Parts of My Week!

Since it is the beginning of the school year, I would like to remind everyone of the origins of this blog. This blog was created as a way to celebrate those wonderful moments that happen every week in my school. The name came from an experience with my principal when she first began her career at my school. As we were getting to know each other in that first year, she would frequently ask me (and others) "What was the best part of your day?" That question helped me to recall the very best parts of each day. It is so easy to dwell on what goes wrong each day or what part of each day is less than perfect. However, if I have learned anything during my lifetime, it is that every day is truly a gift and if we take the time to think about it, every day has at least one (usually more) beautiful moment. This blog is my attempt to remember, communicate, and celebrate those moments......

.....Each year before the students arrive, our district holds a Superintendent's Conference Day during which we prepare for the upcoming year. It is always fun to see friends and colleagues and share the excitement of the new school year!

.....The first day of school with students is always exciting! I had the opportunity to greet students as they arrived while I was taking pictures for our school website. It was a very rainy day, but despite the rain, students were happy to begin the new year and many greeted me with a hug! One student even shared with me how she exercised during the summer!

.....I was greeted one morning by a colleague who presented me with a "Savannah" bear! She and her family spent time in Savannah. Georgia this summer and thought Fitness Frankie would like a friend! I was touched by her thoughtfulness!

.....For some reason the yellow jackets in our area have been particularly aggressive this year and we have had a problem with them in my gymnasium. As a result, I had to take my students outside for PE at the end of the week. Since we are just getting started, I took some kindergarten students out to the playground and we reviewed the rules before they played on the equipment. One particular student was apprehensive to use the "twisty" slide. This is a tubular slide that twists as it descends. I asked her why she was afraid and she responded that the slide was fast and dark. I told her that she could use her feet as brakes and that I would be at the bottom of the slide for her if she wanted to try it. She agreed and, after making sure that I was indeed at the bottom of the slide, she came down the slide with a huge smile and laugh! She continued using the slide for the rest of the period, and thanked me at the end of the class for helping her!

.....A first grade student using the playground during that same day told me that he was proud of himself for being able to use a particular piece of the equipment that required a significant amount of upper body strength. He said "I just had to believe in myself!" Don't we all?????

.....I would be remiss if I did not share these last experiences as some of the best parts of my week. I am honored to have recently been named the 2011 NYS Elementary PE Teacher of the Year by NYS AHPERD. I am humbled by this award and have a difficult time sharing the news myself, but my principal was kind enough to share that news with our faculty during our opening day. I was overwhelmed by their kind words and congratulatory hugs. One of our teachers decided to share this news with her class and they responded enthusiastically! As her students arrived to PE this week I received a round of applause and some wonderful cards! One of the cards said: "I always knew you could do it!"; and another said: "I am so lucky to have you as my PE teacher!" This brought tears of happiness to my eyes.........It does not get any better than that! I am truly grateful! I am looking forward to a wonderful year!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park PE Website for more information about my program.

The Best Parts of My Week....6/20/11-6/24/11

2011-06-27T07:46:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

Well, it was the last week of school and there was happiness and celebration in the air along with some sadness for those who were retiring or moving on to middle school.......

.....Early in the week I gave a third grade class some activity choices during their last PE class for the year. Some of the students played kickball. On the way inside, one of the students said: "That was a lot of fun because everyone was cheering for each other!" This is a class that has been quite competitive this year so I was very happy to hear that the outcome of the game was less important than cheering for each other!

.....I had a great visit with a former student this week! We had a great chat and she filled me in on what was going on in her life, but she also was interested in what was going on at North Park! It's always fun to have visitors and catch up! We had several visitors this week as the middle school students were finished with exams. I was happy to see them all!

.....Our kindergarten students participate in a celebration of their first year of school that involves student-made sunflowers and lots of smiles! The celebration was held this week and I was able to attend and take some pictures. Every student receives an award that is carefully planned by his/her teacher. It was wonderful to reflect on how much these students have grown this year! I congratulated one of the students later on and he said that he was happy to have seen me in the audience! He thought I might be late!

.....Our 5th grade students participate in a moving up ceremony as they will move on to middle school next year. It is always a wonderful celebration filled with happiness, but also some sadness. I am always thrilled for the students as they have worked hard to accomplish many goals, but I am always sad to say goodbye. As Special Area teachers, we have the unique privilege to be a part of these students education for six years in a row and we feel connected to their education in a special way.......I guess that's why it's so great when they come back to visit!

.....Our wonderful PTA provides a special breakfast for our 5th grade students on the last day of school to celebrate their elementary school experience. It has become a tradition in the recent past to put together a slide show that students watch during the breakfast. This slide show contains pictures of these students participating in various activities during the year. I was asked if I had some pictures of Field Day to contribute to the slide show and of course I said Yes! (I take literally thousands of pictures each year for the school and PE website.) After I had contributed these pictures I decided to look for more pictures for the show. I had fun looking for pictures of these students in past years and found quite a few to add to the show. I was struck by how much they had grown in a relatively short period of time! The PTA moms who made the show were very appreciative and not only added a slide saying "Club PE Rocks! We will miss you Mrs. R!", but they also made me a copy of the slide show!

.....I am always touched by the thank you notes and gifts that students and families so generously give to me on the last day of school. I am so thankful to be thought of........it is truly the thought that counts!!!!

.....Fitness Frankie and I had great fun saying goodbye to the students during dismissal! We had music playing, streamers waving, and bubbles floating! While there were tears from some who were sad to leave, there were many smiles and cheers as well! I am proud to be a part of a school environment where students are so moved by their experience and education......

......It has been a great year! Thanks for reading about "The Best Parts of My Week!" Have a great summer and come back to read more in September!

Check out the Last Day of School pictures on our website!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....6/13/11-6/17/11

2011-06-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Field Days continue as we look forward to summer vacation!

.....On Monday we held our Field Day for third and fourth graders and on Tuesday we held our Field Day for Students in kindergarten, first, and second grade. Both days were fantastic! We had wonderful parents, teachers, grandparents, and even some extended family members volunteer! The students were wonderful and a great time was had by all! I was able to visit with many of the volunteers during the events and enjoyed hearing the compliments about student behavior!

.....As you can imagine, organizing Field Day is a tremendous amount of work. I needed some help this week setting up and taking down some equipment that was just too heavy for me to lift by myself. I don't ask for help as often as I should, but this week I decided to put out an all call for help. In a matter of seconds, I had so many colleagues willing to help that the task was done in no time at all! I am so fortunate to work with such wonderful people!

.....One of the Field Day events is an obstacle course that I set up in the gym. I decided to keep the obstacle course up for the rest of the day and as a special treat, allow my younger classes to take some turns using the course. They were thrilled! They had such a good time and appreciated the opportunity!

.....I received some spontaneous hugs from some students on the way IN to the gymnasium this week! I guess they knew they were going to have some fun!

.....Sometimes teachers make connections in the places that seem the least likely. This week on the way inside at the end of the last PE class of the year, one of my fifth grade students said "I am going to miss you!" I was happy to know that I had made that connection. I am going to miss the fifth graders too!

.....I was in the lobby on Friday morning greeting students as they arrived. A first grader came up to me and said: "Guess what I have for snack today?" I responded: "What do you have for snack today?" She said: "An apple!" I responded: "That's a terrific healthy snack!" I guess they know that I am paying attention and care about their healthy choices! I DO!

.....I taught a fifth grade class this week how to play Ultimate Frisbee. I was explaining to the students the best way to toss a Frisbee and one of my students commented that it was just like skipping rocks. He was absolutely correct! I am always surprised by the connections and analogies that students make. This is an analogy that I will use in the future!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....6/6/11-6/10/11

2011-06-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It was a scorcher of a week in the Northeast! That meant some postponements of scheduled Field Days, but amid the disappointment there were many "Best Parts"! Enjoy!

.....On Monday I counted "Coop" cars to get the final total for our "Operation Healthy North Park". I was thrilled to count 2,785 "Coop" Cars! (I really counted every one!) That equals at least 55, 700 minutes of exercise! We beat last year's record!

.....I have been able to introduce golf putting skills to my students and I was so impressed with their approach to the game! Many students were serious and skillful and were thrilled to have a chance to play!

......I was happy to listen to students recount stories of playing golf with moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas!

.....A first grade student told me that she was both sad and happy because Field Day was postponed. She said: "I was sad because Field Day was canceled, but I was happy because I was so hot I did not want to do anything!" I felt the same way!

.....5th Grade Field Day was the only Field Day that we could hold this week and it was terrific! The students were amazing, the parents were wonderful and helpful, and we all had a great time! Fitness Frankie attended as well!

.....I had a great conversation with a grandparent who came to watch Field Day. There were many compliments about the students, our volunteers, and the activities!

......We are so fortunate to have such wonderful parents who help run our Field Day stations! This week I was sad to say goodbye to some parents whose students will be moving on to middle school, but I was happy to remember all of the wonderful times we have had and all of the events that these parents have volunteered for!

.....At the end of the 5th grade Field Day I had asked some of the students to help clean up some of the equipment. I asked them if they had a good time during Field Day and I was answered with a "THANK YOU" and a hug!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....5/31/11-6/3/11

2011-06-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

The days are getting longer, but the school year is getting shorter! There is so much excitement and celebration as the school year draws to a close!

.....Our Field Day shirts arrived and I spent time this week organizing them for distribution. While it is a big task to complete, I am always thrilled to see the excitement on the faces of students and adults alike as they receive their shirts!

.....My upper elementary students have been playing the game of 4 Square while I have been completing fitness testing. Since the testing was complete in one class, I asked the groups of players if I could join and play too! I was welcomed with smiles and I had a great time playing!

.....This week we held Kindergarten Orientation for our incoming kindergarten students. Our principal takes the parents on a tour of the building while the students meet with the kindergarten teachers. I was able to speak about our PE program with several parent groups this week. I always enjoy this opportunity! I even recognized some faces of parents who were my students!

.....My primary students have been using a variety of equipment to aim for a variety of targets this week. We have "Geo-Targets" (geometric shapes hung up on a rope), buckets, goals, and number targets. Students worked hard to kick, toss, throw, and strike objects so that a particular object will reach a target. I love to see the faces of students when they are successful!

.....While working with the targets this week I changed a few stations to make them different and exciting. One of my students walked in to the gymnasium this week and immediately said "I LOVE it when you make it challenging!"

.....We held our in-school Spring Concert this week. This serves as a dress rehearsal for our chorus, band, and string groups just prior to the evening performance. Our students and music staff work so hard all year to learn and improve. I am always in awe of the talent and dedication of our students and staff. It was a great concert and definitely one of the "Best Parts of My Week"!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

"Operation Healthy North Park!" has concluded! The final total of "Coop" cars will be coming soon!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....5/23/11-5/27/11

2011-05-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

What a wonderful week! There were so many great moments! Enjoy!

.....I had the pleasure of hosting Wendy Cooper, creator of Healthy Highway at my house this week as we prepared for our final Healthy Highway assembly of the year!

.....We held our final Healthy Highway assembly of the year on Tuesday. We introduced Victory Lane, celebrated our accomplishments this year, and reminded ourselves of those who help us achieve success in our lives - our Pit Crew! When I asked the students who they thought were a part of their Pit Crew they said, their parents, friends, teachers, and families! It was terrific being able to show Wendy how we have implemented Healthy Highway and after we enjoyed a slide show of this year's activities, we all enjoyed dancing! Wendy taught us a few new moves!

.....Fitness Frankie was awarded the Healthy Highway "Driver of the Year" Award! He even received a new shirt to wear!

.....I received my very own Healthy Highway shirt!

.....North Park School was given a beautiful plaque as the first recipient of the Healthy Highway "Green Light to Good Health Award"!

.....This week I received "Coop" cars for our Operation Healthy North Park program from all across the district! It made me smile!

.....I enjoyed a conversation with a parent this week who told me how much her child enjoyed PE........

.....Our superintendent was on her way to participate in a zip line activity at another school in the district. She called up to ask if she could bring Fitness Frankie! He had a great time! Check out his blog soon for his account of the experience!

.....I was doing a "shoelace" warm-up with my primary students this week. Each student is given a shoelace and they are asked to come up with creative ways to exercise. I was playing patriotic music in celebration of Memorial Day and one of my students called to me to say "Look! I made an "M" for Memorial Day!"

.....During bus duty this week I was talking with some students and asking about their plans for the Memorial Day weekend. One student responded that he wasn't sure, but it would probably include some exercise!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

This is the last week for participation in "Operation Healthy North Park!"

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....5/16/11-5/20/11

2011-05-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

The weather outside was rainy and dreary, but inside we had a ball! I hope you enjoy the Best Parts of My Week!

.....Fitness Frankie spent the week in the cafeteria sitting in the lunch line. He was watching all of the choices that the students (and adults) were making! Apparently I am not the only one who believes in Fitness Frankie since I checked on him one day to see that he had been turned around so that he could not see someone choosing curly fries for lunch!

.....We continued Yoga this week with students in grades K-2 this week. I was happy to see the smiles on students faces as they entered the gymnasium to see the yoga mats set up and ready to go! One of my first grade students smiled and said "I'm wearing my yoga pants!"

.....I counted the "Coop" Cars that have been turned in as part of our Operation Healthy North Park program. We have collected 1,447 "Coop" cars so far!

.....One of my third grade classes came to PE for the first time since the expansion of our rock wall. One of the students exclaimed "THIS IS AWESOME!"

.....I had a meeting this week after school at our administration building. On my way out I noticed a window to an office that had many "Coop"cars taped to it! I knew that many in our administration building had committed to participating in the program, but it was amazing to see the cars taped up on the window ready to be sent to North Park!

.....I asked many students this week if they had seen Fitness Frankie in the lunch line. They all responded yes, but one student said "I gave him a hug"!

