The Best Parts of My Week - 9/19/16--9/23/16

Hi everyone,

     School is in full swing and my notebook page was full this week!  There are many “Best Parts” to share!

……On Monday morning my principal and I were in the hallway talking and a student stopped by to introduce us to a new student.  After they walked away they moved toward the gymnasium.  The student giving the tour (a fourth grader) opened the door and said:  ”This is the PE room”.  How cool is that?  The word “gym” is not even in his vocabulary!

…..My students in grades 3-5 are learning how to use pedometers and this week I was going over an essential question that I wanted students to think about.  The question on our goal chart was:  “How can a pedometer help me to stay fit?”  After introducing that question I asked:  ”How many students think I exercise?”  I was so happy to see every hand up in the air!  They are correct, of course, and it nice that they know that it is important for adults to exercise too!

…..My second grade students were completing a warm-up this week that included wall sits for 30 seconds.  I was demonstrating how to do this when one of my students said”  ”You have muscles in your legs!”  I commented that I am glad that he noticed that it takes muscles to do exercise and I explained that I exercise to make my muscles strong too!

…..One of the pedometer activities that my students complete is an activity that uses Gel Boards.  Students take turns being a recorder and a runner during an activity during which students try to get as many steps as possible in a short period of time while doing two separate moves during different parts of the song.  I encourage the students who are the recorders to write positive messages on the boards while their partners are moving because the activity is challenging and students get tired quickly.  Then they are asked to record pedometer steps on the board as well when the task is completed.  At the end of the class I ask students how it felt when their partner wrote nice encouraging messages on the board.  My students wrote some amazing messages and had some incredibly insightful answers.  Students said that the messages made them feel good and also helped them complete the task but one student said that when someone says something nice to you it can make a bad day better…….I challenged them to continue to be positive all year long!  I even had one student write a message to me when they handed in their board.  They wrote:  “You rock!” and “I love Mrs. Robelee!”  These messages were definitely some of the best parts of my week!

…..Another introductory pedometer activity included using spinning tops, deck rings, and hula hoops.  Students used this equipment like timers.  They would spin the equipment and exercise as long as the equipment was spinning.   The idea was to get as many steps as possible during a spin.  I did not tell students which exercises to do because I wanted them to discover which exercises would increase their step counts the most.  I was impressed at the variety of exercises that students chose.  They did the obvious exercises like jumping jacks and running in place, but then they branched out to “wacky jacks”, scissor jumps, skier’s jumps, crab kicks, and even made up an exercise that we decided to call scissor claps!

…..During a warm-up this week students were jumping rope and a fifth grader called me over to see that he finally mastered the double under!  I wish I had a picture of his face!  It was the face of pure joy and pride!

…..My duty at school includes supervising the students who are picked up at the end of the day instead of riding a bus.  One student was complaining that his family member had not arrived yet and I told him that sometimes we need to have patience.  Right then and there a kindergarten student told me that she has a book about an elephant that needs to learn about patience.  I think I need to read that book and have it on hand! 

…..Primary students took a “solar system field trip” this week after reading Ziny’s Driving School by my friend Lynn Hefele.  As students arrived on different planets they were encouraged to explore.  After each planet exploration I asked students to share what they discovered.  My second grade students were so creative!  One student said that she saw an Alligator Taco and another said they saw a chocolate mountain with aliens eating marshmallows!  While some of the students shared their discoveries after raising their hands, I also asked students to “turn and talk” to a friend to share.  I love to hear the conversations!  While this only takes less than a minute it is a great way to make sure that all students are heard.  They were so creative and proud to to share with their classmates.  I shared their creativity with their teachers and before long they were talking about using this experience as a writing activity!  At the end of the activity I asked students to turn in their “quasar” (spaceship) keys so that I would have them for next year.  There were moans and groans!  They did not want to give up the keys because they were having so much fun!

…..I wear a lanyard with my school ID on it and I have decorated the lanyard over the years with pins from different places that we have traveled with Fitness Frankie.  This week one of my students happened to notice some of the pins and said:  ”I like your souvenir pins!”  I had fun telling her a bit about where they came from!

…..Like many of my students I have a new pair of sneakers for this school year.  I wear my old sneakers to school and then change into my new ones (keeps them cleaner that way!)  One day I noticed that I forgot to change into my new sneakers and commented on it during class.  One of my second grade students suggested that I write myself a reminder in my phone!  Students are so tech savvy!

