For the last week leading up to Christmas we did ball hockey in PE! Given Mr. Oliver needed space in the auditorium to do Christmas concert rehearsals, not all classes got much ball hockey time in so after Christmas we'll continue with this theme.
The students were able to practice controlling the ball with a stick as well as passing to other students in game play. It was a lot of fun and the students were pretty tired from all the running : )
One grade 1 student was particularly enthusiastic and wanted to give the teams names and coordinate team outfits: "The Grinders vs The Northstars." Love it!
One standout cute moment: Two grade 1 boys were after the ball and one of them fell down. The other student immediately knelt down to give this boy a hug and ask if he was ok. I commended the boy for the act of kindness and we had a chuckle imagining if this happened in the NHL. hahahaha

Discussion points for the students:
In many sports there is a winning and a losing team. We talked about the big picture and why we play sports:
*Fun
*Exercise
*Learn new or improve on skills
*Play with friends
Although it's normal to feel sad if we lose, we talked about focusing on the big picture to cheer us up. Also, to pick one thing we can do better next time. We discussed things to say to the winning team if we lost:
"Great game!"
"Congratulations!"
"Well done!"
One student offered "Happy Birthday!" as another option. LOL I suppose that could work if it's their birthday : )
For the winning team there is nothing wrong with celebrating but we also discussed being sensitive to the losing team.

This week, the Grade 1s and 2s were introduced to Parkour

Movements which came from military training through obstacle courses. It makes you see your environment in a new way. It’s often done in urban settings but can be done anywhere. Created by Raymond Belle in France and popularized by son David Belle in the 1980s. There's a flow to the movement. ie) No stopping

David assembled a group of 9 friends called the Yamakasi which were in movies during incredible feats for charitable means.

“Yamakasi" meaning – Strong Body, Strong Spirit, Strong Person”

Components of the tribe were they had to be strong:

*Physically

*Mentally

*Ethically

When recruiting other members, they were evaluated to make sure they had the same values of honesty, respect, humility, sacrifice and hard work.

Rules of the Yamakasi:

*No one could be late. It would hold back the whole group for training.

*If anyone completed a challenge, they all had to do it.

* Magic number was 10x in a row to complete a move. If one member made a mistake, they all had to start over to do it 10x

*No complaining ever. No excuses

* Had to know limits - safety

Couldn’t lie about executing a move. Couldn’t be a show off if he could do a move and someone else couldn’t. Wouldn’t be exercising humility.

Course example

1.     Jump over chair

2.     Shoulder roll on mat

3.     Step up over bench and big jump

4.     Donkey kick variation – feet together, hands to ground kick and jump up

5.     Vault over tool bench (forwards)

6.     Run to side, foot on bench or wall (bench is leaning against wall) one foot on bench and push off

7.     Cartwheel or donkey kick over bench

8.     Jump over object – tuck jump or star jump

For the JKs and SKs, we spoke a bit about Parkour but didn't get too much into the details of the Yamakasi. Plus, due to Xmas concert rehearsals, we were sometimes relegated to classroom PE where we were creative with the activities in the small space!

I took several videos of students flowing through the course. I'll email the videos to the teachers. 

This last week we focused on the cartwheel and it's related components. We began with the front roll (summersault), moved onto the Teddy Bear headstand, followed by Donky Kicks (hands on the matt and kicking both feet up in the air), then Donky kicks while kicking the feet side to side and eventually the cartwheel. I and the TAs helped the students with the cartwheels - a good workout for us! We also had some fun with log rolls and jumping over the rolling logs. Due to the Xmas concert rehearsals, the classes were on a different PE schedule however some students had the opportunity to jump over a bench as well as do a cartwheel over a bench! (donky kick). Since we were working hard at developing our upper and lower body strength ("Mrs J....my legs are hurting....." Me: "That's good! That's what I'm trying to do!) we incorporated some other fun activities like bean bag toss and scooters. 

I'm having to be a bit creative with the space we have due to the auditorium being occupied for concert rehearsals as well as Book Fair. Not to worry - I can tire the students out in a relatively small amount of space. One day, we used a hallway and marched, jogged, shuffled, stomped, crab walked and hopped! Another day we did PE in the classroom and did jumping jacks, pushups, airplane balancing poses and bridges. : )

As the weather gets colder and there are fewer opportunities for parents to take their children to playgrounds etc, I'll be sure to make an effort to give them adequate cardiovascular and strength exercises to get rid of the "heebee jeebees" lol

This week we continued to develop strength, fitness and skills in different stations. (Unfortunately I'm having a hard time uploading my photos for this one).
Stations included:
1. Basketballs - they tried some new tricks such as through the legs and behind the back.
2. Bean Bags - to improve eye-hand coordination and aim. Some tried with their eyes closed.
3. Skipping ropes - the grade 1s and 2s were able to build on their Personal Best from the skipping unit. The SKs were able to practice the proper timing of turning the rope and jumping.
4. Strength: Push ups, sit ups and squats were some exercises to build strength.
5. Plank walk and Jump: walking along the bench develops balance and jumping off the end onto a mat develops strength.
6. Scooters - students discovered ways of moving in all directions on wheels. Also, spatial awareness - watch where you're going!

During the Science Fair and Christmas Concert rehearsals we were and will be limited to the library and music room for PE activities. On Wednesday we did Yoga and discussed the origin - India and why we do it.
1. To make us calm
2. To build strength
3. To develop flexibility

Yesterday we set up exercise stations which included:
* Jumping Jacks
* Sit ups
* Donkey Kicks
* Dancing
* Crawling under a table
* Push Ups
* Squats
* Rest - lying on a mat like a starfish : )

This unit: Soccer! Developing skills included kicking, dribbling, passing and stopping the ball. We formed teams and played games with the grades 1s and 2s where we put the skills into practice. Some passionate moments gave us an opportunity to discuss the big picture in why we're playing - exercise, skill development and fun with friends! Winning is secondary. We'll continue to reinforce this perspective in other units throughout the year.

We've started our dance unit! I will expose them to a number of different styles from different countries and so far we've done Hip Hop (US) and Highland Dance. Many of the kids hadn't seen or heard of Highland Dance so it was an opportunity to discuss it's origin, Scotland, the Bag Pipes as well as the Kilt - Men wear it too! Many of the students were resistant to trying it but I encouraged everyone to participate and at the end of the class, asked them to raise their hand if they enjoyed it. I got a unanimous "YES!!!"
The Hip Hop routine was to "Watch Me Whip." I recommend you try and copy the moves from the video. You'll enjoy the workout! Especially for the "Break Your Legs" move.
The Highland Dance routine we practiced was to The Proclaimers, I'm On My Way. (But doesn't play when I shoot a video).

Grade 1s and 2s:
Basketball - For this unit, we focused on dribbling, passing and catching. In the auditorium (no nets) we used kids to be the net and if their teammates passed the ball to them, they got 2 points! Many students really improved on their skills and gained more confidence in the game environment. We had some pretty spirited moments but we were able to resolve any conflicts quickly.

JK and SK:
Obstacle courses - I designed several obstacle courses for the students to work on a variety of skills: Balance, eye-hand coordination, strength and agility. I incorporated some challenges, such as moving the benches a bit further apart to create a gap when stepping across. Some found this easy but many were apprehensive at first however with some encouragement, we're all crossing the bench with ease. "Look Mrs. J! I'm doing it by myself!" : )

(Photos to be uploaded shortly)