.....One of our building secretaries stopped by the gymnasium to give me some paperwork while a class was completing a portion of a fitness test. She was impressed by the hard work and concentration of our students! So was I!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

Please consider participating in "Operation Healthy North Park!"

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....5/9/11-5/13/11

2011-05-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It was a beautiful week! I was able to spend some time outside with my classes and we all enjoyed the sunshine! I hope you enjoy "The Best Parts of My Week"!

......One of my students stopped me in the hallway to tell me that they saw a real "Coop Car"! (A Mini-Cooper) This car is the theme car of Healthy Highway and we are using the cartoon character "Coop" as our Operation Healthy North Park exercise coupon. Students were so excited and I was excited to know that they are thinking on Operation Healthy North Park outside of school!

.....Last May we were fortunate to have a new rock wall installed in our gymnasium. This week we were even more fortunate as it was expanded this week to double the size! We are all very excited!

.....Due to the rock wall expansion in the gym this week, I held my classes outside while the work was being done. I decided to play a game that I call "Triangle Ball". It is a shortened version of whiffle ball and uses a tee and only three bases that make a triangle. Students play in small groups and take turns being the batter, pitcher, and fielder. I played this game with students from kindergarten through fifth grade and they all loved it! It was fun to watch them play!

.....Operation Healthy North Park is in full swing! I am grateful for the participation of so many in our school and community! This week I received "Coop Cars" from our Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services, as well as parents, students, siblings, teachers, and office staff from our school and administration!

.....I was excited to learn that our school may have the opportunity to create a "teaching garden" that will help students learn about growing healthy foods!

.....Toward the end of the week I planned yoga activities for my younger students. When they walked into the gymnasium many exclaimed "Yoga! Yesssssss!" At the end of the session, many others told me how much they had enjoyed yoga and that they were relaxed enough to sleep! I am always amazed by the power of Yoga for our students and feel grateful to have the equipment that allows me to provide the opportunity for them to experience it!

.....Fitness Frankie played golf (well sort of) with our principal and myself after school on Friday! We had a great time taking him along. He enjoyed it too! (I could tell by the smile on his face!) Visit his blog to read about his adventures! The Adventures of Fitness Frankie!

.....My week was extended a bit for wonderful reason. On Saturday I was proud to be a part of the Elementary/Middle School PE Awards sponsored by the Southeastern Zone of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (NYS AHPERD). I have volunteered at this event for a few years and in the recent past have been able to nominate some of my students for the award. 460 students were honored at this ceremony and I was proud to have students from North Park receiving the award as well! Families and students alike were proud of their accomplishment!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

Please consider participating in "Operation Healthy North Park!"

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....5/2/11-5/6/11

2011-05-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week and National Physical Education and Sport Week! It was a wonderful week and I definitely felt appreciated!

.....While finishing up some dance activities one of my students doing the Paper Dance decided to do the "Tango" with her paper partner!

.....I was so proud of one of my students as he read Fitness Frankie's journal entry to the entire school!

.....Fitness Frankie has a great weekend with one of our teachers who took the time to make a book of his weekend adventure and included National Physical Education and Sport Week on the cover!

.....We started fitness testing this week. I was impressed with how hard my students worked and how they showed respect to their classmates with encouragement and kind words!

.....Operation Healthy North Park began this week as well! Many of our teachers, students, and families participate. One teacher showed me his very own pedometer!

.....Our wonderful PTA, students, and families showed their appreciation this week in so many wonderful ways........

.....We are getting ready for Field Day by selling Field Day T-shirts. An family donation came in to purchase a shirt for some other student in need.....

.....After school one day I was greeted by a little one who will be a kindergarten student next Fall. His dad was a former student of mine!

.....I am so lucky to work with wonderful people! Some of my colleagues offered to help with Operation Healthy North Park. I accepted and am very grateful for their offer!

.....Our office staff never cease to amaze me with their creativity and thoughtfulness! This week they turned in their "Coop" car for participation in Operation Healthy North Park and made one car so that the car door opened to find Fitness Frankie and another to find Exercise Ernie!

.....We were treated to a wonderful luncheon on Friday for Teacher Appreciation Week by our PTA. As I was leaving the luncheon a parent stopped to tell me that I was her PE teacher years ago! We had a terrific conversation and it brought me back in time!

.....All week we celebrated National Physical Education and Sport Week! We capped off the week with Project ACES! Our entire school spent time outside exercising as a team! We exercised, laughed, and appreciated the opportunities that we have in Physical Education!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

Please consider participating in "Operation Healthy North Park!"

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....4/25/11-4/29/11

2011-05-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Last week we enjoyed Spring Recess and students and teachers came back to school energized for the rest of the year! I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....Well, the ladies in the office at my school have outdone themselves again! Honestly, they are wonderful and so involved with our students and our programs! They volunteered to take care of Fitness Frankie during Spring Recess and made another awesome book with pictures and a story about his adventures with them! We are so fortunate to have them both in our building! Check out the story and some pictures by visiting Fitness Frankie's Blog!

.....During the day on Monday, I frequently asked my students about their Spring Recess. I wanted to know if they had been active and if they enjoyed their time off from school. I had some great conversations. At the end of the day, while I was on bus duty in the hallway, one of my fourth grade students was kind enough to ask me about my vacation!

.....I was on bus duty in the hallway on Monday afternoon when our health teacher came to tell me that when she discussed nutrition with some of our classes and told them that a tomato was a vegetable, many corrected her by saying "Mrs. R. said that it is a fruit!" We then had a great discussion about how the controversy over whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. She was impressed that the food pyramid and nutrition was covered in PE class! I was impressed that my students remembered! I guess they were paying attention!

.....While introducing a Dance unit in my primary grades, I told the students that dancing is terrific exercise and I was going to prove it to them by using my pedometer to show them how many steps we took during each dance. My older students use pedometers regularly, but students in the younger grades have not yet used them during PE class. It was fun to show them the step counts at the end of each dance. They were excited to know how many steps we took for each dance and agreed that dancing is great exercise!

.....As I have said, my primary students have been enjoying some dancing recently. I learned a dance from a colleague many years ago called "The Paper Dance". Each student has a piece of paper on the floor in front of them (I use scrap paper and recycle it), and they follow me as I do basic dance steps on, off, and with the paper. One of the steps is called the "Cool Walk". I tell my students that they are the coolest students in the world and I want them to show me by doing the "Cool Walk" around their piece of paper on the floor. We practice and then during the music we all do it when I say "Do the Cool Walk"! I always smile and enjoy this dance because the "Cool Walks" that the students come up with are fantastic! They are totally cool!

.....One of my fourth grade classes was going to miss PE class one day this week because of a visitor to their classroom. This guest is an expert on Colonial America and comes each year to teach our students in a unique and engaging way. I went down to the class to watch his presentation during their scheduled PE time. He was terrific! The students were very excited and involved in the lesson. The timing was perfect because he was just about to teach the students about games that were played by children in Colonial America! I learned all about the games from that era. One of the games was a wooden version of something we use in PE today called a "Catch-A-Cup"! The Colonial game was much harder!

.....I am always looking to try new things and I saw a game in a new book that bought recently (PE 2 the Max by J.D. Hughes) called "Scooter Blitz". Sometimes games look good on paper, but need to be modified for your own space and students so I decided to try it out with one of my 5th grade classes. I told them that they were going to be my "test class", since I had not played the game before and I wanted to see how it worked. They were terrific! The game was great and they all seemed to enjoy it! At the end of class I asked them for feedback about what they liked about the game and ideas they had for variations. They came up with wonderful suggestions and seemed proud to be the "test class"! I was proud of them too!

.....I can't believe that April has ended and today is May 1st! During May we participate in a project that I call "Operation Healthy North Park". This is our 10th year of the program! It is a program that encourages students, staff, family members, and community members to exercise outside of the school day as part of National Physical Education and Sport Week which we extend to to the entire month of May. I had a great time getting ready for this project this past week. I put up a bulletin board that displays the project and enjoyed the interest that it generated! This year I have modified the program to include our Healthy Highway theme! Visit the North Park PE Website to see a picture of last year's project and to view information about the project. Everyone is invited to participate! If you would like to get involved, download the letter and "Coop" cars and e-mail me your activities!

.....We held our most recent Healthy Highway assembly this past Friday morning. We will be driving on "Success Circle" this month. It was a great assembly! We celebrated our many different student successes and talked about what success means from the viewpoints of character education, physical education and fitness, and nutrition. We had a great time!

.....Friday was an early release day due to parent/teacher conferences. I had a visit from a former student who is now in different elementary school. It was a great visit! It is so heartwarming to know that you have made a connection that continues even after students are no longer in your school..........

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

Please consider participating in "Operation Healthy North Park!"

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....4/11/11-4/15/11

2011-04-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

It was a fun-filled week as we looked forward to our Spring Break! I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....I was fortunate to be able to obtain a grade-level grant from our PTA to bring in a local Yoga instructor this week. "Miss Kathleen" arrived on Monday to teach some Yoga activities to many of our primary classes. She introduced the students to "Mr. Zoobles" and "Mr. Twisty" who helped us all with our breathing and our Yoga poses. After the first group, Miss Kathleen asked where Fitness Frankie was! I did not know that Miss Kathleen even knew about Fitness Frankie but she had seen him on our website! I immediately went down to the class that was taking care of him this week and borrowed him! He took part in Yoga with all of us! You can see the pictures of our Yoga experience by visiting the North Park PE website.

.....Fitness Frankie has a new sleeping bag! One of the student in his "host" class made him a colorful paper sleeping bag to rest in during his nights at North Park! It was so thoughtful and he looked very comfortable in it!

.....My upper grade classes have been enjoying some basketball activities this past week. I always encourage my students to cheer for their teammates, but also for their classmates who may not be on their team for a particular PE activity. I was thrilled this week to hear all kinds of cheering for teammates and classmates during a variety of basketball activities!

.....As a follow-up to a Skype session that I did with some of my students and students in another district school recently, I asked my third graders to each write down a question that they wanted to ask during our next Skype session with the same class. I was impressed with the questions! One of my students wants to know if the goals for their PE classes are the same as ours! Now that's a great question!

.....On Friday I was encouraging my students to enjoy Spring vacation by going out to play and exercising during our week off. I told them that Fitness Frankie was going to enjoy his week at school with our office staff who offered to take care of him. One student raised her hand and said "How come Fitness Frankie doesn't get a vacation?"

.....Our school has a drama club run by our very talented Speech Therapist. This year's production was Charlotte's Web. There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into the production by students, parents, and staff and I am always in awe of the final product! I attended the opening performance of the play this week and the performance did not disappoint! Fitness Frankie attended as well and the students were happy to see him!

.....Our office staff are wonderful ladies who work very hard to keep our school running smoothly. They generously offered to take care of Fitness Frankie during our vacation as they are still working in the office. They were so excited when I delivered him on Friday afternoon! I can't wait to hear about their week!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....4/4-4/8

2011-04-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Spring has finally arrived! (well, sort of anyway....) We had a great week here at North Park! Hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week!"

.....Fitness Frankie spent the week in a 5th grade class. They were so excited when I delivered him on Monday!

.....At the end of a kindergarten class, a student noticed that I was wearing my jacket with one sleeve rolled up and the other down. She commented on it and I said that I guess I just didn't notice it. When she left PE class she had rolled one pant leg up and the other was down! I think she was trying to be like me! I was flattered!

.....As one of my second grade classes arrived for PE class this week they brought a present. They worked very hard to write about Jump Rope for Heart and created a book of their work with the cover illustrated by one of the students! I was so touched! They were so excited to give it to me and I was more than excited to receive it! I read the stories that night, which included pictures of Jump Rope for Heart. They were terrific and one of the things that I was impressed with was that the students expressed clearly why Jump Rope for Heart is so important!

.....Just like all teachers, from time to time I need to be out of school and need a substitute. I was fortunate this week to have a former student with a college degree in Physical Education sub for me! He did a great job!

.....A colleague of mine and I are doing a project this year to learn about and find a use for Skype technology. Skype uses video technology to allow real time conversations using a computer and web cam. This week we used Skype with our third grade classes. My colleague and I teach in different schools in the same district. We each have rock walls, but there are some differences and similarities in how we use them. We decided to conduct a Skype session with one of our third grade classes using our respective rock walls, and follow-up with a question and answer session with the students. It was amazing! Each group showed the other how the rock wall is used. Our students were terrific and impressed with the technology! I can't wait for the follow-up session so that I can hear the questions and answers!

.....We ended the week with our annual Student/Teacher Jump Show. This show began six years ago as a celebration of our hard work to make our first Jump Rope for Heart a success. It began with a commitment from our principal and myself to jump rope for students. Well, one thing led to another and many other adults in our building volunteered to jump for the students too! As the years went by we expanded the show to showcase the skills that students learned to get ready for Jump Rope for Heart. Not only do we have students in grades K-5 jump in a variety of ways, but also many adults in our school embrace this show and participate to jump for the students! This year was a wonderful success! We raised more than $2500.00 for the American Heart Association during our Jump Rope for Heart event and for the past six years of the JRFH events we have raised more than $21,000.00! The tremendous generosity of our school community is one of the many reasons we celebrate with our Jump Show! We all agree that our jump rope skills have improved! Our future goal is to someday master the Double-Dutch Jump Rope!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....3/28-4/1

2011-04-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

The year seems to be flying by! It's usually around this time of year that I realize how much the students have grown and that another year is going faster than the last! I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....I delivered Fitness Frankie to his "host" class. They were so excited (including the classroom teacher) that they asked me if I could hear them cheer from the office when their class was announced!

.....My primary students were participating in a Healthy Highway Race Car Warm-up. One of the students came up with a great idea! She suggested using arms as blinkers so that other students would know when students were entering and exiting the track! Why didn't I think of that????

.....My fifth grade students were playing a game called "Nutrition Concentration". I play a song during the game called "Superpower Vegetables" by Jump with Jill. I was asking the students about strategies that they used to find matches or pairs of vegetable cards. One of the fifth graders said that when he sang along with the song and said "Superpower Vegetables", he always found a match! He said that saying those words gave him "super powers"!

