Hog Calls and Barnyard Noises

This activity forces the students to rely on a partner and trust their classmates. Each partner group is asked to come up with a two-part word or phrase for example "team-work." One student will say "team," the other will say work. They start on opposite sides of the room with their eyes closed and have to find their way to their partner using only their words "team" and "work." We emphasize the importance of moving slowly and trusting our classmates to move slowly and safely so no one gets hurt.

When they find their partner, they stand back to back quietly so the other groups can be successful too. 

After they have completely that challenge, the partners are grouped into teams of four or five. Each group is given a barnyard animal and the challenge to find your entire team using only the sound that animal makes. The kids think it's silly, fun and super challenging. 

Another great teamwork success!

MRC Sponsors a National Geographic Kids Initative

On Oct 26th, starting at noon, people around the country will be running 100 meters each in an effort to break the Guinness World Record for most people to run 100 meters in 24 hours. The Maury Running Club will be encouraging students, staff, family and friends to head to the school and take the challenge.



You can join us at the following times:
Oct 26th 12:05-1:35
Oct 26th 3:30-4:00
Oct 27th 10am-noon

You MUST check in at the security desk by the front door before participating. 

As if promoting running all over the country wasn't enough, NGK added recycling to the challenge as well! National Geographic Kids will also be collecting old sneakers. After the sneakers are collected, they will be tied together to break the record for the longest chain of shoes, then recycled into athletic surfaces such as basketball courts and running tracks. MRC will have a collection bucket on site to add to the effort. 

We hope to see you there with your old sneakers in hand!

http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/12/kids-sets-out-claim-guinness-records-running-recycling/

Moving Safely

Safety is key during the first advisory for all classes. The students learn how to move their bodies safely and how to use equipment properly. We practice moving in space at different speeds, starting and stopping using various signals and being able to change direction quickly.

Here students play "Super Hero Fitness Tag." In the game each color represents a different component of fitness: red for cardiovascular endurance, blue for flexibility, and green for muscular strength and endurance. When tagged the student must go to the "fitness zone" and complete the exercise that is associated with that component of fitness. With the younger students K-2, we brainstormed and picked exercises ahead of time, and with the 3rd-5th grade students they were asked to pick a playing card, and do any exercise associated with the component of fitness. The students used a key on the board to match the suit they picked to the component of fitness and the number on the card represented the number of times or seconds the exercise was to be done. 

Students are asked to skip, gallop, or "fast walk," as they call it, to prove they can move carefully and in awareness of their bodies. In elementary school, asking any student to be aware of their body and have self control over their movements is a tall order, but they are doing great! 

The first two weeks...

...are always very interesting for everyone involved: teachers, supporting staff, parents, and the kids. In the specials' world, we take these weeks to put solid procedures in place much like they do in the classroom. Here's a fly-on-the-wall view of what the PE/Health classes have looked like:

We teach teamwork and problem solving from day one. Here, two students show us one way to solve a dispute in PE/H (or at recess!) while playing a game that gets them up and moving, Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag.

Another teamwork activity! Students are encouraged to cheer for ALL their classmates, not just the students on their team. 

Unless you know what you're looking for, this one might not look like much. All students are learning about boundaries this year with the help of our new floor. We are using the line where the orangey-brownish part (don't tell Ms. Bomba that I made up color names) meets the black part of the floor as our boundary line. This gives the students a solid visual reminder of the safe areas of play. At the beginning of class, I asked the students help me set up our boundaries using cones as a check for understanding. The might be a little clumped together, but they got it!

We don't get to sit down in PE/ Health too often, and when we do it's for quick instruction so we can get up and move again. Here students are showing our "two whistle huddle." The students know when the hear the whistle blow two times, they come into our huddle. This allows me to give instruction or clarification very quickly. We can also use this format to reflect on how things are going, make connections to other classes, or practice "turn and talk" questions.

The 2nd-3rd graders played the Cooperation Cleanup game that reinforced the importance of working as a team and proper use of the equipment. 

And finally, every once in a while, a teacher has a moment where all she can do is turn on the camera and laugh along. Enjoy!

