Closer to the heart

Wouldn't that make a good song name?  This week and next we are working on the  "Heart Course" in PE class.  Kids do an obstacle course that helps them learn about their heart, how it works, and why they need to exercise to take care of it.  Kids move around the gym as blood cells carrying oxygen or waste.  Kids love learning about their most important muscle...their heart.

Trick Or Treat

O.k. cool fun variation on an old game of "ARMY/NAVY."  This is a listening game like Simon Says where the most athletic kid does not guarantee a win.  Kids pick Halloween words and make up "moves" for them like : Dracula, Pumpkin, Ghost, Scary Movie, Skeleton, Black Cat, Graveyard and many, many others.  Be safe and TRY to stay warm on halloween!!

Habit 7

We also covered Habit 7...my FAVORITE!!!  SHARPEN THE SAW!!
They talk about not only getting your body, BUT also your mind and spirit in shape!!
You must make time to develop these elements in order to be effective!
Wow, a whole Habit dedicated to physical activity...humm....

Indiana Jones Part 1

O.k., so Indy needs to navigate poison darts in order to get the gold statue and get out of the temple...with quickness!!  Kids will get to be Indy as he tries to "steal" the gold ball from the other side of the gym.  To play safely, we replaced the poison darts with rolling hula hoops (district rules ya know) and the kids had a blast not only being the "dart shooter", but also as Indy.  If time allowed, we played "team Indy" where 2 kids got to go at once!

Fitness Stations

Fitness Testing and Stations

For the next few weeks we will be working on Fitness Stations and skills testing like Jump Rope, Pushups, Situps, and Line Jumping.  Our Stations we rotate to each 3 minutes are Boxing (on a bag), Jogging, Light Weights, Stretch Bands, Traverse Climbing wall (sideways climbing, not up and down), Jump Ropes and Wii Dance.  We also covered Habit #6 = Synergize... this one really fits into PE and teamwork.  Together we are stronger as a whole than as an individual...if we work together as a team we will be able to develop each other strengths!  How Cool!!

Some kids on base for "Big Base Kickball"

Big Base Kickball

With some crummy weather and wet grass in the morning, we have been working on more eye-foot and running games like Big Base Kickball...or BBK.  This game is crazy, you can have as many kids as you want on a base.  You can keep running bases to score as many "runs" as possible, etc.  Totally insane and a blast to play.  We also covered Habit #5 = Seek first to understand, then be understood.  In other words, listen to each other before you share your ideas.

Long distance Running...

NOW we are working on long distance runs...1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders do the 1/2 mile... 4th and 5th graders run the full mile.  Kids will attempt to pace themselves... use their SLOW energy and sprint the last 100 yards (FAST energy.)  This week we also covered Habit #4 Think Win-Win.  Wow...talk about paradigm shift from traditional PE....this principal states that we can exercise (win for body) and have fun (win for mind) at the same.  Keep up the good work kids!!  You guys are doing great!

Short distance running...

For the end of September we have been working on short distance sprints.  Ask your kids about burning FAST energy versus SLOW energy.  Short 50, 100 and 200 yard races are FAST energy races.  Kids were supposed to record their fastest time on their fitness sheets.  Then using begin with the end in mind...habit number 2...we will set a goal to beat these times in the spring!!
This week we have been working on Habit #3 - Put First Things First - Do homework, then play...along with other examples.

Soccer is upon us...

We have been working on Soccer dribbling, passing, shooting and goal keeping these last few weeks.  We sometimes play "full games" but mostly play modified games with 4-5 balls, have 4 goals, 2 goalies, no out of bounds, etc.  The main object is to get as much eye-foot skills during the short time we have classes...this week we are working on Habit #2 Begin With the End in Mind = Plan and set goals, then work towards them!!

The 7 habits

With the building initiative to incorporate the 7 habits into the WHOLE curriculum...we will be covering all the habits in PE class and reinforcing them in the curriculum!!  First week is Habit #1 BE PROACTIVE = you make your decisions - be responsible for them and make good ones.

The Frost Wizard

For the first weeks of school kids are playing the ever popular Frost Wizard game (basically freeze tag) and covering all the safety procedures required by the state.  Kids really love "unfreezing" their friends and trying to "catch" kids while playing the wizard.