More Fun at St.Mary's!

This week was awesome at St.Mary's! It was a great learning experience because originally we were assigned special projects and we had to change to PRE-K when we go there. At first I was a little nervous for the change but I was excited to challenge myself. Today's motor skill to be assessed was overhand throw and catching. We played a Sesame Street themed game where the kids had to throw the different balls into Oscar the grouches trashcan. I was very surprised at how well they they did with the overhand throw. I also think they had a great time with the game and enjoyed using their imaginations. 

After that we joined the PRE-K kids outside at the playground. I instantly was "it" in tag and started playing freeze tag and hide and go seek with all of the kids. Then I hung out with a bunch of the kids and they showed me how they could climb, hang and swing. I had some great conversations with them about what kinds of bugs they liked the most and their favorite foods. I found it very easy to talk and play with all of them because they were so interested in playing with us. 

After playing outside, we went inside and they had a quick snack. we met them in the gym and played different types of tag using different motor skills like jumping, skipping, hopping, galloping, and speed walking. Then we played follow the leader and did a bunch of silly things like bear crawling, dancing, lunging, and hopping like bunnies. Overall, I really enjoyed spending my afternoon with the PRE-K children!

While I was nervous in the beginning I think that my group worked really well together and came up with some great activities to do to keep them active. They had a lot of fun and it seemed to be successful!       

Lab 4 WRITE-UP

I'm Reflexing and I Know It!

They Gym Class Heroes may not be the next big popstars however, we do know how to make a hit song teaching everyone about infant reflexes! We made a parody to LMFAO's popular hit, "I'm Sexy and I Know It". We read chapter seven on infant reflexes and wrote brilliant lyrics to educate all out fellow PE rockstars all about some pretty awesome reflexes. Check out the Gym Class Heroes music video with our fabulous song! Enjoy!

I'm Elmo and I KNOW IT!

My little sister, Emily, is in a Jazzercise class every Friday. She recently showed me one of her dances to a very cute song. It is a parody one of LMFAO's popular songs. Elmo sings his version of the song called, "I'm Elmo and I know it". Here is a clip of Emily preforming her Jazzerize moves to the song! Check it out!

Aloha from St. Mary's!

This week at St. Mary's it was a Hawaiian theme because all of us Cortland students have spring break fever! My group showed up in some pretty awesome Hawaiian shirts and look pretty "rad" in our outfits. Once we arrived in the gym I noticed that a lot of kids were not there after school. We got right into observing the motor skills that were assigned this week, (horizontal jump, leap, and slide). I was very impressed with their skills and they seemed very advanced for kindergarten and first graders. This week we were with the preschoolers and it was a HUGE difference from the fifth graders. 

We went into the Preschool room and we played with blocks, colored, legos and played with dinosaurs. There was only about ten kids there after school.We sang songs and read a Hawaiian themed book about a colorful fish named Humu. After that we went into the gym and did a fun obstacle course with the kids. I told them a story about having to go on a mission like Dora and Diego to save the animals. They seemed to really enjoy going through the obstacle course and using their imaginations. 

Before I knew it, it was already time to go. I thought that my group did an excellent job this week and I really enjoyed teaching the Preschoolers. They were great listeners and seemed to really enjoy all of our activities. I am noticing that every time I go to St. Mary's I am feeling more comfortable and confidant each time. Can't wait until next time!
Lab 3 Write Up

Is Dodgeball good for PE?

From the movie, "Dodgeball:A True Underdog Story"

A huge controversy in the PE world is if dodgeball is good for Physical Education. Dodgeball is one of the many games that are on the dreaded "Hall of Shame" PE games. Personally, this was one of my favorite games to play in gym class and at summer camps. I was always athletic and a good mover. However, what about the kids that aren't? Dodgeball hits all the major aspects of PE including all of the affective, cognitive and psycomotor behaviors. For example, it improves running, endurance, accuracy, dodging, catching, throwing and teamwork and strategy. But, what about the dangers? Their are so many dangers associated with dodgeball because we are dealing with kids who have bad aim and pelt the balls at their friends. In some cases there are modifications such  as "Doctor, Dotor!", "Trench ball" and "Ghost in the graveyard". However, all of those games have similar concepts like traditional dodgeball. Another big "no no" with these games is that kids are eliminated and aren't active the whole time. Instead, you could set targets up and still be in a team setting and the goal is to hit the target. Nobody is eliminated and everyone is working on the same motor development skills.