Widgets for Health

Can you find the newest addition to the blog? Look right! -------->

The Fitness Calculator lets you measure how many calories you burn in a given activity. Try it out! This calculator is great for all you anti-treadmill people out there (not that treadmill caloric expenditure calculators are all that accurate). The extensive variety of fitness activity options is quite impressive as well.

I found this widget on Wolfram Alpha. I highly suggest that you explore. It's like a google search engine plus an extremely accurate wikipedia article plus an expert on any subject you desire to learn about plus a technology geek. The site is excellent for finding the nutritional value of food, ex. an apple.

Here's to health and technology!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school! I'm excited to start the new year and it looks like the kids are excited too. The positive vibes from the Maury community are truly energizing.

Below is the letter I sent home in Tuesday folders explaining a little bit about myself and the program at Maury:


Welcome Back Maury Family!

It is great to back for my third year as the Physical Education and Health teacher. I want to highlight some of the changes and exciting things we have in store for this year in Physical Education and in Health.

Physical Education Curriculum:
This year, we will continue to use the SPARK PE Curriculum. “SPARK PE was designed to be more inclusive, active, and fun than traditional PE classes, and SPARK was proven to work with both physical education specialists and classroom teachers.” (www.sparkpe.org) Please be sure your student is prepared for PE! This means proper attire and footwear. If your student is wearing footwear that is dangerous for physical activities (flip-flops, open-toed shoes, high-heels, boots, etc.) they will be asked to not participate. Check out the DCPS Physical Education Standards here and the National Standards here.

Health Curriculum:
Our Health classes this year are concentrated around the Health Standards for DCPS which are aligned with the National Health Education Standards. I will also use curriculum from Welcoming Schools (www.welcomingschools.org) to combat bullying and promote a school culture that is accepting and welcoming of all students. In addition, Health includes: health promotion and disease prevention, access to and evaluation of health information, self-management skills, analyzing influences, interpersonal communication, and decision making and goal setting.

The BIG Change:
This year we will combine the Health and PE classes. If your student is in 1st-5th grade, they will have PE and Health class twice a week. There will be no distinction between PE and Health on the schedule which means that your student should come dressed to participate for both days of PE and Health class.

Fitness Club and Maury Running Club:
Please stay tuned for these great fitness opportunities for 3rd-5th graders! I will be sending out more information in the next few weeks. MRC will take place after school and Fitness Club will be run during recess from 12:05-12:35.

Check out the newest addition to PE and Health, the PE and Health Blog! Check back often to see updates on what your students are doing in class and what events will be coming up.

www.maurype.blogspot.com

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding Physical Education, Health or the Fitness Club. I know this year will be a great success!

Stay active and healthy!
Caroline Hunt
caroline.hunt@dc.gov

True Olympic Champion, Allyson Felix

If you were around Maury a few years ago, you may remember a visit by some pretty famous athletes. One happened to be Allyson Felix. She showed the students her hula-hooping skills, impressively completed a hopscotch in heels and modeled just how important health and fitness is to our students.

Allyson is a perfect example of dedication and hard work in athletics. In 2004, Allyson, only 18 years old at the time, attempted to earn gold at her first Olympics in the 200 meter track and field event. Falling short, Allyson came in second earning a World Junior record with a time of 22.18. A few World Championships and eight years of hard work later, Allyson qualified for the London Summer Olympics. Running against the worlds fastest women, Allyson finished first in the 200 running the race in only 22.81. Ironically Allyson ran slower than her Olympic race in 2004, However, this should not deter us from noticing her hard work and success just a few days ago.

She is a great role-model for our young people. In June of 2010, Allyson- along with many infamous athletes including Billie Jean King, Dominique Dawes, Michelle Kwan, and Grant Hill- was appointed to the President's Council on Fitness, Sport, and Nutrition by Michelle Obama. On the day of the introduction of the new council members, Obama explained, "The Council will play an important role in our effort to help combat childhood obesity in this country and I am grateful to the athletes, chefs, doctors and nutrition experts who are volunteering their time on the Council to help make a difference.” And it has. The Council is responsible for advising the president through the Secretary of Health and Human Services about "opportunities to develop accessible, affordable and sustainable physical activity, fitness, sports and nutrition programs for all Americans regardless of age, background or ability."

Here's to athletes that are also genuinely inspirational role-models!