.....I had taken a picture of Fitness Frankie in his new spring hat (there is a picture on his blog). I was showing the picture to some of the students this week and as soon as they saw his picture they smiled and said "Awwwwwww, he's so cute!"

.....My fourth graders were allowed to take home our "PE Packs to Go!" this week. It was their first time using the packs which have a pedometer and log card to use at home. I challenge each group sharing a pack to get as many steps as possible and I announce those packs with more than 10,0000 steps. They were so excited to take the packs home!

.....Recently, I had the opportunity to contribute to an article that Wendy Cooper, founder of Healthy Highway, was writing for PE Links 4U Website. I was asked to write a portion of the article about how our school had implemented Healthy Highway. I was grateful for the opportunity and this week it was published! If you would like to view the article, visit the PE Links 4U Website and click on the Healthy Highway article!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....3/21-3/25

2011-03-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Those who are a part of our community know that it has been a very difficult week as we mourn the loss of a young life. I thought about how I could possibly write about the best parts of my week, when so many, including myself, were so sad and upset by the tragic events of late. Part of me wanted to leave out this week, but another part of me knows that in difficult times it is even more important to recognize every day as a gift, and find the good where you can. It is for that reason that I decided to write about those moments this week that reminded me to always look for the best, even in the face of the worst.........

.....hearing the thunderous applause when I brought Fitness Frankie to the class that had been chosen to take care of him.

.....playing Artery Avengers with my primary students. This is a game that teaches them how fat can clog arteries and that exercise and good nutrition can help to keep arteries clear. The best part was pretending to be a super hero as we shouted "ARTERY AVENGERS".

.....playing tag with one of my students who sometimes comes to PE a little early for some extra activity.

.....sharing our Healthy Highway events in our monthly tune-up with the creator of Healthy Highway.

.....listening to a primary student explain to me that she and a friend were practicing for a one mile race in their living room and that the practice was helping their hearts get healthy just like Healthy Highway.

.....spending time on nutrition lessons to celebrate March as National Nutrition Month and being impressed at how much students knew and how much they quickly learned.

.....smiling as a fifth grade class asked if they could play another round of Nutrition Concentration.

....taking Fitness Frankie on a road trip with me as I shared him at a Care to Share event sponsored by the SEZ of NYSAHPERD.

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week".

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program.

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....3/14-3/18

2011-03-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I am not sure how it can get any more exciting here at North Park! I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....Fitness Frankie spent the week in a primary classroom. The students were so excited! While waiting for the bus after school on Monday they told me that they had given him a hug and were very happy to be taking care of him!

.....While doing a warm-up with a rope on the floor, I asked students to make a heart, rather than a circle with the ropes as we had done before. I asked the students why they thought I wanted them to make a heart. They enthusiastically responded: "Because Jump Rope for Heart is this week"!

.....We held our sixth annual Jump Rope for Heart this week. It was a terrific event that lasted all day! Each group arrived excited and ready to jump! Many of the "Best Parts of My Week" came during this event!

.....watching the "sea" of red and pink shirts jumping in the gymnasium!

.....being given a pink silly band by a student as he arrived at JRFH!

.....enjoying the looks on the faces of students as they heard their heartbeats while using a stethoscope!

.....enjoying the smiles of adults while they jumped with students!

.....being humbled as I opened an donation envelope with coins that obviously came from a personal piggy bank and definitely from the "heart".

.....being overwhelmed by the generosity of our community as they embraced and supported our Jump Rope for Heart!

.....At the end of this week I had some visitors from another district. These visitors were fellow PE teachers whose district had a conference day and they had the opportunity to visit another school. I was flattered and honored that they chose North Park! When I introduced these visitors as special guests, I was able to show our students that adults are always learning too! It was a treat to be able to share some lessons and share our school!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....3/7-3/11

2011-03-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

There was so much excitement this week it's hard to know where to begin!!!!!

....Monday began with enjoying listening to students read the "Fitness Frankie" poem during morning announcements!

.....As we continued to get ready for Jump Rope for Heart, I continued to enjoy students making progress as they improve their jumping skills!

.....On Tuesday I was invited to attend the monthly PTA meeting as a guest speaker to talk about our PE program. I LOVE to talk about our program and I had a great time talking about pedometers, heart rate monitors, Healthy Highway, lessons on nutrition, Fitness Frankie, our upcoming dance program, Jump Rope for Heart and more! I appreciate so much the support our PTA has given in the past and continues to give on a daily basis!

.....This week we were treated to a dance program provided by Peter, Paul, and George of Homespun Dance. They have been to North Park a few times in past years and students are always excited to see them. In fact, when I told students that they were coming back to North Park this week they said "YESSSSSSS!" Peter, Paul, and George are an absolutely amazing group and bring a terrific energy that easily transfers to our students and staff! (Visit their website! - Homespun Dance.) They played a variety of instruments which included the fiddle, several different kinds of banjos, a clarinet, recorder, tin whistle and more! Paul taught us many, many traditional dances from China, France, England, Germany, and Colonial America! Our students and I danced with joy and laughter, (so did Fitness Frankie!) and we did not want to see the days end! They even made up a song about Fitness Frankie! Luckily, Peter, Paul, and George came back to host a Family Dance Night and many families, students, siblings, teachers, and our principal, danced the night away! We had so much fun! This program would not have been possible without the support of our PTA and I am so grateful for their willingness to make this event happen!

.....At the end of this week I was exhausted in the best way possible - feeling grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a wonderful school community that provides a tremendous learning environment for our students through partnerships of parents, teachers, administrators, and the students themselves!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....2/28-3/4

2011-03-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

There was a hint of Spring in the air this week! (I am being optimistic as the forecast for tonight is sleet, freezing rain and maybe some snow!)

I hope you enjoy the best parts of my week!

.....I was greeted on Monday morning with a wonderful project from the class that took care of Fitness Frankie the previous week. The previous Friday happened to be the 100th day of school and that is a really big deal in an elementary school! There were many activities that day with the number "100" as the theme. This class decided to color in 100 bears labeled with an "F" for Fitness Frankie! The project was laminated and presented to me at the start of the school day! What a great way to start the week!

.....On Monday we also held our kick-off assembly for our annual Jump Rope for Heart event. We decided to combine it with our Healthy Highway assembly. Our school is driving down "Have a Heart Way" this month and we talked about how we can all work to "Have a Heart" by being kind to one another, eating heart-healthy foods, exercising to keep our own hearts healthy, and participating in Jump Rope for Heart to help others to keep their hearts healthy! The students were very excited as they watched pictures of themselves during last year's Jump Rope for Heart, and as they learned from the American Heart Association about how to be a "Heart Hero"!

.....Our principal announced how many miles we have earned since our last Healthy Highway assembly. We almost doubled our miles to more than 850!

.....As we get ready for Jump Rope for Heart in PE class, students are working very hard to learn how to jump and jump rope. This week second graders were especially excited to learn how to turn the rope for each other and also learn how to jump in!

.....Fitness Frankie attended PE again this week and learned how to use a "hippity hop" ball!

.....I am always impressed by how creative my students are. This week several students made up variations of jump rope tricks that I had taught them! They are very skilled and not only made up tricks using a single rope, but also using double ropes and partners!

.....After school on Friday I was talking with a parent who shared with me how much her child had enjoyed snowshoeing during PE class. I am always thrilled to know that students are enjoying the activities enough to go home and share them with their families!

.....My week was slightly extended this week as I attended a conference on Saturday sponsored by NYSCATE (New York State Association for Computers and Technology in Education). It was a terrific conference and while I was one of only a few PE teachers in attendance, I learned some new ways to use technology in my program. I can't wait to try some of it out!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....2/21-2/25

2011-02-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

The excitement about our Jump Rope for Heart event is growing! We are gearing up by practicing jump roping and jumping skills! I hope you enjoy the best parts of my week as much as I did!

.....My kindergarten students are often somewhat apprehensive when I tell them that we are going to begin to get ready for Jump Rope for Heart by learning how to jump and jump rope. Many of them have not had much experience jumping rope and worry that they will not be able to do it. I LOVE the looks of happiness and joy on their faces when they jump rope for the first time in our long turning ropes while I turn for them. They are so surprised and proud of themselves! Many of them start counting for each other to see how many jumps they can do!

.....After our Jump Rope for Heart event, we celebrate with a Teacher/Student Jump Show. It is a really fun event that started with our principal and myself offering to jump after our very first Jump Rope for Heart. Well, one thing led to another and now we have an annual show where we showcase jumpers from kindergarten to fifth grade and end with our faculty and staff jumping for students! This week some students began showing me their jump tricks in the hopes of being in the show!

.....Fitness Frankie spent the week in a primary class this week. I had the pleasure of seeing how well they took care of him! They brought him to PE each day and treated him with care and respect!

.....This week I taught a new warm-up that I learned at my conference last week. It is a warm-up that has been around for awhile, but not one that I have ever tried. It is called "Ship to Shore". The idea is that the students are sailors and I am the captain. I give directions to the sailors such as Ship (go to the ship), Shore (go to the shore), Swab the deck (mop the floor), Sharks (swim like a shark), and Treasure Chest (act like a treasure chest). When I gave the direction of "Open Sesame" when students were Treasure Chests, they spontaneously made music like trumpets or harps as if a real treasure chest full of treasures opened and golden rays of sunshine emanated from the chest! It was delightful! Both the students and I loved the warm-up!

.....I was finishing up snowshoeing activities with my upper elementary classes this week. The weather was beautiful and for many classes it was the second experience outside with the snowshoes. One of my students said: "The first day it took so long to put on the snowshoes, but this time I put them on and said: I'm done already?" We had a nice discussion about perseverance and how sticking with something helps you get better at it!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....2/14-2/18

2011-02-21T06:19:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

We started this week off with Valentine's Day! There was excitement in the air as students dressed in red and pink, and shared valentines with classmates and teachers alike! I hope you enjoy the best parts of my week!

.....enjoying the excitement of fifth grade students as they learned that Fitness Frankie was going to spend the week in their class!

.....snowshoeing with third, fourth, and fifth graders! All of the snow in the northeast is finally paying off!

.....watching students help each other put on snowshoes and help each other up from a tumble in the snow!

.....snowshoeing with Fitness Frankie! Check out his blog soon for updates and pictures!

.....awarding miles to classes who showed "Perseverance" during this past week!

.....I recently encouraged our primary students to say "I'm learning" instead of "I can't" or "This is hard". This week I heard many students spontaneously use the "I'm learning" phrase when attempting a difficult task!

.....traveling to New Jersey to attend and present at the NJAHPERD/EDA of AAHPERD annual conference! I met some new colleagues, enjoyed a keynote speech by Dr. Oz, connected with many future professionals, shared some of the lessons that we use at North Park, and learned some new ideas to bring back to my school! It is so energizing to attend conferences! I am fortunate to be able to have that opportunity. It helps me become the best teacher that I can be, and improves the delivery of Physical Education services so that we can impact in a positive way the health and wellness of our youth!

I hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....2/7-2/11

2011-02-13T12:17:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

We made it with a full week of school this week! It feels like we are settling in once again! There were so many great moments this week! I hope you enjoy them.

.....While finishing up gymnastics early this week I was at the junior turning bar when a kindergarten student asked me if she could do a "spaghetti roll". I was confused so I asked her to show me what she meant. She did what Kidnastics calls a "possum hang". I don't know how it translated to a spaghetti roll, but she knew exactly what to do!

.....I had finished class with a group of fourth graders and one of the students showed me his personal pedometer. We use pedometers often during PE so students are aware of their use. I asked him where he got his pedometer. He told me that it was part of a video game where the more steps he took, the more points he got to use toward his game. What a great idea to encourage children to move!

.....I was presented with a book about Fitness Frankie this week! This book came from a kindergarten class that took care of him a few weeks back. It included a sentence about what each student experienced with Fitness Frankie, and a drawing of the activity! They were so proud of their work! I thanked them and told them my heart was smiling! They smiled back!

.....I was showing different classes our new Jump Rope for Heart banner as we are beginning to get ready for this year's event. Our banners from past years are displayed on the gymnasium wall and we are getting ready to go around the corner! My fifth graders were impressed and started asking questions about how far around the wall I thought we could go. Somehow that led to questions about my age! I deflected the questions, of course, but not before guesses were made. Students guessed everything from 21 to 82! I finally answered that I was older than 21 but younger than 82!

.....Fitness Frankie came to PE every day this week because he is being taken care of by a combination class of first and second graders who come to PE as separate groups. It was great to have him in class. The students were excited and proud to be taking care of him! One of the activities this week was "Scooter Driving School". Students who were driving safely were allowed to give him a ride. He smiled all the way!

.....Students were looking forward to snowshoeing this week, but the weather did not cooperate for most classes. Oh, there was snow alright, but most mornings it was 3 degrees or less......way too cold for snowshoeing. I must give our students credit. While they were disappointed, they handled it well and I gave them some alternative choices for our indoor activities. One group chose to shoot some baskets and invited me to play with them. It was great to be included! I took a shot (basketball is not really my strength) and "swished" it! My students were impressed and so was I! Other students chose to play with Speedstacks (cup stacking). Some students even organized the whole box of cups for me! Finally, one of the students in this class had been absent the day that students practiced with the snowshoes. I invited her to try them on and practice on a mat indoors as one of the choices during this class. Without being asked, another student went right over to her, showed her how to put them on and stayed with her while she practiced. It was truly an example of having the "Courage to do the right thing" - our school motto. This student could have done many other activities during this class, but she chose to help a classmate instead..........definitely one of the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....I think I can be funny sometimes (who doesn't really?) but there are times when what I think is funny is not the same as what my students think is funny. I made a joke or two this week at the beginning of class and no one laughed. I told them (in a funny way) that I thought I was being funny, but apparently was not. One student (one of the quieter students in the class) raised her hand and said "Mrs. R. - I am rolling on the floor laughing on the inside"! I laughed out loud and so did everyone else!

