Friday, December 13, 2013

Physical Education Fall Review 2013

     It is hard to believe the school year is 1/3 of the way over. We have gotten off to a great start this year. All the classes have learned about locomotor movements, personal space, fitness and RESPECT AND SAFETY FOR ALL. Ask your child to tell and show you what a locomotor movement is. We also practiced our daily routines to make the year a success. While getting to know our new and old friends, we played games such as Friendship Tag and Compliment Tag.

     The students are placed in squads. This is the place where we start each class, settle in for directions and take attendance. Spatial awareness is an important concept for all children to learn. Although sometimes challenging to comprehend, we have many activities to help us practice. We practice moving in all directions, pathways and on different levels without touching one another.

     Concepts like sportsmanship, teamwork, displaying a positive attitude, playing by the rules, and goal setting are stressed to all students. Each grade level builds upon the one before so that the students learn movement and skills sequentially.

     Fitness is a lifelong activity that is one of the most important things we develop in PE. The goal is to get students to understand the basics in a safe and fun environment, so that as they get older it becomes a natural part of their daily life.

     Grades K-2 has also been working on basic skills and various manipulatives. Skills include throwing catching (hand-eye coordination), tossing/catching, foot skills (foot-eye coordination), jump ropes and hula hoops. Also we have been playing several low organizational games such as What Time Is It Mr. Fox and Marching Ponies. Have your child teach you the rules to a game and play as a family. All the students are working really hard and improving each day.

     The third grade classes completed a football unit where they learned such skills as throwing/catching,
punting, centering and handoffs. Positions were discussed and each student participated in mini-formations to understand game play. Each student was given a post exam to test their knowledge about football. We are currently working on a soccer unit and will be finishing up soon.

     Practicing at home through play with parents and siblings is a great way to help students reinforce the skills they are practicing in class. If your child shows an interest in a sport or if he/she is excelling in a skill, you can build that interest by enrolling him/her in activities that focus on these skills. The more activity your child gets, the more comfortable they will feel to be active.