Juggle~Jump~Stack!

 During the last month, we have worked on a variety of different skills.  These include juggling scarves/bean bags, jump roping, and cup stacking.  Students enjoy practicing these skills individually and during fun partner, small group, and relay activities.  

 

Fundamental Gymnastics

During the past two weeks we have been doing fundamental gymnastics in Physical Education.  Students have been practicing skills that work on balance, transferring weight, and strength.  During this unit we focus on control, focus, and safety.  

Students enjoy this unit because many of the skills require taking a risk and trusting their body.  The first skill we learned is the forward roll.  Students practiced this skill on an incline mat and a flat mat on the ground.  The cues used were tucking their chin and pushing off of their toes.

 Another skill we learned was the cartwheel.  We practiced our right and left side.  Foot prints and hand prints were used to help guide the students.  The cues used were "hand, hand, foot, foot" and keep your legs straight.

 One of the toughest but most popular skills is the tripod.  Students balance on 3 body parts: their head and both hands.  This skill is the beginning of a headstand which many students were able to push into after perfecting the tripod.

Other skills we learned were the handstand and tuck jump on a trampoline.

 

Partner Balances

All pictures are 2nd grade students

No wiggles!  Students practice balancing on their hands, feet, knees, elbows, head and multiple combinations of these body parts.  We practice holding our balance for 10 seconds without wiggling or falling over.  Once we have mastered this alone, we practice making different balance statutes with a partner.  

Students are told to balance on a specific number of body parts with their partner.  If the number is 4, the total number of body parts touching the ground between them and their partner must = 4.  This is a good way for students to integrate math by practicing number partners.  Once students have their balance, they hold it together for 10 seconds.  Students come up with as many balances as they can using that number before I give them a new one. 

Balance Tag

"We get to take off our shoes and go on the wrestling mats!!"  Students love our next unit because it is very different then what we have been learning so far this year.  This week we started our fundamental gymnastics unit where students learn about controlling their body through balancing and transferring their own body weight.  Today students practiced balancing on a variety of and different numbers of body parts without wiggling.  We ended class with Balance Tag.  If a student is tagged they balance in any position they like.  The only way to get free is if a friend copies their balance for 5 seconds with them.  It is fun to see what creative balances students can come up with!  On the right are kindergarten students playing Balance Tag.

Valentine Tag

On Valentine's Day, students celebrate in their classrooms with their classmates and teachers but also have some fun activities in their specialists classes too!  We start class with Valentine Tag.  If students are tagged, they must stand frozen with their hands above their head in the shape of a heart.  The only way to get free is if a friend reads a Valentine message to you.  In the middle of my gym I have a bucket of random valentine cards I have collected over the years.  Students have fun picking out their favorites and saving their friends. 

Kindergartners playing Valentine Tag

Dribbling Fun

At the beginning of February, we started our dribbling unit.  For this unit we focus on many different cues to keep the ball under control and "alive."

• Use finger pads (not palm)
• Keep a strong arm and wrist
• Ball should go as high as your waist
• Protect the ball with your guard arm 

Here are some of the activities we did to help us practice:

Dribble Treasure Hunt
Students dribble from cone to cone looking for a piece of treasure.  If treasure is found, they grab one piece and dribble to the treasure chest that matches the color of the treasure in their hand. When all the treasure is found, students help to re-hide the treasure for a new game.  The objective is to keep the ball alive and under control when moving from cone to cone.

Spot Dribbling (Stationary Dribbling)
Each student has their own ball and is spread out around the gym.  When the music starts, students skip while carrying their ball.  When the music stops, students must find a poly spot and look at the number underneath (I use a deck of  cards).  Whatever number is on the card, is the number of times the student must dribble on that spot.  I also had students move from spot to spot on their own without the help of music.  You can reverse the game and practice dribbling while moving by having students dribble from spot to spot and then toss and catch their ball the number of times that is on their card.

Builders and Bulldozers
Cones are spread out around the gym and each student has a ball.  Half of the students are bulldozers which means they dribble and try to knock down cones.  Half of the students are builders so they dribble and try to pick the cones up.  When the whistle blows, students stop and we count to see which group had the most.  This is a great cardiovascular activity because students get really competitive and are moving fast!