Hope you enjoyed reading about "The Best Parts of My Week"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....1/31-2/4

2011-02-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Would you believe another week of multiple snow days????? It has been an exceptional winter here in the Northeast but Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring so..........

I hope you enjoy the best parts of my week! (I certainly did!)

.....While we are coming to the end of our gymnastics unit the enthusiasm from our students is still in full force! When I watched the students enjoying the activities of rolling, balancing, jumping, and hanging (I use the Kidnastics approach to gymnastics), I thought about the benefits of these activities. Our school is so fortunate to be able to provide this kind of wonderful activity for our students!

.....My students continue to impress me with their compassion and their willingness to help each other. Every week, there are students that instinctively reach out to help by tying shoes or demonstrating activities, or genuinely encouraging classmates with words of kindness and support!

.....Fitness Frankie attended PE this week with the students who are taking care of him for the week. They were so excited! I asked what they had done with him so far and in addition to feeding him healthy snacks, they read him a story! Fitness Frankie's popularity continues to grow! Read his blog at The Adventures of Fitness Frankie!

.....During our gymnastic unit, we stretch at the end of class using a technique that I call "Share Count Stretching". It is so much fun! The students and I choose a stretch to complete and we "share" the counting. I count "1" and the students count "2" - I count "3" and the students count "4" and so on. I vary the count by changing my voice and the students follow and change their voices too! I count in Spanish sometimes and they follow in Spanish too! I recently taught them how to count in French and some of my students who attend Karate class taught us how to count in Korean. They were so proud of themselves! I was too! This is always a great opportunity for me to create an interdisciplinary activity that is fun and accomplishes multiple goals!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....1/24-1/28

2011-01-29T12:31:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,
Well, we made through a full week this week with just a delay or two! It's been quite a winter here in the northeast! I am looking forward to being able to snowshoe with my students soon! I hope you enjoy my "Best Parts" of this week!

.....As gymnastics continues I have been pointing out to students at the end of each class something positive that happened during the lesson and then I have been moving the "class PE car" (part of our Healthy Highway program) down the road as a result of the positive behavior. I had the opportunity this week to highlight the following behaviors from students:
-giving up their turn on a piece of equipment so someone else could have a turn.
-doing the right thing even when someone else in his/her group was not.
-trying new activities even if they were hard.
-waiting patiently for a turn to ensure the safety of all.
-helping each other tie shoes.
-complimenting others on good performances or nice tries.
-showing respect even when I made a mistake!

.....I had the pleasure of listening to two students read the class journal entry for Fitness Frankie's week in their class to the entire school!

.....Fitness Frankie spent this week in a kindergarten class and they brought him to PE. They had such fun with him it was easy to smile!

.....We held our next Healthy Highway assembly this week. We introduced "Perseverance Path" Students from each class and some special areas were recognized by their teachers as working very hard during the first half of the school year. Students were so proud as they stood when their names were announced!

.....We danced the Healthy Highway dance at the end of the assembly. It was great to see everyone - adults and students alike - enjoying and dancing so well!

.....I mistakenly called Fitness Frankie just "Frankie" to one of my kindergarten students. He quickly corrected me and said "You mean FITNESS Frankie don't you?"

.....I introduced the high balance beam to my primary students this week. I am always in awe of the trust that they put in me as I hold their hand to walk across the beam! It reminds me of the tremendous responsibility that we have as teachers. Some students were more anxious than others, and some students held my hand tighter than others or not at all, but 99% of students get up on the beam to try it! Each and every one of the students that finish their turn on the high beam are proud of their effort! It is especially exciting when a student walks across the beam for the first time by himself/herself. They almost always exclaim "I did it!"

.....I was thinking this week about how our journey down the Healthy Highway has really improved our focus on character education, physical fitness, healthy choices, and good nutrition in our school. Not only has this focus benefited our students, but I truly feel that I (and I hope other adults in our building) am benefiting from this program as well! It's true, I have always tried to exercise and eat nutritiously, but I do believe my choices are definitely influenced in a positive way by this program as I try to "practice what I preach"!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....1/17-1/21

2011-01-23T07:13:00.001-08:00

HI everyone,
Well, it was an interesting week.........holidays (Martin Luther King Day), snow - no school Tuesday, ice - delay on Wednesday, snow again - no school on Friday! Believe it or not, even with the short week, there are still some "Best Parts" to share!

.....enjoying the pictures from Fitness Frankie's weekend that he spent with one of our teacher's and her family.

.....greeting a new student teacher in our building who is a former student!

.....listening to the sounds of joy as our students continue to enjoy our gymnastics unit.

.....having a student tell me that even though she was struggling with a gymnastics skill, she kept at it and was finally able to do it!

.....watching students help each other tie shoes after gymnastics activities without being asked.

.....enjoying the imagination of students as they participate in a warm-up where they pretended to play sports such as tennis, hockey, basketball, and figure skating!

Visit the North Park PE website to learn more about our program!

E-mail me with comments or questions at: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....1/10-1/14

2011-01-16T16:56:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

2011 is in full swing and it was an exciting week!

These are the "Best Parts".....

.....Our Gymnastics unit began this week. We have some wonderful equipment which includes bars, several different balance beams, incline mats, springboards, and a large carpeted mat area that students use to participate in warm-ups and other rolling, balancing, and jumping activities. The excitement in the air this week was incredible! Students from kindergarten to fifth grade couldn't wait to get started! One of the best reactions of the week though, was the wide-eyed looks of the kindergarten students who entered the gymnasium for the first time to see the gymnastic equipment set up!

.....Fitness Frankie continues to grow in popularity! Two of his first grade friends read about his adventures on Tuesday, while he was enjoying a week in a fourth grade class! He spent a snow day on Wednesday at my house, Thursday night at the Board of Education meeting, and Friday exercising to Monkey in the Middle! Read about his adventures in his blog: The Adventures of Fitness Frankie!

.....Fitness Friday makes the list of "Best Parts" this week too! I have mentioned in the past that our PA system allows music from an ipod to be played throughout the school in all of the classrooms. From time to time I organize a Fitness Friday activity during which music that students know is played and all students and teachers exercise at the same time. Our favorite is "Monkey in the Middle". This is a great song from "Physical ED" by The Learning Station. During the song students take turns being the "monkey" or the leader, and perform an exercise or action for all to follow. I spoke to students during the day to ask if they enjoyed it. (I try to get to different classrooms during the song, but I can only get to a few each time.) The overwhelming response from students and teachers was YES!

.....Friday afternoon we were treated to a performance by our band and chorus in anticipation of this coming week's Winter Concert. It was wonderful to listen to the concert! I am always in awe of the talents of our students and music teachers! The students were so proud of their hard work and so was I! One of our fourth graders asked me later if Fitness Frankie could come to the watch the night-time concert!

.....My week ended with a "Fitness Frankie" delivery to one of our teachers who wanted to take him home so that he could go to gymnastics practice with her child! I can't wait to hear about his weekend!

Thanks for reading about the "Best Parts of My Week" I would love to hear about the the "Best Parts" of your week!

Visit the North Park PE Website by clicking here!

E-mail: northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....1/3-1/7

2011-01-09T14:38:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Vacation was terrific but I am happy to be back at school! Here are the best parts of my week!

.....I was greeted by my office staff with a book of Fitness Frankie's adventures during the week! I was touched by their willingness to participate by taking care of Fitness Frankie, but also because they took the time to make a book for all to enjoy! If you do not already know, Fitness Frankie has his own blog now! Read about his adventures each week at: The Adventures of Fitness Frankie!

.....I tie a fair amount of sneakers during the course of a day. One day this week I had tied a first grader's sneakers in a double bow as I always do. They rarely come untied. At the end of PE class, his shoes were untied on his way out of the gymnasium. I asked him to stop on the side of the hallway so that I could tie his shoes again. I thought I remembered tying them so I asked him if I had already tied them during PE. He replied yes, so I then asked him how they came untied. He said: "well, when I run really fast, they come untied!"

.....I shared parts of Fitness Frankie's book with my students this week. I enjoyed many smiles as I showed the book; even from my fifth grade students!

.....Fitness Frankie attended PE this week with the K-1 class that was assigned to take care of him. He learned to "make snow" with white balloons, play hoop tag, and play "Save the Animals Tag"! He had a great time in PE and I enjoyed watching the students take care of him!

.....Our Gymnastics unit begins next week. Some of the equipment was delivered during vacation and the rest was delivered on Monday. We are very fortunate to have some very nice equipment that we share among our elementary schools. My students absolutely love gymnastics (what's not to love?) so when I saw the wide-eyed looks on my students faces as they arrived to PE this week, it definitely made the "Best Parts" list!

.....My third through fifth grade students have been learning about volleyball. I was able to add to my budget two Airlite cubes that I brought out for the first time during the volleyball unit this week. These cubes were amazingly easy to keep up in the air and my students were ecstatic to play with them! It was great to see the excitement during play!

It's been a great start to 2011! Thanks for reading about the Best Parts of My Week! I would love to hear about yours!

Fitness Frankie Blogs!

2011-01-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
Fitness Frankie has become so popular that I have decided that he needs his own blog! We are just getting started, but check back soon to read about his adventures by clicking on: The Adventures of Fitness Frankie!

The Best Parts of My Week....12/20-12/22

2010-12-27T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
As the holidays approach and the excitement grows in our school, as in many others I am sure, the best parts of my week keep getting better!

......On Monday we held our annual Brotherhood Pageant. This event was started by a former music teacher who sadly passed away this past summer. This event is surely a big part of her legacy here at North Park and while there are few of us left who remember that it began with her, I could not help but think how proud she would be to see that the Brotherhood Pageant lives on! During this event, students and staff alike donate food to those in need. We all sing a variety of holiday songs and this year several "North Park alumni" came back to enjoy the holiday spirit!

.....Well, Fitness Frankie (Our Healthy Highway Race Car Bear) enjoyed his first week in a third grade class and during our morning announcements, two students from that class read about his adventures to the entire school. After the announcements, I was stopped in the hallway by some kindergarten students who asked me if I had heard about Fitness Frankie's week! They told me that they had heard that he was eating healthy snacks! Fitness Frankie is on vacation this week, as am I, but our office staff offered to take care of him. I can't wait to hear about his adventures next Monday! Click here for Fitness Friday pictures with Fitness Frankie!

.....Winter Workshops was a great event on Wednesday this week. Our principal created this day several years ago as a way to celebrate the holidays, include all students, and use the last day before our vacation in a productive and enjoyable manner. During this day students attend four one hour workshops that are facilitated by staff of our building, parents, and administrative staff in the district. Many different workshops are offered which include activities like chess, cheerleading, music, making healthy snacks, painting winter murals, jeopardy games, holiday crafts, woodworking and more! A colleague of mine and I offered a circus activities workshop. It was great fun! A former student volunteered to help us our and we taught students how to spin plates (plastic of course), juggle, walk on the "high wire", balance feathers, use angel sticks and have fun with the diablo! We even learned a few tricks ourselves! Circus music in the background and a parachute big top helped to make this a great day and definitely one of the best parts of my week! Click here for Circus Activities pictures!

Thanks for reading about the "Best Parts of My Week!" I will be enjoying vacation this week, and will be back in 2011 ready to begin the new year!

The Best Parts of My Week....12/13-12/17

2010-12-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
"Fitness Frankie" is a big part of the "Best Parts of My Week" this week! Here's why.......

......On Monday we held our third North Park Healthy Highway assembly. Based on an idea I had while attending a conference awhile back, I created "Fitness Frankie"! Fitness Frankie is a bear that my husband brought back for me from Indiana when he was visiting friends a few years back (I love bears!). I have had him in my office for a few years but he did not have a name or a purpose until recently. He has a race car on his stomach so I thought that I might use him for our Healthy Highway program one day. Well, one idea led to another and now we have Fitness Frankie! I introduced him at our assembly this week and our students were very excited! Fitness Frankie is going to spend one week in each classroom so that he can learn about Healthy Highway and participate in Wellness Wednesday and Fitness Friday, He travels in a small sack with a binder so that students in each classroom can help him to keep a journal of his adventure! One of our third grade classes was the first to host Fitness Frankie and I had a ball visiting the classroom and talking to students about how he was doing! On Tuesday I reminded the class that the next day was Wellness Wednesday. One of the students asked me about what Fitness Frankie likes to eat! I answered that he likes anything healthy of course! On Wednesday I visited the class at the end of the day and had the pleasure of listening to one of the students read what he had written about the healthy snacks that Fitness Frankie had eaten! Fitness Frankie also attended Fitness Friday in the gymnasium (where else would he be???) where students, teachers, and I danced the Peanut Butter and Jelly Dance and the Cupid Shuffle!

.....During the North Park Healthy Highway assembly, our principal announced how many miles that students had earned for good character (traveling down Respect Road) and healthy choices by participating in Wellness Wednesday and Fitness Friday. Our students traveled 264 miles this month! We are all very proud of their efforts!

.......While talking to some students during bus duty Fitness Frankie came up again. These students are not in the class where Fitness Frankie was this week and they were talking about the exercises they were going to have him do during Fitness Friday when it was their turn to host!

.....Unrelated to Fitness Frankie, but related to bears and zoo animals, my kindergarten students were participating in a Zany Zoo activity to practice moving in different levels. I created a "Zoo Ring" using some foam noodles and noodle connectors. I was watching the activity when a student jumped out of the "Zoo Ring" and said "Look! I escaped!" I laughed out loud!

Have a great week everyone! Thanks for reading about the best parts of my week!

The Best Parts of My Week....12/6-12/10

2010-12-12T14:54:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

It seems to me that the best parts of my week are a little bit like snowflakes.....no two weeks are exactly alike!

