Easter Egg Hunt!

This week at St. Mary's we had a Easter themed lab. Everyones spirits were high because of the holiday. I was a part of the special projects group, meaning we spent half of our time helping the St. Marys staff by making sure everything was in order and clean. This was important because it makes things much safer for the students, and allows the staff to know where everything is at all times.
The other half of the lab we spend outside playing. This was fantastic. Finally we were able to bring the energized students outside and play games with them. They loved tag, and always seemed to make up rules allowing them to win. When the students were brought into the gym our tactical problem was seeing if we could have them properly kick a soccer ball and dribble a basketball. This was challenging at first but once the group was controled they handled it well.

Rawwrrrrr!!

This past week in lab was a little more interesting than most. For starters a curve ball was thrown at us in the beginning of class by our teacher, which really just made me want to do better. Secondly, the students must have had an exsessive intake of some sort of sugar because their energy level was through the roof! From the second we walked in the St. Mary's students were running around screaming and not wanting to sit down. For our observation part of the lab it was a little hectic because you can never really tell what to expect you simply just have to be prepared to adjust. Today was no different. Not only were the students hyper but there was also around double the number of students than normal. It was just another learnign experience for us.
For this lab, I was a part of the Pre-K group. Walking in this was something I didn't know what to be expecting because it was our first time. Overall it went well. We read a book in the classroom, the students immediately were drawn to us, wanting to sit next to us and do everything we were doing. After we read we did a coloring project which also went very well. Once we got into the gym the energy level hit an all time high and it became very challenging to keep their attention to even explain the game.
As always ,it was a learning experience and a great time.

Shoot for the Stars

Thank you St. Marys for allowing us the opportunity to come and teach! It is greatly appreciated.

Staying Fit!

Physical education is so much more complex than what meets the eye. I personally love sports; team sports, individual sports, you name it I will play it. But there is so much more to physical education than just sports and game. It’s an understanding of the body, how it develops, how to control movements, and how to react when your body is telling you that it has reached its limit. Yes, physical education involves sports and games but what about the other aspect of it? What about your actual body. For example, the health aspect of the major. Do physical educators actually discuss with their students the importance of healthy eating, or the importance of the FITT principle? Students should know and understand how important to your health daily fitness and a good diet actually is. Obesity is at an all-time high and we as physical educators have to take a stand and educate students on how to prevent obesity. We also should express to them the importance of the FITT principle and how it can help you in your future years of life by lessening your risk of heart disease. It makes me sad to see over-weight/obese people or adults struggling with health issues and it makes so much sense to incorporate that aspect of physical education in daily lessons. Over the years we have learned so much about our bodies that we need to do a better job of making people more aware of what can benefit them and what can do harm to them in for their future.

Wild Wild Westttt!

Just being part of the swishy pants club? I think not. Being in the physical education program is much more than that. Over the past few weeks I continued to learn more and more on how to properly approach certain situations, and also how to handle an entire class of kids with a short attention span. Granted, there is obviously so much to learn but I feel as though that even with few past few weeks under my belt I am getting closer to becoming a Physical Educator.
This past week in lab we went to St. Mary's but we went in style. The theme of the week was Western so most of us took that as an opportunity to really bring the theme to life by dressing up. We all arrived in our cowboy hats and plaid shirts ready to teach our games.

This week I was with the second through fifth graders. Being in costume really got their attention and made them more excited to participate in your games. We structured games around the Western theme to make it that much more fun! The children were great and loved all of our costumes and games.
Since they are a bit older and more physically developed they really like to play more competitive and challenging games. Their attention is still pretty short so it is important to keep your direction as brief as possible and to the point.

Chapter 1 - An Overview of Developmental Physical Education

Crazy Cartoons!

It's so incredible how different the teaching style is from teaching a group of kindergarteners rather than teaching a group of 2nd through 6th graders. The kindergarterners are wild. Their attention span really maxes out at under a minute so you have to be sure to keep your rules for your games short and to the point. The older kids on the other hand, they have a little bit more control and do a better job listening. This week I was with the older group. They have absolutely zero filters when it comes to talking to you. The things they were saying were nothing you could expect. Once we got to the gym it was a little more complicated, they wanted to run around and do their own thing until we brough out the scooters...that quickly got their attention. Unfortunetly, time had run out before I got to teach my game but I gained a different experience from this lab.
One of the girls in our group recently had a surgery and wasn't able to play any games that involved to much movement. This was my first experience with this type of situation and I couldn't be happier it happened. We played catch for about 35 minutes, she had all these crazy stories to share and before she left she thanked me for paying attention to her because she "normally has to play by herself." Talk about an amazing feeling, knowing you helped a kid and all it took was a little attention.

Physical Education is All Around Us

Off campus housing has its benefits. One of them being you get to walk through town, allowing you to cross paths with other people who may live around here. Today while walking home I happpened to literally get hit with a ball that a few kids were playing with across the street. I threw it back and they immediately engaged in conversation. Before I knew it we had a small game going on and they were asking for advice on throwing and catching. It was a great experience, certainly an unexpected one, but it just made the day that much better being able to expand knowledge on phyical education.

The Strength of PE*

It’s incredible what physical education can do for you. Aside from playing games and keeping you active it positively influences your emotions and mentality. For example, if per say a person was having a rough day feeling very stressed or overloaded they could engage in physical activity and use that as a means of escape. Every day is a day to learn something new, I knew physical education was a subject that I loved, but today I learned how powerful it can be. It can turn your entire day around, put a smile on your face and allow you to stop stressing things and see it from a different perspective.

Get Active!

Day 1 of Lab!! 2-9

Walking in to a scenario when you are not to sure of what to expect is always nerve racking. Feeling multiple different emotions like fear and excitement is something that can get you confused and even stressed out. Reality is, once you get into the actual process all nerves go away and you are overcome with joy. A feeling of satisfaction to the point where you can't control your smile.
Lab 1 was a lot like that, walking through the door was nerve racking, but walking in and imagining the job was unexplainable. You are bombarded with questions in your mind like what is going to happen? What should I be expecting? Will the children take to me? Will this be a success? Truth is, all your questions are answered and you realize why you joined the physical education department.  Working with them instills happiness in you.
Our group started out in the gym, we worked with children between grades K-1.  The chilrden in this age group were wild and possessed an attention span would max out at around 45 seconds making it imperitive that we kept the game as basic as possible. We played a few small tag games that kept them moving and incorported nutrious values. After games, we went downstairs for snack time and allowed the children to play board games or color. The children, although energetic, were great to work with and always were looking for attention. If you gave them the attention they desired they would look up to you and want to be by oyur side the rest of the day. At times, explaining directions to them was difficult because of the attention span but once they got playing a feeling of accomplishment comes over you.
Overall, lab 1 was an incredible experience and I can't wait to go back.

Introduction

I have never created a blog before. I didn't even know how to go about making one, but after following the steps for this I've realized it could become quite an interesting way to see how other people feel about a passion that you also share.
Hello all, my name is Amanda. I am a third year Phys Ed major and love it more and more everyday. I just transferred here so I am still getting to know the area but thus far no complaints (minus the weather of course). Over break I volunteered at a local training facility focusing on soccer and softball. We worked at breaking down the most vital aspects of the game to its most basic point, sticking with the concept that fundamentals is the key to success.