…..A student was so excited about how well he could do push-ups and came over to me to ask ”Can I show you my push-ups?”  Of course!  I was happy that he wanted me to share in his success!

…..I noticed this week that my students are better able to complete fitness and high intensity activities than they were many years ago.  We have increased the amount of PE and physical activity that students participate in and I think it has made a difference!

…..At the end of the week I was fortunate to be able to talk with a former student who was in our building as a substitute teacher.  I did not even recognize her at first but when I realized who she was I was shocked that she was already an adult!  Time flies for sure!  We had a nice chat and I am so proud that she has chosen a career in education! 

 I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

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

Hi everyone,

    It was the first full week of school and it was full of “best parts”!

…..For the past several years I have begun the year asking third grade students to complete the sentence:  “PE is important because…….”  This week the responses came back and I posted them on my “Why PE?” bulletin board in the hallway.  The responses were great!  Some of the responses included:  “it makes you stronger”, “the exercise”, “you get strong and fast and good at things”, and “it keeps you healthy”!  How great is that?  Third grade students understand the importance of PE!  

            

…..As I was putting the Why PE? bulletin board together early in the week a student was coming down the hall toward his classroom.  Just as he passed by I happened to be putting his work on the board.  He was so excited!  What a coincidence!

…..Students in grade 3-5 are participating in a warm-up that includes jumping rope and jogging.  One of my new students was reluctant to jump rope because he had not done it in his other school.  After trying it and doing well he said:  “At least I’m learning!”

…..I use a game called Human Bingo with my students to help them get to know each other.  I have modified the activity to make it work for our school and I am the free space on the board.  The idea is that students ask classmates questions to “collect” their name on the board and create a Bingo.  Each student’s name can only be used once so students must talk to all classmates to be able to get a Bingo.  I love this activity because when I observe it from the beginning I see students talking to their best friends first but then the conversation grows and expands and pretty soon they are talking to everyone!  At the end of the activity I ask students to share what they learned about each other.  The responses are great and it shows that they are well on their way to becoming a cohesive group!

…..My school has a wonderfully diverse population.  This year we have several new students who do not speak English.  While doing Human Bingo one of my fifth grade students was kind enough to offer to translate and work as a team with our new friend!  It warmed my heart to see the goodness in hers……

…..I took Spanish in high school and remember some of the basic phrases.  It has come in handy at times when new Spanish speaking students arrive.  I mentioned to a class that I needed to brush up on my Spanish to help out with a new student.  The very next class one of the students asked me if I had learned my Spanish yet!  He was looking out for his new friend…..and for me!

…..When I told students that we would be introducing the use of pedometers this week I heard YES!  I guess they like using them!

…..My kindergarten students were warming up by following me around our rainbow track.  I have a new remote control for the music and when I started the music from far away one student looked so surprised and said:  “How did you do that?” Of course, my answer was:  “Magic!”  It’s always good to have some magic available!

 I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

The Best Parts of My Week - 9-5-16--9-9-16

Hi everyone,
     It is hard to believe that summer is over and the new year has started!  Every year is a chance for new beginning and I am excited and ready to begin my 34th school year!  
     Before I talk about the "Best Parts", I would like to remember and honor all those affected by the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 on this, the 15th anniversary of that horrific day.  I remember that day as we all do.  I remember the fourth grade class that I was teaching when my principal walked into the gymnasium with a folded note for me to read.  I remember reading the note and not being able to react outwardly because the nine year old students in front of me were relying on me to keep them safe and I could not, and would not make them feel the fear that I was feeling.  Even though I teach in New York, I remember not quite comprehending the magnitude of the tragedy initially but as the day continued and more news was available and ever increasing numbers of parents came to pick up their children early, I realized the scope of the loss was bigger than anything I had experienced in my lifetime.  I remember being home that night with my family and hugging in a group as we gave thanks for being able to come home together, while we felt an enormous sense of loss for those who would not be able to do the same.  Our community, as many similar communities did, felt the loss personally as one of our own was one of the many victims of that day.  I remember.....May we never forget......