.....One of the things that I love about technology, having a website, and blogging is that I get a chance to connect with people that I would have otherwise never met! Early this week I received an e-mail from Paul Stasso who is the founder of P.A.C.E. Trek. P.A.C.E. stands for Promoting Active Children Everywhere. Paul asked me if I would mention his program in my blog. I had heard of P.A.C.E. Trek before, but wanted to find out more about it. I learned that this program invites students to virtually "tag along" as he completes amazing journeys all over the world. Schools sign up and pledge to complete the same mileage as he runs along a particular route. Student mileage is accumulated and students can log on to the P.A.C.E. Trek website to view Paul's progress and learn about his trip. This program is a great way to encourage student activity while introducing students to places they most likely have not been! Paul's next trip is a journey across the Mohave Desert in April, 2011. This program is free to students in grades K-12. Check it out and learn more at www.pacetrek.com!

...."Healthy Highway" continues to grow and take shape at North Park! This week a student spontaneously told me that he had strawberries for lunch. I asked him if he brought them for lunch or if they were served as part of the school lunch. He answered that they were served as part of the school lunch. He was very proud of his choice! I asked the class if anyone else chose strawberries during lunch and many students raised their hands. I then asked if there was a green circle near the choice (Green Light foods). They responded that indeed there was a green circle near the strawberries and we entered into a great discussion about green light foods and making healthy choices!

.....We had some fun (actually, a lot of fun) with our parachute this week. I learned a few new activities at a recent conference that I attended and I was eager to try them out! One of the activities involved a ball "surfing" on the parachute while I played a song about surfing in the background. The students were so very excited and had a great time working together to make the ball "Surf". One of the students said "This makes me think of Hawaii!"

......Another parachute activity involved soft music playing in the background while students took turns laying down on the parachute while the rest of us moved the parachute gently as if it were a cloud. Our parachute is rainbow colored and each handle corresponds to a color. I called colors for student turns. During one class, students were sure to encourage me to have a turn when my color was called! It was great to experience the activity and to enjoy and encourage the fairness that students were displaying while allowing everyone - including me - to have a turn! After all had had a turn, I asked students to share what that experience felt like. Students were so willing to share and were so creative in their responses! Some mentioned that it felt like they were floating, others shared that it felt relaxing! I think many would have stayed in the parachute relaxing all day if time allowed!

.....Older students had a chance to share feelings this week too! I use something called "Feelings Cards" (Project Adventure) with my older students at the end of our cooperative unit to discuss how they felt during particular activities. These cards are terrific because not only do they display words, but they also include pictures to describe many different feelings. Cards describe feelings from sad to happy to frustrated to confused to worried and so on. During one class this week, I placed about 25 cards on the floor and asked students to pick (in their mind) one card that best described their feelings during each of three final cooperative activities. I then asked students to create small groups to discuss these feelings. I gave the groups a few minutes to discuss the cards and feelings. I was impressed at the discussions that were taking place and the willingness of students to share. I then asked if anyone wanted to share with the class one of the feelings and the reason for their choice. I thought maybe one or two students would want to share with the full class group, but there were so many hands up we took extra time to share! It proved to me (once again) that cooperative/adventure education is a powerful tool to teach problem solving and cooperation in addition to building trust!

.....This last entry had nothing to do with my PE classes this week, but still makes the list of "The Best Parts of My Week! Our PTA is wonderful and very generous and was able to schedule a special assembly for our school this week. We enjoyed a full hour of a performance by a group of dancers and drummers from West Africa. This group was awesome! The energy and talent displayed during the assembly was incredible! Students were engaged and excited, but also respectful to the performers. (Our principal was so impressed with the respect that our students displayed that each class was given permission to move their class car - part of Healthy Highway - one mile down "Respect Road".) They were especially excited when the teachers were up in front learning and performing a dance! Without the generosity of our PTA, many students and staff would never have had the opportunity to experience this inspiring performance!

.....Remember, feel free to e-mail me the best parts of YOUR week! I would love to hear from you! - northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....11/29-12/3

2010-12-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
Well, the holiday excitement has begun! Experiencing the holiday season in an elementary school is wonderful and exhausting at the same time! Here we go!

.....This year I am assigned to bus duty in the upper elementary wing. Those of you who have read my blog before know that I actually enjoy bus duty! It gives me a chance to interact with students in a different setting and wish them well as they leave school at the end of the day. This week one student had a big smile on his face as he passed by me and spontaneously said (he knows I ask) "I had a great day today!" and wished me a nice evening. It made me feel good that my school was able to elicit that kind of response at the end of a day.

.....I am finishing up my unit on cooperative activities with my older students. One of the final activities is using our traverse rock wall. Students must spot each other on the wall after they learn the spotting commands. This year we were able to add a challenge course accessory to the wall which includes foam noodles in noodle holders. Students choose the level of challenge by climbing over, under, or through noodles and noodle arches. When the students walked in they were beside themselves with excitement! I was impressed at the level of cooperation during this activity! One student commented that we should use the wall more often and suggested that it be available during our warm-up sometimes. They are always thinking! In addition to the rock wall another final activity involves "noodle bits". These are small pieces of foam noodles. The task was for students to balance as many "bits" as possible on a partner, count the number of bits, and then record their best score. This was a great activity to observe! Students were so creative and enjoyed this activity! You can view pictures of all of the cooperative activities on my website: North Park PE

.....We had a great time during Fitness Friday this week! I invited my kindergarten and first grade students to the gymnasium. I taught them the Peanut Butter and Jelly Dance and the Cupid Shuffle! They and their teachers were terrific dancers and agreed that dancing is a great way to exercise! Some adults passing by the gymnasium stopped in to see what all the excitement was about and joined in too!

Have a great week!

The Best Parts of My Week....11/22-11/26

2010-11-28T18:18:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! This was Thanksgiving week and early release days for parent/teacher conferences and so it was a short week for students which gave me some time to reflect on my own "attitude of gratitude". I am thankful for many things in my life - my family, my friends, my school, my work, technology, and so much more! I realized that in a way, I am giving thanks each week as I share with you "The Best Parts of My Week"!

.....Monday was our 50th day of school! Our primary students count the days of school as part of their Math activities and celebrate at certain milestones. Several years ago, some of our teachers decided to celebrate the 50th day of school with a 1950's themed day. They asked if I could support this celebration by teaching some dances from the 1950's. Well, it grew into the 50th Day of School Sock Hop! We had so much fun doing the Hand Jive, the Stroll, the Twist, and listening to some genuine 50's music!

.....I was dressed up for the Sock Hop on Monday. Some people who saw me did not understand why I was dressed the way I was and I spent some time during the day explaining. At the end of the day however, when I was doing bus duty, one of the older students walked by and said "Oh, it must be the 50th day of school!" She liked my outfit and remembered participating in the sock hop herself!

Have a great week!

The Best Parts of My Week....11/15-11/19

2010-11-21T14:05:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,
This was an incredibly busy week "chock full" of wonderful moments! Read on.......

.....On Monday we held our second Healthy Highway assembly. It was full of smiles and energy! We introduced "Respect Road" and danced the "Healthy Highway" dance! It was a sight to see everyone dancing and moving forward on the "Healthy Highway"!

.....As part of our character education program, students can be rewarded for good behavior with a special card that allows them to go to the front of the line for lunch. Tuesday was the first day and students were so proud they couldn't wait to tell us! One student was so excited that she went to the front of the line all the way to the cash register without getting her lunch!

.....I had a wonderful opportunity this week to attend and present at the NYSAHPERD annual conference. While in attendance at the conference, I enjoyed meeting new people and connecting with colleagues who are just as passionate about quality Physical Education as I am! My district supports and encourages professional development and I feel fortunate to have had this opportunity. Conferences re-energize me, validate the work that I do, and provide me with information about the latest innovative ideas and programs that can only improve the health and wellness of our students and ourselves! I learned so many new things and I can't wait to try them out at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week....11/8-11/12

2010-11-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
These are the "Best Parts of My Week!

.......A parent stopped me in the lobby early this week and said "I LOVE your program!" I thanked her, of course, for the kind words. This took me by surprise because this is a new parent that I had not yet met. She obviously knew who I was (maybe it was the sweats....). She continued to talk about how hard it is for kids to stay fit and she appreciated all that our program does to promote and encourage healthy lifestyle choices! That conversation started off the week on a high note!

..... I was chatting with some students while I waited for their teacher to pick them up after PE. We were talking about our Fit Kids program and our new venture - Healthy Highway. I told the students that we were going to have a Healthy Highway assembly on Monday and during the assembly they would learn some new ways to earn points and "miles". One of the students asked if we were going to do the Healthy Highway Dance. Now, this was a fifth grade class and when the question was asked, I was not sure if they were looking forward to it or not. I answered: "Of course we are going to do the Healthy Highway Dance!" The students replied excitedly that they loved the dance! We all started spontaneously doing parts of the dance! I am so happy that they are looking forward to it! I am too!

.....I started a lesson on pathways with my primary students and I was talking about maps and roads. Students had a jump rope on the floor and were moving in many different ways along it as if it were a straight road. One of my students raised his hand and told me that he had a fortune cookie recently that said that he could travel down any road that he wanted to! I agree!!!

.....My upper elementary students continue to use our PE Packs to use pedometers at home. I was talking with one student waiting for a bus and it was raining. I gave him some suggestions to use the pedometer indoors and he said that he would figure out some way to use it. The next day I was reviewing log cards from the pack and I discovered that he had logged over 1200 steps. This was particularly significant to me on many levels, but mostly because this student found a way to exercise despite obstacles in the way!

Enjoy your week! Thanks for reading about the Best Parts of My Week!

The Best Parts of My Week....11/1-11/5

2010-11-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
Hard to believe it's November already!

.....I had the privilege of having a colleague from another district come to visit my school on Monday! It is always fun to collaborate with other like-minded professionals!

.....Tuesday was a teacher training day in our district and as a result, school was closed for students. I had the opportunity to attend and present at the SEZ of NYSAHPERD Election Day Conference. It was a terrific day and I always come back energized and ready to try out some new ideas!

.....My primary students are finishing up a unit on cooperative/adventure education. As a culmination to this unit, students were climbing our new rock wall. As our wall is magnetic, I placed random letters on the wall and challenged students to touch all of the letters that they could climb to and reach. Many of these students have not been on our wall before and the range of emotions on their faces that I saw before, during, and after their turn on the wall was priceless! I feel extremely fortunate to have a rock wall and provide the opportunity for the challenge and adventure of climbing and spotting to my students!

.....As a result of a grant I received, I was able to create a program called "PE Packs to GO!" where students borrow pedometers for use at home. Students share the packs with two other friends and I challenged the students to reach a combined goal of 10,000 steps. As you might imagine, there are some frustrations involved in getting the packs back in a timely manner.....but on Friday, one of my students came to find me to tell me that his group decided on a new goal - 20,000 steps! He said that two of the three friends who had used the pack had already gotten more than 16,000 steps and the third friend had yet to use it so they increased the goal! That made me realize that this program is definitely motivating students to move more outside of school!

Have a great week! Feel free to e-mail me the best parts of your week at northparkpe@yahoo.com!

The Best Parts of My Week....10/25-10/29

2010-10-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
As each week begins, I wonder what will emerge as the "Best Parts". Sometimes I wonder if I will be able to write about something meaningful that others will relate to as they read this blog. Let's face it.....teaching is a labor of love and some days seem more challenging than others. However, challenges lead to hard work, and hard work leads to success. Nevertheless, as each week ends and I reflect on the week as a whole, I always come back to the positive moments; The Best Parts of My Week!

.....Several of our kindergarten and first grade classes went on a field trip this week to a local performing arts center. At the end of the day I was asking one of the teachers how the trip was and I inquired about what show they saw. I was told that they saw a show about several Leo Lionni books. One of these books is called Swimmy. I replied excitedly that I had recently used that book as a lead up to one of my cooperative activities with my first grade classes. The book is about a fish named Swimmy who teaches his fish friends to work together so that they can keep each other safe in the ocean. The teacher then said that her students told her all about the PE class where I read the book and they played a game called "Giant Tuna" where they learned to help their friends! I truly felt like that lesson made a difference in these students' lives. This experience also pointed out to me that there are many opportunities to collaborate with classroom teachers that are missed and I hope to capitalize on those opportunities in the future.

.....Healthy Highway continues to grow! This week I was assigned bus duty in the fourth and fifth grade wing. I used my "Traffic Light" sign that we made in our committee. Showing red means "Stop and think about it"; yellow means "Slow down and think about it"; and green means "All systems go". One of the places we use these signs is in the hallway during dismissal to remind students to move safely. It is pretty amazing how these simple signs work! As one student was racing down the hallway I showed the yellow sign to her and she immediately slowed down! I did not have to say a word! Other times this week students spontaneously used the hand signals to the color that I was showing! One of our parents who saw the signs in action wished that she had a similar prop to use at home!

.....Each week I have a "Question in the Pocket" as I call it. This is a question that is placed in a wall hanging that has four pockets. The top pocket holds the question, the next holds a picture of a smiling face, the next holds a picture of a thinking face, and the last holds a picture of a sad face. This wall hanging is placed at the exit doors of the gymnasium. As students leave PE they are asked to "Choose a face". This is an exercise in self-reflection for students. Students "answer" the question by touching the face that best reflects their behavior during PE related to the question. This week's question was "Did you help others during PE today?" Prior to answering the question, I asked students to tell me who and how they helped during PE. The answers they gave validated my belief that students are great helpers! They really do want to help others. They just need the opportunity and the example......

Have a great week everyone!

The Best Parts of My Week - 10/18-10/22

2010-10-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
This was a jam-packed week! There were many great events of the week!

.....Tuesday was Fire Safety Day. During this day the gymnasium is used for one of the Fire Safety Stations so I make plans to be outside when the weather permits. I made an announcement that all PE classes would be held outside. After the announcements, one of my second graders walked by the gymnasium and said "Sorry you lost your house today!" He was very sincere and I was impressed that he had the empathy to recognize that the gymnasium could be my "house" and that being out of it might be something to be sad about!