Dribble Frenzy
Each student has a ball in a designated area marked off by cones.  Students practice dribbling and protecting their ball with their guard arm while moving in the space.  If their ball is knocked away by another student or they lose control of their ball, the student must do 3 star jumps before they can re-enter the coned area.  For younger students, we try to practice just moving and dribbling without losing control of the ball.

Let's Get Physical!

This trimester, we changed our warm up to fun fitness stations to help us better prepare for our fitness testing.  Students rotate from station to station doing a different exercise everyday.  Stations last for only 30 seconds and focus on flexibility, upper body, mid body, and lower body.  Our goal is to get physical everyday so that we can improve our fitness scores.

2nd Grade Students at Flexibility Station

2nd Grade students working on balance at Mid Body Station

2nd Grade students doing push ups at the Upper Body Station

Overhand Throwing

This week we started Overhand Throwing.  When we throw we focus on keeping the ball by our ear by making a muscle with our arm, pointing at our target, and stepping with our opposite foot.  Our body says "Point, Step, and Fire!"  which the students love to shout as they throw. The following are a list of activities we did the past week to help us throw hard and with accuracy.

Throwing Maps
During this activity, students worked alone or with a partner and used a map as their guide around the gym.  The color of the circles told the student what wall to throw at, the height of the circle told students where on the wall to throw, and the number in the circle told the student how many times to throw.  When students completed the map with their partner, they exchanged with me for a new one.  This is a great activity to review levels and also have students start to control where they throw the ball.

Throwing for Numbers
During this next activity, I taped many paper plates on my walls at different heights.  Each plate had a number 1-12.  Students practiced overhand throwing and hitting the plates in order from 1-12 or backwards from 12-1.  Younger students started at a closer distance while older students had the option of challenging themselves from further away.

Throwing for 100
Students received a 100's board and were told they had the remainder of class to throw and reach 100.  Each student took a ball and tried to throw and hit a number 1-12.  The student then recorded it on their sheet by coloring that many squares on their hundred board.  Students had fun choosing different colors and numbers to make their sheet unique.

Oscar's Garbage Can
During this activity, I set up mats to make a giant circle for a garbage can.  We talked about Oscar the Grouch and how he is grumpy because he lives in a garbage can that people keep throwing their trash into.  For the game, I put 3-5 students inside the garbage can to be Oscars.  The remainder of the students stay on the outside and try to throw and get as many pieces of trash (balls) as they can into the garbage can.  In the meantime, the Oscars inside are trying to throw any trash that comes in their can back out.  When the music stops, we count how many pieces of trash we were able to get inside. 

Variation of Oscar's Garbage Can
To integrate math concepts, I have students write an addition problem or subtraction problem on a piece of paper and then make a snowball.  We play Oscar's Garbage Can like usual, but when the music stops each student grabs a snowball and opens it up.  The student solves the math problem on their piece of paper and then throws it at the answer on the wall.  This is a great way to get student's minds and bodies working at the same time! 

Reindeer Games

Before our holiday break, students participated in Reindeer Games in Physical Education.  It includes four holiday themed stations where students get to train like a reindeer to get ready for Santa's big night.

Gift Toss

Students "tick tock" their arm and try to toss as many bean bags as they can into the holiday gift bag their partner is holding.  This is a great teamwork activity. For a challenge, tossers had the option of taking a few steps backward to increase the distance.

Rooftop Balance

Students balanced like reindeer on all fours and tried to walk across a balance beam.  This task is harder than it looks!  After completing this skill, students were able to walk across in different ways including on tippy toes, backwards, and with their eyes closed.

Cloud Leap and Tree Gallop

Students practiced leaping from cloud to cloud before galloping between the trees.  Many students like to see how fast they can go and also how far they can leap from each cloud.

Sleigh Pull

Safety is number one at this fun station!  Students have a partner sit on a scooter and hold both handles of a jump rope.  Then their partner steps inside the jump rope loop and holds it around their waist.  Walking only, students pull their partner from one end of the gym to the other.  It is the reindeer's job to keep their partner safe including not falling off or bumping into any other sleighs.