     .....Our district always begins after Labor Day and this year we had two days of staff meetings and professional development days before students began on Thursday.  Opening day (as we call it) is always a very festive day.  There are smiles all around as we greet friends and colleagues that we have not seen in awhile.  As we begin the new year there is a sense that everything is possible and that creates the most positive climate!  It would be terrific if we could "bottle" this feeling for those days when everything is not quite so rosy......Ok...that is not possible so instead, I have learned to drink it in and enjoy it!  This year on opening day, our district added a new level of recognition.  In past years the superintendent and Board of Education President have recognized all those who have been employed by the district for 25 years but this year all employees with 30 or more years of service were recognized.  I am proud to say that I fall into that category and I was grateful to be called up to be recognized.  

.....On the second day of our year the staff was required to attend some professional development around the idea of critical thinking skills.  Our district is making a commitment to improve critical thinking skills in our students and this day was about learning the basics and exploring how we might add the teaching of these skills to our curriculum.  During the afternoon session I sat with another PE colleague and we discussed the fact that our cooperative activities unit is the perfect place to teach students critical thinking and problem solving skills and that we have been doing this for years.  After small group discussions took place we were proud to share that there are fantastic connections to Physical Education!

.....There is nothing like the first day of school!  Students are so excited and, for the most part, are happy to be back!  I saw so many smiles, got lots of "I'm glad to be back" hugs, and had the most wonderful day!  Many students eagerly told me how they exercised during the summer and I even got a completed June fitness calendar returned! (Students are not required to return these.....)

New year - New sneakers!

.....During the first day of PE I show students in second grade a short video on Physical Literacy so that they understand the goals of PE class.  Before the video I tell them that I am going to ask them to tell me what they saw and heard in the video when it is done.  When I asked students what they thought was important to remember from the video they had all of the right answers!  It was clear that they were listening and comprehending and are ready to become Physically Literate! 

.....Students in grades 3-5 work on a class contract during the first day of PE.  They create individualized paper hands that will serve as their "signature" on their eventual class contract.  I always encourage students to include others and be helpful to those in need and I saw just that this week!  In each class anyone working alone was invited to join a group and there were no shortage of helpers to trace hands!

.....Physical Eddie came out during a first grade class to help a friend and at the end of class I invited students to say hello by patting him on the head as they left PE.  They were so cute!  Each one was gentle and kind to Physical Eddie and happy to see him after the summer vacation!  

.....North Park has been awarded the Let's Move Active School National Recognition Award!  We are one of only 544 schools in the country and one of only 11 in NYS!  We are so excited!  

And so another year begins.......

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

The Best Parts of My Week - 6/20/16--6/23/16

Hi everyone,

     It’s hard to believe but the end of the school year is here!  Each year flies by more quickly than the last and as I get closer to the reality that retirement is a possibility in the relatively near future, I seem to pay more and more attention to the moments that make up the “Best Parts of My Week”…..

…..Monday was the last day of specials because the rest of the week included celebrations and half days.  One of our fourth grade teachers thought that specials were canceled Monday as well and when the class did not show up for PE (they are always on time) I went to the class to see if they were coming to PE.  The teacher was surprised but was happy to have the students go to the gymnasium with me.  The students were so excited and exclaimed:  “Yay!  PE!”  We had a great last day of PE! 

…..Second grade students work on a year-long PE Portfolio and this past weekend I spent time putting them together for each student.  They created a cover with their favorite PE activity.  They were so cute!  As I looked at the work of each student,  I reflected on this year and how much they have grown and learned.  I hope their parents are as proud as I am of all of their hard work and achievements! 

…..On Monday afternoon an ice cream social was held to celebrate the hard work of our kindergarten students this year.  Proud parents and grandparents gathered and enjoyed ice cream and smiles as students came to the realization that kindergarten was just about over!

…..On Tuesday morning we held our first ever Courage Card celebration.  Students have been working hard to earn Courage Cards for showing the courage to do the right thing.  Our principal treated students to an Italian ice treat and student names were entered into a raffle for a terrific prize.  Students were proud to put their courage card into the raffle and were very thankful for the treat!

…..Our PTA is so very generous and spends countless hours preparing for 5^th grade celebrations like the 5^th grade breakfast and Moving Up Day.  I had the chance to go into the breakfast and take some pictures and it was great to see all of the students enjoying not only breakfast, but also the social interaction and celebration. 