.....I mentioned last week that my students are participating in a unit on cooperative education and that some classes are struggling with some of the lessons. I was thrilled at the messages that my students shared this week after completing the cooperative activities. Students in grades K-5 shared how others helped them and that it felt good to help and be helped!

.....I had the opportunity to attend and participate in a Care to Share event at Manhattanville College sponsored by the Southeastern Zone of NYS AHPERD. I shared some pedometer activities and explained my PE Packs to GO program to the graduate students in PE. This was a great opportunity for me to share some of what I do to enthusiastic students, but I also learned some new activities from some of my colleagues in the SEZ! This was certainly an opportunity to continue as a lifetime learner!

.....I created and sent home my monthly newsletter this week - The Fizz-Ed Times. I couldn't believe the number of Fitness Fanatics we had this month!We had a record 36 Fitness Fanatics! Fitness Fanatics have completed and turned in our monthly Fitness Calendar.

.....We held our first assembly for Healthy Highway this week. Our school is participating as a pilot school for the Healthy Highway program created by Wendy Cooper. The assembly was terrific! Students quickly learned hand signals for the Green, Red, and Yellow traffic light signs and some of our teachers and I taught our school the "Healthy Highway Dance"! The next morning after the assembly I held up the red side of our traffic light sign and my fifth graders spontaneously showed me the hand signals to go with the red light which means "Stop and think about it". I guess we are on the "Road to Success"!

The Best Parts of My Week - 10/13-10/15

2010-10-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
It was a short week due to our Columbus Day Holiday, but there was no shortage of great moments during the week!

.....I smiled as I watched the pure joy on the faces of kindergarten students as we played a game called "Clean Up Your Own Backyard"! This is such a simple game that reinforces the concept of over and under, yet the students absolutely love it! I sneak in some "Garbage Math" during this activity. Students count the "garbage" at the end of each round and we add it up together. I am quite sure that they did not realize that they were doing Math during PE, but PE is so much more than just "throwing out the ball" and playing games!

.....While I watched a third grade class struggle with a new cooperative activity, I realized that the value and need for cooperative/adventure education can not be underestimated. I am looking forward to the journey that this group will take as they learn to work together and problem solve for the greater good!

.....Listening to my fifth grade students answer my question about what was important during a cooperative game that we had just played called "Scrunchie Tag" was an amazing experience. We use something I call the "Magic Microphone". It is a microphone that is "Magic" because it only allows the person holding it to speak. Students shared ideas about the importance of playing fair, having fun, helping their classmates during the game by "donating" a scrunchie to someone in need of one, and playing safe while tagging. The power of cooperative/adventure education continues!

Have a great week!

The Best Parts of My Week....10/4-10/8

2010-10-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
It was a pretty busy week at North Park......actually, they all are! That's what keeps me going! Enjoy the best parts of my week!

.....Our school is beginning a journey this year by participating as a pilot school for Healthy Highway. This is a program that was created by Wendy Cooper. I met Wendy five years ago at a conference and I have watched her program grow. I am pleased to say that we are on the "Road to Success" now as a Healthy Highway school! This program uses traffic signs and a highway theme to teach and reinforce safety rules, fitness, and nutrition concepts to elementary children. We were fortunate to have Wendy at our school this week for training. It was a terrific day and we have a wonderful group of teachers, food service staff, administrators, and support staff that will make this journey one to remember! I am looking forward to this program!

.....I received a card from a kindergarten student this week. In the card, the mom of the student wrote me a note to say that her child wanted to write me a card and that although she physically wrote the card, the words and feelings were all her child's. The kindergarten student wrote to tell me that she loved PE and how PE makes you tired but strong! That card made my day! I went to the student's classroom to thank her and she was all smiles! So was I! Sometimes the words and smiles of a student are all you need to know that you are on the right path and making a difference!

The Best Parts of My Week 9/27-10/1

2010-10-04T05:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

School is in full swing! I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....During an "Alphabet Soup" warm-up students were spelling words that they knew by actively moving about the gymnasium and touching alphabet tiles scattered on the floor. At the end of warm-up, I asked a second grade class to share the words that they spelled. One student said "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but I didn't have time to finish!" Since we do the same warm-up for the three days of the PE Week, each day she spent time spelling the word and finally finished! You really can't make this stuff up! By the way, I spell-checked this to be sure I knew how to spell it, but I am quite sure that my second grader did not need to!

.....On Friday morning I arrived to find a wonderful gift at my door! Our school Cub Scout Den is learning about community and made me a decorated pencil holder for my desk! It is decorated with sports labels and "R" and a "star" for "Rock star"! I always say that teaching in an elementary school makes you feel like a Rock star! One of the moms involved told me that I am their Rock star! What an amazing feeling! Thanks to our thoughtful Cub Scouts!

Have a great week!

The Best Parts of My Week....9/20-9/24

2010-09-26T16:35:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,
It was once again a great week with many stories to share! Enjoy!

.....I was playing a game called the Incredible Shrinking Gymnasium with a group of my primary students. The object of the lesson is to pretend that the gymnasium shrinks little by little so that students learn to move safely in small spaces. I added something to the lesson this year that I called my "Magic Button" which makes the gymnasium grow larger and larger. I must be a pretty good actress because more than one of my students asked me if the button really works!!!!

.....During this week we held our annual "Meet the Staff" nights. We hold a night for grades K-2 and a separate one for grades 3-5. While special area teachers are not required to attend both nights, how can I pick which one is more important? The answer is that I can't, so I attend both nights. I am so glad that I did! Each year I meet so many interested parents and this year was no different! I had many wonderful conversations including one with three generations of interested family members; a mom, grandmother, and great grandmother! How wonderful for this child that there are so many people willing to be a part of her education! Another conversation included a parent asking me about a new program that I created called "PE Packs to GO!" I mentioned this program to my fifth grade students and while I got some positive reaction, I was not quite sure how it was received overall. This parent that came to visit me on "Meet the Staff" night said that the first thing that her child spoke about at the end of the day was the fact that 5th graders were going to be able to use the "PE Packs to GO!" I guess they were listening and excited!

.....At the end of this week I was playing a game called "Bubbles" with some primary students. This game involves students moving throughout the gymnasium holding hoops around them as if they were "Bubbles". The object of the game is to keep your "bubble" from popping by not touching any other "bubbles" . I'm sure that you know the phrase "Sorry to burst your bubble"; but how many six year old students know and understand that phrase? Well, sure enough, one of my primary students was playing the game and as she went by me during the game she said " don't want to burst your bubble!!!" with a big smile on her face! That made me smile and the fact that she understood the phrase was not lost on me!

I am looking forward to what fun awaits me next week! Have a great week!

The Best Parts of My Week 9/13-9/17

2010-09-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
This was the first full week of school and there were many events that qualified for the best parts of my week! Enjoy!

.....Tuesday was Primary Day and our school serves as a polling place. During the day I ran into a former student who had arrived to vote. We had a wonderful conversation!

.....This week several of my classes earned their "PE Driver's License"! They were so excited! (So was I!) This is a part of the "Healthy Highway" program that our school is adopting this year.

.....As a result of our work to earn a "PE Driver's License" students learn the "PE Rules of the Road". The rules are associated with common traffic signs. After three days of teaching and review, one of my first grade students came up to me and said "Guess what - I saw the "Do Not Enter" (with food, drink, or candy) sign on the way to school today! I guess she was paying attention!

.....I hosted my first "Fitness Friday" of the year for students in kindergarten and first grade! We had a blast! The kindergarten students now know what "Fitness Friday" is all about!

The Best Parts of the First Week of School!

2010-09-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the 2010-2011 school year! I am so excited to be back at school! If you are new to my blog, I hope you enjoy the best parts of my week! At the end of each week, I write about what was great about the past week. It's a way for me to share funny stories, kid's quotes, and teachable moments, and helps me to focus on and share what is good in every week. Sure, there are challenges to face each week, but I believe that focusing on the positives helps me to appreciate all that is good about teaching! This week was the first week of school and teachers and students alike were happy to be back! There was an electricity in the building that is unlike any other beginning that I have experienced. I feel privileged to be able to be a part of this excitement every year! The smiles and hugs were endless when the bell rang and students arrived on Wednesday morning. I met several new students during the day, including some of our new kindergarten students. One student arrived for PE in the afternoon and upon entering the gymnasium said "Are we playing basketball today?" When I replied that there were many fun activities in store for him, but basketball was not on the list yet, he replied "Then what are we doing here?" It struck me that at five years old, he already had a preconceived notion as to what PE was all about. How does that happen???? I guess one of my challenges will be to teach him that PE is more than just basketball! One of the first day activities that I provide for my students is a slide show of last year's PE activities. The objective is to remind students of activities that they enjoyed and show students activities that they can look forward to this year. It also reminds me of how fortunate we are at North Park. We have so many wonderful opportunities! At the end of the week, I had the good fortune to be greeted with smiles and hugs from two former students. It is so gratifying to realize that you have made a difference in the lives of your students! It was a great week! I hope you enjoy this blog! Feel free to e-mail me the best parts of YOUR week! - northparkpe@yahoo.com

The Best Parts of My Week....6/21-6/24

2010-06-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Well, it's the last week of school! Every year seems to go faster and faster! Wasn't it just September? Wasn't it just my first day of teaching back in 1984? I went through my school yearbook today and I counted 19 of my students whose parents I had as students too! You would think that after all this time I would be counting the days to retirement.....but just the opposite is true! I am more and more energized as the years go by. Sure, my bones and joints hurt more and this job is sometimes physically challenging, but I am only looking toward retirement in the sense that I am counting how much time I have left to accomplish my goals. There is so much more that I want to do! I love my job and the following are some reasons why!

.....While talking to one of my fourth graders on the last day of PE, he shared with me that he now has his own pedometer and will be wearing it all summer to see how many steps he moves each week just like I do!

.....I watched in pride as our 5th grade students "Moved Up" during the ceremonies and celebrations of this week! It seems like yesterday that they arrived as kindergarten students!

.....As I was saying good-bye to students on the last day of school during dismissal, I was suddenly wrapped in a hug by one of my students. While many students give hugs on the way out, this one was special on many levels. It's hard to describe why, but if you are a teacher, you know the kind of student I am talking about........the challenging one......the one it was hard to connect with......the one that you were never quite sure if you were giving what the student needed.......the hug told me that I got it right!

Have a great summer everyone! See you in September!

The Best Parts of My Week....6/7-6/11

2010-06-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

This week we held our annual Field Days! Field Days were the best parts of my week on so many levels!

.....seeing the excitement on the faces of Kindergarten students as they experienced Field Day for the first time!

.....welcoming the more than 40 volunteers who helped with Field Days which included parents, grandparents, and former students!

.....playing with students during Tug of War, "Clean Up Your Own Backyard", Beach Ball Volleyball, Water Balloon Toss, "Spaghetti and Meatballs Relay", and more!

.....watching with pride as fifth grade students cooperate, problem-solve, and work together during our adventure-style fifth grade Field Day!

.....listening to the excitement on the fields while students participated in the many Field Day activities!

.....answering a Kindergarten student the day after Field Day who asked if we were going to have Field Day again!

.....reading a booklet made by Kindergarten students who wrote about and drew a picture of their favorite Field Day activity as a way to thank me for providing them with a terrific Field Day experience!

.....feeling the excitement in the air each day that a Field Day was scheduled!

.....being grateful for terrific weather on each of three Field Days even the weather forecast indicated otherwise!

.....realizing that all of the work that goes into creating successful Field Days is worth every minute!!!!

The Best Parts of My Week....6/1-6/4

2010-06-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

As the school year winds down, the events and activities wind up!!!!!!!
Enjoy the best parts of my week!

.....During Kindergarten Orientation, as I was explaining my PE program to a group of parents touring the building, a parent of a current student and an incoming kindergarten student thanked me for teaching her daughter Yoga! She explained that her daughter came home and told her mother that she learned a new way to react to her little brother when he was bothering her! She learned a "Volcano" pose, which helps students get rid of angry or difficult feelings and was going to use it the next time she got upset. The power of Yoga for children continues to amaze me! That made my day!

.....As I was chatting about our upcoming Field Days with a group of students waiting to be picked up by their teacher, one of the students asked if I organized all of the Field Days for all of the students in our school. It was as if she just realized that someone had to be the one to organize the events and that they just don't happen by themselves. I responded that yes, I organize our Field Days each year. She then replied "Doesn't that take a lot of time?" I of course said yes, but that I love Field Day and it is worth all of the work that goes into it so that students can have fun! I then asked all of these students to show their "Attitude of Gratitude" during Field Day so that everyone can enjoy the activities. It was amazing to me that an elementary student could be aware of and appreciate the amount of work that it takes to create a school-wide event!

The Best Parts of My Week....5/24-5/28

2010-05-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
It never ceases to amaze me that every week can be so different! Each week I am surprised by the events that can emerge as the Best Parts of My Week!

.....After a bus duty conversation with some of my students, I was asked to wear one of the earliest Field Day T-shirts that I had had made for my school Field Days. I had to dig back in the closet, but came up with one from 1996! All of my students were not even born yet, but they were thrilled to see me wearing the shirt!

.....This week my primary students spent time participating in Yoga activities. Two reactions stand out for me. First, when students arrived to the gymnasium and realized we were doing Yoga they smiled and exclaimed YOGA YESSSSS!!! Next, after finishing the activity with a relaxation and breathing activity, a kindergarten student said "This was so relaxing!"

.....During May, we celebrate National Physical Fitness and Sports Month with a project called "Operation Healthy North Park". Students, families, employees, and community members participate by exercising and filling out paper sneakers for activity lasting at least 20 minutes. These sneakers are collected, counted, and displayed on a bulletin board at school. This week, I received a pile of sneakers from a high school PE teacher and his students! This teacher had taught with me in prior years and chose to support the program by including himself and his students in the project! Many of the names on the sneakers were former students of mine who had participated in the project when they were elementary students! That truly made my day!

The Best Parts of My Week....5/10-5/14.....

2010-05-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
What an exciting week this was! We are so fortunate at North Park! It was a great week to show our "Attitude of Gratitude!"

.....Wednesday our brand new ROCK WALL was installed! We now have a 20' long and 8' high magnetized rock wall! We will be trying it out this coming week! Everyone at school is so excited!!!!!!! (ME TOO!)

.....We have a wonderful PTA at my school! They often fund enrichment programs for our students and this year they offered me the opportunity to choose an enrichment program for funding. I immediately thought of Homespun Dance. This group is made up of Peter, Paul, and George, and they offer a program of live music and traditional American community dancing. I have had the pleasure of working with them in the past and I was excited to invite them to come back to North Park! During Thursday afternoon and all day Friday, Peter, Paul, and George provided an amazing experience for all of our students in grades K-5. The students and adults were engaged and enthusiastic throughout the program and the Family Dance Night on Friday night capped off the experience with a terrific night of dancing with students and families! This group of artists love what they do so much, that it is impossible not to love it too! Check out the pictures and you will see what I mean!

The Best Parts of My Week 5/3-5/7

2010-05-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
This was Teacher Appreciation Week in my school and I certainly felt appreciated!

....Our PTA encourages our families and students to show appreciation using letters for each day of Teacher Appreciation Week. Our school letter days go from A-F, so for this week students used letters G-K. On "H" day I received "Hugs" candies from students....On "I" day the PTA supplied ice cream for a lunch treat and I received a packet of Impatients flower seeds.....On "J" day a student provided all kinds of "J" treats for the faculty and staff - jawbreaker candies, jelly beans, jolly ranchers, etc....On "K" day several students left Hershey Kisses chocolates...sometimes it's the little things that mean so much! The week ended with a wonderful luncheon provided by our PTA.....we feel so appreciated! Thanks to all!

.....This week our school began "Operation Healthy North Park" This is a program where students, families, employees and community members can turn in paper sneakers representing participation in a variety of exercise. Sneakers are counted and displayed on a bulletin board. Each year we try to break our record from the previous year. The sneakers are coming in! We are off to a great start!

.....It's been a busy week! We ended it with Project ACES - a program launched by Len Saunders to encourage exercise. ACES stands for All Children Exercise Simultaneously. I tried something new this year and I was happy to see students and adults engaged, smiling, and exercising together! It was a great way to cap off a great week!

......Finally, this weekend I was proud to attend the SEZ Elementary/Middle School PE Awards ceremony. Four of our students were among the more than 300 students being honored. The speaker commented that "you can fill up a gymnasium with all that is good about the youth of today". She was right!!!!!

The Best Parts of My Week....4/26-4/30

2010-05-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Sometimes it's best to step back and take in the best moments of each day from a short distance......This week, I did just that....

.....I watched a group of students outside at recess from my office window drawing boxes on the blacktop with sidewalk chalk and then playing four square. While that might not seem like a great moment, it was for me because prior to my teaching four square for the first time this year, students in my school did not play four square at recess. That moment showed me that, as teachers, we do make a difference, but we don't always get to experience it first-hand....

.....My younger students have been exploring balance with many different pieces of equipment these last two weeks. We are fortunate to have a variety of interesting equipment that helps students experiment with balance in safe and fun ways. One of the objects we use are foam noodles. Students try to balance their noodle in different ways. Some students balance it on their head, feet, fingers, shoulders, knees, etc. As I was observing one of the groups, I could not help but smile at the pure joy that showed on one particular student's face as he balanced his noodle on the bottom of his foot while laying on the floor on his back. His giggles were infectious! What a fun way to learn!

The Best Parts of My Week....4/19-4/23

2010-04-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
This week's "Best Parts" happened during and after school!!!!

.....A second grade student brought to PE his medal that he won on a recent family vacation. He was very proud of it and I asked him how he won it. He replied: "Jump roping! No one could keep up with me!" What a great example of a student transferring something that he learned in PE to real life!

.....Family Fun Night! This week our PTA sponsored an event called Family Fun Night to celebrate PARP - Parents as Reading Partners. It has been a tradition for my obstacle course to be set up in the gym as one of the centers that students and families can enjoy. I was happy to set it up and run it for the evening. I had great fun helping and cheering on our students, their siblings, and even some "alumni" that came back to take a turn!

.....Our new rock wall! This week I was told that our new traverse rock wall is being installed in three weeks! I am looking forward to adding it to our program!

The Best Parts of My Week - 4/12-4/16

2010-04-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hi again,
What a busy week this was! Still, there were many great parts of the week.....

.....talking with a former student, now a parent of a current student, and realizing what a privilege it is to teach in a school long enough to be able to enjoy that experience!

.....playing Four Square with a group of 4th grade students and enjoying the smiles as we played. I was welcomed into the game by the players enthusiastically! Our focus was on Fair and Honest play. Each player was fair and honest, which made the game much more enjoyable! They commented about how much fun they had had during PE!

.....being in the audience watching a school play performance. I am in awe of the talent of our students and enjoy seeing them shine in different activities!

.....participating in a special Yoga program provided by Miss Kathleen of Wellcome Yoga. Our PTA offers grade level grants to bring programs into our school. I applied for, and was awarded a grant to bring this yoga program to three of our primary classes. The students and teachers loved it! We even met "Mr. Zoobles", Miss Kathleen's Yoga character. We learned many poses as we played yoga. We learned down dog, table, rock or child's pose, sign language for Yoga, that yoga links mind, body, and breath, and more!....thank you to our PTA and Miss Kathleen!

The Annual Jump Show!

2010-03-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
This week our annual Jump Show definitely stood out as "The Best Part of My Week! In an earlier post, I talked about our Jump Rope for Heart event. The Jump Show is a celebration of all of the hard work from our students and staff that make Jump Rope for Heart a success! Believe it or not, this started out quite a bit smaller, but then, these things usually do! We held our first Jump Rope for Heart event in 2005. We wanted to provide an incentive for students to do their best for this event, so our principal offered to jump rope during dismissal if we met our goal. Sure enough we met and exceeded our goal for the event! Everyone was so excited about the success that many more adults, myself included, offered to jump rope for the students. One thing led to another and before we knew it we were putting on a Jump Show! That alone speaks to the tremendous support that I receive from my colleagues for this and many other events! The first year we extended "CAUTION" tape as a joke to ensure the safety of all of the adult jumpers! Over the years, the event has grown to involve students and staff. This year, students from every grade level; Kindergarten through Fifth grade, performed during the show. Students and staff alike have improved their jumping skills and this year we were able to perform tricks like the Traveler, Rope in Rope, one-footed Front Cross, 2 in 1 Face to Face, and more! Many of our staff participated in our long turning rope jumping and we were able to get as many as four jumpers in one rope at a time! We even have one staff member who is amazing at the Chinese Jump Rope and she willingly performs every year! We are still working on being able to do Double Dutch......there's always next year! Judging by the applause and cheers from our students, we have their support to persevere! Thanks to everyone at North Park for your unending support and your willingness to be "Heart Heroes"!

The Best Parts of My Week....

2010-03-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! These were the best parts of my week! Feel free to e-mail me with the best parts of yours!

........March Madness has arrived at North Park! I was playing a game called Dribble Tag to help students learn and practice basketball dribbling techniques. The basic idea is that all students dribble a ball while two other students are "it" and attempt to tag as many students as possible while dribbling a ball as well. If a player is tagged, or loses control of the ball, he/she must "take a knee" and wait for another student to complete three passes, either chest or bounce pass, with the tagged student so that he/she may rejoin the game. During one of my classes, the classroom teacher came in to play! The students were thrilled! The teacher clearly enjoyed the game and tried to include everyone in his area of play! It was terrific to see the enjoyment on everyone's face! I think he made their day! I know that he made mine by caring enough to participate!

........One day this week I had the opportunity to provide a yoga session to a Girl Scout Troop trying to earn a particular badge. I was asked by the leader if I would be available to teach the students some yoga and I was pleased to be asked! It was scheduled for this week and it was a terrific experience! The girls were attentive and interested and event the leaders participated! A fun and relaxing time was had by one and all and I was grateful to be asked to help!

.......Fitness Friday was alive and well at North Park this week! This week I invited two grade levels to join me for Fitness Friday in the gymnasium where we spend about 15 minutes doing some form of exercise. Usually it involves a dance or two and upwards of 100 students at a time. Classes earn a point for participation in Fitness Friday (classes can participate in Fitness Friday on their own as well) and points can be redeemed for different types of equipment like balls, jump ropes, frisbees, etc. This week I taught a new dance that I just learned called "Walk the Dinosaur"! What fun! Not only did all of the students participate enthusiastically but the classroom teachers and other adults did as well! Some people stopped in just to see what all the activity was about! We ended the session with the ever popular "Monkey in the Middle" which involves one student at a time being the "monkey" and the rest of the students following the monkey because "monkey see monkey do!" I Love Fitness Friday!
Visit the following link to view different Fitness Fridays in action! http://www.hydeparkschools.org/NPE/fitkids.shtml

Visit my blog each week to find out about "The Best Parts of My Week!"

Message Received.......

2010-03-14T16:14:00.001-07:00

Those of you who have been following this blog are aware by now that each week I try to captivate and post the best moments of the week. This week is no different, but I am entitling it "Message Received" because, as teachers, we are not always certain that our students truly internalize the larger messages and lessons that we try to teach. This week I received wonderful feedback that validated for me that my message was received! Here are a few examples.......

- A student giving a tour of our building to a prospective student and family asked if the visitors would like to hear about some of the special events that we hold at our school. The visitors responded positively and the tour guide began to tell them about our recent Jump Rope for Heart Event. The visitors asked if this event was a competition between groups and the tour guide responded emphatically that Jump Rope for Heart was definitely not about winning and losing - it was all about helping other kids with sick hearts! That was absolutely a message received and it warmed my heart to know that!

- After playing a game called Artery Avengers, during which students were learning about how fat can clog arteries and that exercise and good nutrition can block fat and keep arteries clear and healthy, a student commented to me: "I don't want my arteries to get stuck, I love my arteries and veins!"

- As part of our character education program, we sometimes meet with small groups of students to obtain feedback about the program. I was having a discussion with a group of primary students this week regarding what they have learned from our program. I was so impressed with their responses! Students were able to discuss the focus of our character education program, as well as when they were most likely to use what they have learned. One student told me that she was most likely to focus on Doing Your Best (this month's focus) during Morning Work, because sometimes the work was hard. Another student responded that he had to "Choose a Positive Attitude" in the morning when he got up for school!

MESSAGE RECEIVED!

Jump Rope for Heart Was the BEST Part of my week!

2010-03-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

This was a special week! We held our annual Jump Rope for Heart and it was definitely the BEST part of my week! Our students have been preparing for this event and they did not disappoint! Each and every student gave his/her best effort during the event. In our building, Jump Rope for Heart is held during the day, so that everyone can participate, regardless of their ability to donate to the cause. As a result, students are made aware of the need to participate in their own heart health, in addition to the need to help others. This year's American Heart Association theme is "Be a Heart Hero", and everyone at my school is definitely a "HEART HERO"! Thanks to all who helped with this event! We had support from parents, colleagues, former students who made donations, administration, and the American Heart Association! I continue to be overwhelmed with the generosity of our North Park community! In these economic times, it is heartwarming to know that there are still those that believe in the mission of the American Heart Association and the importance of teaching our youth about the value of healthy hearts!
Pictures of our event can be viewed at
http://www.hydeparkschools.org/NPE/jrfh10.shtml

The Best Parts of My Week....

2010-02-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

My favorite moments of this week.........

.........a student quote: "It's only paper plates and a mat, but who knew it could be so much fun!".....talking about our figure skating Winter Olympic activity station.

........a student quote: "I was awesome today! I think I won the Gold Medal!"......talking upon leaving PE and self-assessing using the question: Did you do your best in PE today?

........A definition of student success: I encouraged a kindergarten student who was at the "Curling" station by saying: "Almost!" when he slid a bean bag toward the target and the bean bag slid in and out of the target box. He looked at me and said: "What do you mean almost? It went in the box!" My definition of success at the station was that the bean bag would slide in and stay in the target.....his was that as long as the bean bag went in, he was successful!

........Smiling as I watched my students enjoy our Winter Olympic Activity Stations. Check out the activities at my website:
North Park Physical Education. Click on Winter Olympics Activities!

The Best Parts of My Week!

2010-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

When you live in the Northeast, you learn to be flexible.....snow days, delays, and early releases are a given; and this week we experienced two out of three! Still, there were some great parts of the week!

......watching students rise to the challenge as they were allowed "Freedom With Responsibility" during the end of our gymnastics unit.

......experiencing the excitement of our Jump Rope For Heart Kick-off Assembly. Students and staff are ready to make a difference as we get ready to jump on March 2nd!

.....feeling the pride of our "torch bearers" as we began a Torch Relay warm-up to kick off the Winter Olympics!

The Best Parts of My Week......

2010-02-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

Some snippets of this past week......each one made my day!

.......learning as two students taught us how to "share count" in Korean!

.......listening to a kindergarten student recounting a gymnastic experience at a community program saying "that was back when I was a kid..."

.......watching as a first grade student patiently taught a classmate how to tie his shoes after PE class on more than one occasion.

......viewing a "Sea of Red" on Friday as students and adults alike supported "Go Red for Women Day", sponsored by the American Heart Association.

