PE in the Art Room....that sounds like fun right? Well, it might not be the most ideal situation, but we made the most of it and YES, it WAS FUN! Last year, we borrowed a class pack of Speed Stacks from another school. It was brand new to my students and they LOVED it! Here is what the class pack looks like:
After we borrowed the pack, I knew that we had to buy one. The kids also had the opportunity to purchase individual sets. I was totally shocked at how many bought them!! The set that we bought conatins 30 sets of 12 cups (variety of colors), a couple timing mats, an instructional DVD (whichis great!), and the carrying case.
I had them sit in their art seats. It was actually nice doing it at a table and not on the floor. I used the Active Board to show the video. We watched, paused, practiced, watched, paused, practiced....etc. At the end, I let them "race" the people at their table. It was a huge hit!
LOOK!!! They are using both hands to stack - they are crossing their mid-line! WHOOP-WHOOP! Take a look at all of the benefits. You can also check out the videos that they have available on Stack Tube. Some of these videos are the ones on the instructional DVD. Last thing...if you are interested in this, you can get a complimentary set.
Back, a long, long time ago....a new elementary teacher put together a tag game that encouraged her kindergarteners to wash their hands. LOL. It was back in 2004, I had just started working at the elementary level. One of my students brought me some of those pom-poms from a college basketball game. He said he thought I would be able to use them in my class. I decided I was up for the challenge...here is what I came up with! I love PE CENTRAL! Click on the pic!
Recently, I have not been able to be in the gym due to air conditioning installation. Now, I'm not complaining because the air conditioning will be AWESOME once the temperature goes up. But it does make teach PE challenging. I have a couple of activities that I like to do in the classroom - juggling scarves, Speed Stackers, Tae Bo...and my newest thing - Just Dance videos from YouTube. I have found that the younger kiddos especially love it. I sent this link to my classroom teachers to use when it is too cold or rainy to go outside for recess.
Before I give you the link, I encourage you to be VERY careful when using YouTube in front of the class....sometimes the ads (Zoosk) before the videos are not appropriate for the kiddos and you never know what video suggestions will pop up at the end. I usually mute the screen and the volume until the video starts and as soon as it is over. Better safe, than sorry!
This link takes you to a group of videos that a teacher has put together! Enjoy!
We sell Field Day t-shirts for the students and the adults. It is really cool to see the kids wearing the same shirt and enjoying the fun day! The entire school has the same design but each grade level wears a different color.
How do we choose a design? Well, I'm not an artist...and can you imagine if the whole school turned in designs???!!! We make it a privilege for the fifth graders. They are given a week to turn in a design that they create. We do allow them to work with no more than one other person. Once they are all turned in a committee (whoever is in the front office :-) narrows it down to 2 to 4 designs. The next step is a school-wide vote! Here is the power point that I use.
Once the votes are all turned in, the design with the most number of votes is the final design. It is amazing how close it can be!
We charge $6 for our shirts. Our goal is not to make money off of them, but the little bit extra that we make goes toward shirts for students that can't afford it. Here is the handout we use for our t-shirt sales. We also ask parents if they would like to donate a shirt to someone that can't afford it.
A couple of thoughts....
- Do not send the student shirts home before field day, have them put it on when they arrive that morning. Yes, this was learned by trial and error :-) Many of them didn't make it back for field day!
- Send the parent/volunteer shirts home the day before field day!
- The 5th grader(s) that designed the WINNING design receives a FREE field day t-shirt and their name on the design!!!