…..5^th graders are allowed some time during the last week of school to go around the building and ask teachers to sign their yearbooks.  I am always happy to sign the yearbooks but it is always sad to be saying good-bye.  The students were so happy as they talked about the teachers and staff that they had asked to sign their yearbooks.  They talked about their kindergarten teachers, office staff, former teachers, special area teachers, and of course, our principal.  We reminisced a bit together and I reminded them to come back and visit!

…..Our Moving Up Day ceremony was held on Wednesday morning and students looked so grown up as they processed into the ceremony!  They were dressed up and ready for the occasion!   There were smiles and tears from their proud family members as students received awards and accolades.  The students always sing a wonderful song during the ceremony and it was a performance to remember as students’ voices filled the area with beautiful music! 

…..Thursday morning we held our second annual “Canstruction Wheel” project.  We built a wheel using cones and elastic jump bands and each grade level was assigned to a spoke of the wheel.  Students were asked to bring in donations of canned food to help local families in need for the summer and then they placed the cans along the spokes of the wheel.  Each spoke also represented a road on the Healthy Highway and students were asked to name their class road.  The roads that students came up with truly represented the focus of our Healthy Highway program this year and students came up with great names.  Some were names that we had used this year like Leadership Lane, and others were new like Generosity Way and Teamwork Turnpike!  It was a short and sweet assembly and we collected six full boxes of food! 

 

…..Thursday was also the last day of school and we always have quite a send-off event for our students.  We play music out by the busses, and we use ribbon wands and other streamers to wave goodbye to students.  Cameras were clicking away as students hugged adults goodbye; some with tears in their eyes.  I must admit, while I am ready for summer vacation, I got a bit misty eyed as we sent our students off for the summer…..

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  I will be back in September!  In the meantime, visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

The Best Parts of My Week - 6/13/16--6/17/16

Hi everyone,

    This week was all about being thankful……..  It was an incredibly busy week with Field Days and other events, but it was an extremely gratifying week as well!

…..The week began with Field Day for 3rd and 4th graders along with a second grade class that joined in due to a scheduling glitch.  The students were so excited!  We had a wonderful morning filled with comments like:  “Best Day Ever!”, and “You did good with this Mrs. Robelee!”  Our parent and staff helpers were fantastic and we even had some grandparents and other family members who wanted to watch the fun!

…..When I make teams for Field Day I randomly mix students so that there are some students from every grade and class on a team.  It usually works out pretty well.  Somehow this year I created a team that had a fourth grade brother and second grade sister on the same team.  Now, you might think that this would not have been the best combination, but when I noticed it I went over to the team and found brother and sister playing along!  When I mentioned that it was completely random, they told me how excited they were to be on the same team.  I was touched that they are so close!  I related this story to another teacher (a former student) and she remembered her Field Day and how she was so happy to be on the same team as her cousin!

…..3rd and 4th Grade Field Day includes an indoor obstacle course that I set up the night before Field Day.  It is a lot of work to put it together and so I sometimes have my afternoon classes enjoy it after Field Day is over for the morning.  A first class walked into the gym and one student said:  “What is this?” and another said:  “This is Awesomeness!”  Needless to say they enjoyed using the obstacle course during their PE class!

…..Tuesday was even busier as we had Field Day for grades K-2 in the morning, a school barbecue for lunch, and 5th grade Field Day in the afternoon!  It was also a great Field Day!  The students were so well behaved and once again we had so many parent volunteers!  Our staff is tremendous as well and are always available to help and play at the stations.  My principal told me that she overheard the kindergarten students coming into the school after Field Day talking about how much fun they had!  Since this was their first experience for Field Day I wanted it to be special.   Many students thanked me for the day!

…..One of our parent volunteers was a team leader for one of the teams and his job was to take students as a team from station to station and help out where needed.  At the end of each station he had his team thank the adults in charge of the station.  What a nice way to show gratitude!

