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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!