The Best Part of My Day......1/25

2010-01-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, the best part of my day involves time outside the gymnasium. Don't get me wrong, I love my job teaching PE!, but I do spend a fair amount of time with students during other events in the building and I enjoy this time as well. This month, I am assigned to supervising students while they are waiting to be picked up at the end of the school day. While some might disagree, I actually like this assignment! For me, it's a chance to interact with students in a different way. It's a great time for relaxed conversation as I ask students about their day, etc. Recently, a few of the "pick-ups" as we call the students, became interested in world capitals. The students are quite bright and know many more of these capitals than I do! They have enjoyed quizzing me at the end of the day and I have enjoyed learning too! Today we started with State Capitals and more and more of the students in this group are getting excited! Tomorrow I am going to bring my set of State Capitals flash cards that I planned to use for a game during PE. I'm going to study too! While this supervision time is brief, it has created teachable moments for many students, myself included!!!!!

The Best Part of My Day.....1/21

2010-01-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

Today's story is short and sweet.
During a gymnastics lesson a first grader was using a springboard to jump and land on a landing mat. He was having much fun jumping and landing and had already participated in a rolling station, a balance area, a jump and land station, the "possum hang" and the pull-up station. He was very excited and exclaimed "I wish my house was a gym. Then I could exercise all day!" When we enjoy our exercise we tend to do it more.......find the type of exercise you love and you will be excited too!

The Best Part of My Day.....

2010-01-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

Several years ago our principal retired and a new principal was hired. During the first few months of her tenure, she would frequently ask many staff members: "What was the best part of your day today?" The first time she asked me I will admit that I was caught completely off guard! I had to think about the day and come up with a response. While it's not hard to think of something good in every day, many times we just don't do it. We focus on the problems or the things that went wrong or the things we need to fix. Since that time I often think to myself at the end of the day to decide exactly what was the best part of my day. Sometimes it's easy to identify many great events of the day. Other times it's a struggle, but on these days I feel that it's the most important time to go over the day in my head to end on a positive note. As a result of that thinking I have decided to add a section to my blog called: "The Best Part of My Day.....". From time to time I would like to share with you the events of the day that were the best for me. Sometimes they may sound trivial, but for me it was "the best part of my day". Hope you enjoy it! Feel free to e-mail me with stories of "the best part of your day!"

Here's today's entry:

We are currently in the middle of a gymnastics unit. We are very fortunate and we have some great equipment. Students absolutely love this unit! I like to end the lesson with some stretching. I have cards with various stretches on them and I ask students to pick a stretch for the class to do. We do them together using what I call: "Share-Count Stretching" This means that I count 1 and the students count 2; I count 3 and the students count 4 and so on. I find this works really well because it slows down the stretch count and it is something we can do together, but with student input as to the kind of stretch we do. I can add some humor to it as well by whispering - the students whisper back, or speaking loudly and the students speak loudly back. Today we were "Share-Counting" with a fifth grade class and I spontaneously started to count in Spanish. The students responded accurately and enthusiastically! This worked so well I tried with the next class. This class was a third grade class which happens to have several ELL students (English Language Learners) in it. I asked the class first if they knew any Spanish. The smiles and look of pride on the ELL students was amazing! They knew that they would be teaching some other students how to "Share-Count" in their native language! Since I was enjoying this part of the lesson I again tried it with the next class - a K-1 Multi-Age class. Would you believe that they responded just as accurately and excitedly as the other classes! It was a nice addition to our "Share-Count" routine! I told my classes that next time I would teach them how to "Share-Count" in French!
E-mail me "The Best Part of Your Day!"

We All Want to Feel Important!

2009-12-01T05:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I began a unit in cooperative activities. After many years of teaching Project Adventure style lessons, I should not be surprised at the power of cooperative education, yet I am..... My fourth grade students were playing a game in which "donations" of particular pieces of equipment were necessary if all classmates were going to remain in the game. So this required students giving up something to another classmate, without anything in return, except a "thank you". I was amazed at the ease of the "donations"! Students loved the game and played it easily and with great joy! At the end of many of our cooperative activities, I ask students to share how a particular event made them feel. At the end of this game I asked students how they felt when someone "donated" to them. The responses included "good" and "happy", but one response in particular surprised me. One student responded "important". Upon further discussion, we all agreed that when a classmate "donated" to them, they felt as if they were important enough to the game to be included! We all want to feel important.......the ability to make this happen is truly the power of cooperative education!

Professional Development Anyone?

2009-11-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

I am very fortunate to have spent the past three days at the NYSAHPERD Conference. Not only did I have the opportunity to present two different sessions, but I also had an amazing opportunity to learn from some of the best teachers in our state as well as the future professionals presenting for the first time! NYSAHPERD put together a top-notch conference complete with sessions available for all levels of Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance. I learned a new style of dance called Urban Strolling, and I learned how to use a dollar store to create some great lessons and learning experiences for our students! In fairness, my district and my director is very supportive of professional development opportunities, so I have been able to attend this conference as well as several others during the past five years, but that has not always been the case.....there were many years during which I did not have the opportunity to attend any professional conferences or workshops because support for these ventures was non-existent. During those years, it was possible to become stale and redundant without the chance to learn about new ideas and lessons. While I tried my best to continue to update my program, it was quite a struggle. I remember how excited I was at the first opportunity to attend a one-day workshop after approximately ten years of not going anywhere. As a direct result of attending local, state-wide, and regional conferences during the past five years I have been able to add technology, yoga, DDR, speedstacking, and much more to my program! In addition, each year I return from these conferences energized and ready to try new things! The bottom line is that whether you are a first year teacher or a veteran teacher the value of professional development is beyond compare. The professional contacts that I have made and the wonderful teachers that I have met have enriched my career and my life.....I am truly grateful for these opportunities....

How do you find your way? GPS or a Map?

2009-10-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

This past week, I began to teach my younger students lessons on pathways - straight, curved, and zig-zag. Now, I have been teaching for quite some time and I have continually updated my lessons over the years. I like to add new lessons and equipment to keep my program current, but there are some lessons that are timeless....or so I thought...... This particular lesson about pathways begins with a simple enough question to help students think about how they get from one place to another. I begin the lesson with the following question: "When Mom and Dad are taking you on a trip in the car and your family has not been there before, how do Mom and Dad find their way without getting lost? In past years, the answer has been unanimously "a map". Usually, I will have a map with me at the ready and we then discuss what the lines on the map represent, and how they can be straight, curved, or zig-zag. The lesson then progresses to students moving in those pathways in various ways, etc. This year however, for the very first time, the answer given by my students, many as young as 5 years old, was "A GPS"! I should not have been surprised, since I include many kinds of technology in my program, and I have the opportunity to present on the topic of technology at state and regional conferences, but somehow this answer caught me by surprise! Of course, some students had no idea what a GPS was, and I was able to recover from my surprise and explain that a GPS is really just like a map on a screen! Students were satisfied with this response and we continued to complete the timeless (well, maybe not) lesson on pathways. How do you find your way?

2009 STACK UP!

2009-10-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that we will be participating in the 2009 WSSA STACK UP! on November 12, 2009! This is an event to attempt to break the current Guinness Book of World Records for the most people sport stacking in multiple locations in a single day! Students at North Park will participate in 30 minute blocks and sport stack away! Look for pictures of this event on my website: http://www.hydeparkschools.org/NPE/pe.html

We are getting ready to STACK UP!

Exercise US!

2009-10-15T07:53:00.001-07:00

Recently, my school had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural Exercise US, held on October 1, 2009. This project was started by Len Saunders, of Project ACES, and created a "Wave" of exercise across the United States begining at 8:00 am on the East Coast and ending at 3:00 on the West Coast. It was wonderful to be a part of such a wonderful project! Our entire school - 360+ students and adults - danced and exercised in the gymnasium (a little crowded but the weather did not cooperate that day!). The smiles on all - students and teachers alike -proved that exercise is fun and worth doing! I am fortunate to be in a building that supports these school-wide fitness initiatives. In fact, when we have "Fitness Fridays" our teachers prefer to participate as a school rather than individually as classes! I applaud Len Saunders and all the work he has done over the years to increase awareness of the need for exercise for all! Pictures of our participation can be found on my website at : http://www.hydeparkschools.org/NPE/exercise09.html

We are looking forward to next year's Exercise US!

The First Day of School!

2009-09-09T17:33:00.001-07:00

Today I enjoyed the first day of school! I say enjoyed, because it was a truly enjoyable day filled with smiles, warm greetings from students and parents alike, and a flurry of learning and activity! During our teacher meetings yesterday, one of our administrators asked us to converse with a colleague regarding the answer to the following question: "What causes you to be optimistic about public education?" I consider myself an optimistic person so it was not difficult for me to come up with some ideas. While there were certainly many answers to this question being discussed at the meeting, my colleagues and I decided that one cause of our optimism is the quality of the people we work with. My colleagues are dedicated professionals that believe in the power and value of education and I am proud to work with them each and every day. I am equally optimistic about public education because of the wonderful children that arrive at our school eager and ready to learn and their parents that support our programs. In the past few weeks as I was preparing for school to open, I witnessed many parents and children arrive at school to drop off supplies, visit classrooms and teachers, and speak with office staff or the principal. Parents and children alike were so very excited and could not wait for school to begin. One student came to visit me in the gymnasium with his mom. He walked confidently across the floor with a great big smile and a "Hi". He could not contain his excitement about the start of school! What a terrific way to start the year! Today we experience the promise of a new year, new opportunities, new experiences and new accomplishments. If you experienced the first day today at my school, you could not help but be excited and optimistic too!

The Value of Yoga

2009-04-24T05:49:00.001-07:00

Today's fast-paced society causes stress for everyone, even children. In my school, we have a wonderful opportunity to offer Yoga as an activity for our students. When the students entered the gymnasium this week and saw the yoga mats on the floor many exclaimed "Yeah! we are doing yoga!" The benefits of yoga include balance, strength, concentration, focus, and relaxation. Our students reap those benefits when they participate in yoga activities in Physical Education class. How many of us would love a chance to turn the lights off, lay down, and let go of all of our daily stress by listening to soft music and relaxing? When I observe my students enjoy all of the yoga activities and then relax at the end, I can't help but think that this type of activity would benefit them more often than I can provide in PE. Several students fall asleep during the brief relaxation period at the end of class, and many would stay longer if time allowed. At the end of one yoga session, one student said "I wish I could stay here all day!" When it's time to put shoes on and get ready to go, many students lag behind to enjoy the time to relax. I asked my primary students to "Wiggle your fingers if you would like to have the chance to do yoga again." Guess what? There was not a finger that wasn't wiggling in the gym!

For The Love of Dance!

2009-04-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Dance can be joyful, fun, exhilarating, and exhausting.....and sometimes in PE it can be all of those things in addition to frustrating and anxiety producing for both students and teachers. During my years here at North Park teaching dance, I have experienced the full range of all of those emotions and reactions to dance. A few years ago, however, I began to see a positive change in how my students reacted to and enjoyed dance. I think that this change has been due to a variety of factors. First, I had a wonderful opportunity to have a folk dance group come to my school and teach my students "Community Dance". This group, Homespun Dance, taught me that dance should be enjoyed as a community and that partners don't always matter. Next, I began to teach the dances that they taught my students and myself and I approached dance in a different way. I allowed students to choose their own partners not based on gender, but on friendship and companionship. This, in and of itself, took the pressure of partner-based dances off of students and myself. Finally, I began to frame the dance unit in terms of the expectation of respect for every person in the room. At the beginning of my dance unit students are taught what respect looks likes, feels like, and sounds like and students are required to self-assess their behavior at the end of each class. As a result of these changes, students enjoy dance more than ever before. This was pointed out to me especially today, when a third grade boy was excited to begin dance and reminded me of a dance that he had done the previous year. He and the class were so excited at the memory of this particular dance, they asked if they could do it again today and show another adult in the room who had not seen the dance performed before. I could not have been happier to allow the students to dance this dance again! It took only a few minutes of cues to remind the students the particulars of the dance. They performed the dance eagerly and there were smiles all around! My dance unit today includes a variety of dances, both popular dances and folk dances, line dances and circle dances, partner dances and scatter dances. Students of every grade level enjoy these activities and my hope is that they will look back on these dances in later years and remember their experience with a smile on their face and that they will continue to have a love of dance!

Student/Teacher Jump Show

2009-03-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we held our annual Student/Teacher Jump Show. This show is a celebration of everyone's hard work for our Jump Rope for Heart event which was held in February to raise money for the American Heart Association and to educate students as to the need for exercise and healthy living for heart health. During this Jump Show event, students and teachers alike perform various jump rope tricks for the rest of the school. This year, I asked a few students from each grade level to show the jump rope skills that they had practiced and mastered. The crowd went wild! Students from kindergarten through grade 5 jumped up a storm! At the end of the show, teachers took the stage. For quite some time we had been practicing our skills as well. Many of our teachers jumped together in a single long turning rope. We had four adults jumping in one rope at one time! Additionally, we were determined to master the double dutch jumping. With practice and determination, we did! Several of our teachers, including our principal, jumped the double dutch! Other teachers performed Chinese Jump Rope Tricks, and our school famous "Rope in Rope" trick. Our students showed their appreciation of our performance with cheers and applause! For me, this show tied together the need for community service, perseverance, determination, and school spirit. I was amazed that not one student - not even the kindergarten students - hesitated to come up in front of the entire school and jump. All of our students cheered and applauded for everyone! That, in and of itself, shows me, and I hope others, what a supportive environment our school has created. I could not have been more proud of our students, our faculty, and our school community. This was an occasion to step back and take stock of the wonderful opportunity we have as teachers to touch lives, create change, and make a difference.

Welcome to my blog!

2009-03-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, Welcome to my blog! This is my first blog attempt! I love technology so I thought I would give this a try! My purpose in doing this blog is to post information regarding my Physical Education program and my thoughts and philosophies regarding Physical Education in general. I have been teaching Elementary Physical Education for 25 years and I guess I feel like at this point in my career I have something to offer to those who want to listen and to those who are also involved in Physical Education. Hope you find this blog interesting and helpful!