…..I tried something new with my fifth grade students for Field Day this year.  I have been experimenting quite a bit with student choice this year and it has been going well.  I decided to make the 5th grade Field Day a “backyard games” type of day and give students “freedom with responsibility” (a term I learned some years back at a conference).  Students could choose their own groups of about four people and then decide which games they wanted to play.  They had ten choices which included tennis, badminton, can jam, spikeball, four square, triangle ball, lacrosse, and more!  It was so nice to watch students play fair, take turns, and move from station to station independently with little or no adult intervention.  I admired how well they played and I even got to play a few games with them myself!  They had two hours of Field Day and when I gave them a ten minute warning and said that soon it would be time to end Field Day they said:  “wait…..what???”  The time flew by and they had so much fun!   

…..I wear a Fitbit to log my steps and for Monday and Tuesday I had logged almost 60,000 steps!  I was tired, but elated that our Field Days were successful!

…..Some of our parent volunteers were my former students and we had fun reminiscing about the fun that they had during their Field Days!

…..I was outside with a class a bit later in the week and when I came back into the gym I found a beautiful thank you note written and signed by a third grade class.  They had so much fun during Field Day that they wanted to thank me for my hard work!  I went right down to the class to thank them and told them that my heart was smiling…….

…..Fitness Frankie wrapped up his time in second grade this week and two of the students returned him and his backpack.  I thanked them and as they were leaving they said:  “We enjoyed him!”

…..A second grade class wrote a reflection about their Field Day experience.  They drew a picture and wrote about which station was their favorite, what part of Field Day was challenging, and why they were proud of their effort.  The teacher was kind enough to give me copies.  They were amazing and I enjoyed reading each one!

…..A before school day-care program uses our gym sometimes and this week I received a nice thank you poster from the group!  Each student signed it and said thank you!

…..The school year is winding down and I had some students for the last time this year.  Some fifth grade students asked me to move on to middle school with them!  I appreciated the compliment but told them I have responsibilities here.  I invited them to visit and they thought that would be a good idea!  There were hugs all around as they left the gym after their last PE class……..

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

The Best Parts of My Week - 6/6/10--6/10/16

Hi everyone,

     The final countdown to the end of the school year has begun!  Excitement is in the air and talk of Field Day has taken over all parts of the school.  In reality, I have been planning for months, but now the students are acutely aware that Field Days are next week!

…..Our primary students continued practicing Yoga this week.  I have a variety of resources such as DVD’s, apps, and such.  At the end of a first grade class one of my students asked me where I got the DVD that we were using.  I told him that I had bought it quite some time ago and could not quite remember where I got it.  I asked him why he wanted to know.  He told me that his family is not that active and he thought that Yoga would be a great way to get the family moving!  How great is that?  I am proud his courage to take this message of the need for healthy choices and physical activity home to his family.

…..A first grade teacher told me that when her students were wondering if they were going outside for PE or if they were going to do Yoga, she asked them which they would prefer.  Yoga won!

…..The saying:  “Necessity is the mother of invention” was never truer this week.  I had intended to continue our Yoga practice with another resource that I have when my computer decided not to work.  It was the beginning of a kindergarten class and it had been working just moments before.  After a few frustrating moments I decided to get my iPad and hook it up.  My colleague had been searching for Yoga resources the day before and came across Cosmic Kids Yoga.  I decided to try it and my students loved it!  I remarked more than once in the next day or two that if you had told me thirty years ago that we would have the technology to play videos from YouTube on a large screen while students practiced Yoga with enthusiasm I would have never believed it!

…..We held our last Fuel Up To Play 60 Student Ambassador meeting this week and we wrapped up the year with smoothies and some raffle prizes, which were generously donated by FUTP60 and the American Dairy Council.  It was a great year and we had so much fun with this group!  Our Let'sDance Fitness Friday, Veggie Taste Test Day, and Bike Rodeo and Safety Clinic were very successful and it was a pleasure working with this group of students.  We made smoothies with yogurt, milk, frozen fruit, and bananas and they were delicious.  It was a great way to start the day!

…..Our older students have been learning how to throw and catch Frisbees using different targets and games.  We have been having lots of fun outside and the students are getting quite good at the skills!  I learned a warm-up from my colleague that we have been using for this unit.  It involves a “Frisbee Flip”.  Students pair up and flip the Frisbee in the air.  One student calls heads or tails and if the Frisbee lands face up it is heads and face down it is tails.  If the student caller is correct, he/she gets to pick a warm-up exercise and if not, the other student picks the exercise.  Students take turns flipping the Frisbee and completing exercises.  It is a fun and simple warm-up that students have been enjoying.  This week one of our third grade students told me that she asked her cheerleading coach if they could do the Frisbee Flip warm-up at practice and the coach said yes!  It was fun to have her make a connection and share something she enjoyed outside of PE class! 

