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 : )