Red Rover

Some games that I noticed on the "Hall of Shame" were some of my favorite activities to be involved in a kid. However, now they are viewed as shameful because they don't meet the NASPE National Standards and NYS Learning Standards. For example, various tag  games are not aloud because children are eliminated. This breaks NASPE standard 3, " Participates regularly in physical activity." A modification of some tag games are if they are tagged then they are the new tagger or if they are tagged they must do ten jumping jacks to keep playing. I noticed that "Red Rover" was on the list and I remember playing this game waiting for the bus. The obvious danger is that the goal is the run as fast as you can and break through the wall. The wall is a chain of people holding hands. The dangers are broken arms and close-lining people. This game should NEVER be played because it breaks NYS Learning standard 2, " Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment." Other games that are included is "Simon Says", "SPUD", "Musical Chairs", "Duck Duck Goose!", and "Dodgeball", all earned a spot on the "Hall of Shame" because they break the number one rule in Physical Education. There should be NO elimination in PE.

The standards for NYS Learning include, "Personal health and Fitness", "A safe and healthy environment" and "Resource movement". For NASPE National standards, their overall goal "is to develop physically educated individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity." If Physical Educators do not follow these standards then they are putting their students at risk, both physically and socially. As educators, it is our job to help improve the students physically and socially. No matter how much we (and some of the students), enjoy the "Hall of Shame" games they should not be played for the safety of our students.

How I use Technology To Stay Fit For 2012!

Celebrating the New Year always get people thinking about what their New Year's resolutions will be, however, most people don't stick with it. I wanted to set a goal for 2012 and stick with it. Being a future Physical Educator, I think it is important to stay healthy and fit to be a role model for my students. My New Year resolution is to train for my first half marathon.I have always been a big runner and I really wanted to challenge myself. Recently, technology has really played a big part in improving our health and fitness. I needed to find a program online to follow each day, I use the Hal Higdon Training Program. Their are thousands of Apps and websites dedicated to health and physical activity. Personally, my favorite App on my iPhone is Nike+GPS. It tracks all your runs, pace, time and it even maps out your runs. For more information you can visit the Nike+ Website. I made a short 2:00 minute video showing how I use technology and entered it into "The Healthy New Year Video Challenge". Check out my video below!

Will you be my Valentine?

This week at St. Mary's our theme was Valentines because the holiday was coming up! It was the first time we were assigned groups and we got to prepare games and teach them to our group. It was very exciting to arrive at the school and see the kids get excited when we came in. I felt really comfortable and confident in myself and my group. We got right into the games and had to observe the gym group and evaluate two children. They played a Valentine's themed version of "temple tag" and they let the kids focus on the three skills we had to evaluate that week. Running, skipping and galloping. We evaluated Jill and Jack and both were kindergarteners. We evaluated their running and noticed that their elbows were not bent. Then we evaluated their gallop and noticed that their arms were not bent and at wait level. Lastly, we evaluated their hop and noticed that their leg was not bent. Other then that, I thought that their motor behaviors seemed very advanced for their age.

After we spent time in the gym, my group joined the older kids in the cafeteria and got involved with the different activities they were playing. I sat with a bunch of girls and boys and we played with Legos and they talked to me about school and how their day was. Then we went upstairs to the gym and we taught our first lesson. However, it didn't go as planned. We played Great wall and it went pretty well and then we played handball. Although, we didn't play all of the games we wanted to it still worked really well. I thought that all the older kids seemed really advanced with their motor behaviors and I was very impressed.

Overall, our second lab went really well and I learned a lot about effective ways of teaching and I learned how to evaluate motor behaviors. I can't wait to teach the preschoolers in a week, it should be very fun!

Lab 2 Write-Up