…..Friday after school I began to set up an obstacle course in preparation for Field Day.  I always enjoy being creative with this obstacle course and I added something this year based on something I saw a student do with a Frisbee target.  It was very windy this week and I wanted to create a target that students could throw a Frisbee through.  I ended up using floor tape to tape two flexible jumps stick to a large hoop and then I stuck the ends of the sticks in two cones.  I noticed one student aimed for the target, threw the Frisbee accurately through it, and then retrieved the Frisbee by climbing through the hoop!  Now, it wasn’t exactly the correct thing to do but it worked and seemed to be great fun!  I took that idea and made a few more that were lower to the ground for the Field Day obstacle course!  Stay tuned next week for pictures!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

The Best Parts of My Week - 5/30/16--6/3/16

Hi everyone,
    The week began with a beautiful Memorial Day spent with family and friends.......Then it was time to get back to school and BAM.....all of a sudden it was June!  While many of you may already be out of school for the summer, we spend most of June in school and there are many, many end of the year events and this month tends to whiz by!

.....As Operation Healthy North Park came to a close at the end of the month of May it was time to count the "Coop Cars".  I was getting ready to wrap up the project when I received an envelope in the school mail full of "Coop Cars".  One of the things I love about this project is when students participate from outside of our school and the collaboration that makes that possible.  A health teacher at our middle school always promotes this project with her students and this envelope contained "Coop Cars" from middle school health students, many of whom were my former students!  One even contained a note asking me if I remembered her.......of course I do!  It was great to see all of the names and activities that students participated in to stay healthy!  By the way, we collected 3,466 "Coop Cars" which equals at least 69,320 minutes of exercise!

.....I have been teaching for many years and have many events that I have repeated for a number of years but once in awhile I try a new event.  This year our new event was a Bike Rodeo and Safety Clinic.  This was a project that our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador group has been planning all year and we held it this week.  Since this was a new event, I was not quite sure how it would be received and how successful it would be.  I must say that the success of this event far exceeded my expectations!  We had a wonderful turnout, fantastic parent, teacher, and administrative volunteers, and a amazing partnership with the Dutchess County Transportation Safety Board!  Our Student Ambassadors were excited and everyone had a great time!  Most important of all, students learned to ride their bicycles safely!  These were some of the comments I received about the event:

          .....When I asked a student if he had a good time he said: "Oh yeah...If I didn't come I          would not have learned how to ride!"

          ......One mom said that this event was an incentive to her child to learn how to ride.

          .....Another parent said that the event helped her child gain confidence in riding.

          .....One family experienced the joy of seeing their child take off his training wheels and           ride successfully without them for the first time!

        Fitness Frankie finally got his helmet!  Just in time for the rodeo!

  .....My principal and I rode our bicycles too and we experienced cheers from our students when we went through the stations.  Some of the stations were challenging but our students were really supportive!  We also had a healthy snack station where students made bicycles out of vegetables!

Veggie Bicycles!

                                    

.....At some point during the week we were outside playing Triangle Ball and enjoying being outdoors.  When I asked students to let nature be (they were interested in bugs and flowers) One kindergarten student said:  "Nature makes me happy!"

.....The object of Triangle Ball is to hit a ball off of a tee and run the bases as many times as possible before the fielders get the ball in a bucket.   I witnessed a third grade student convince another student to slow down so that a classmate could score....he noticed that this student had not had a chance to score yet.  The nicest thing about it was that he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart and did it in a quiet and unassuming way.  If I had not been right there to witness it quietly I would not have even known it had occurred and that was the way this student preferred it to happen!  

.....At the end of the week my primary students began a few lessons in Yoga.  When students arrived to the gym to see the yoga mats out they were so excited!  Many of them said:  "Yay!  Yoga!" and "I Love Yoga!"  When I asked students to think about the benefits of Yoga they had some great responses.  One student said:  "If you are stressed it helps you relax."  Another said:  "It helps you stretch."  A third student said:  "It helps you calm down"
 I think those are all great reasons to love Yoga!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE