St. Mary's Day 4

     For my fourth lab at St. Mary's I evaluated another boy and girl. This week the children were evaluated on the overhand throw, and the catch; each with their respective cues to executing the movement/skill correctly. Some of the cues for the overhand throw I looked for as a future physical educator included having a downward arc of their throwing arm, a rotation of hip and shoulder, a weight transfer, and a follow through. The children I observed, Paige and Daniel both were able to execute the movement, yet Daniel had a less pronounced follow through and shoulder and hip rotation while throwing. The other skill I observed was the two-handed catch. Some cues for the catch included having both arms flexed and extended in front of the body, elbows bent and caught with just their hands. The boy and girl displayed this catch very well, the only criticism I have is Paige used her chest once or twice to aid her catch.
     Through deeper analysis of Paige's overhand throw, I concluded her throw using different sized balls was at the elementary stage for the most part. One of her throws correlated with that of the mature stage criteria. When we asked her to use lighter and heavier balls she displayed more mature stage skill, with only one case of her displaying kill at the elementary stage level. Being able to hang a grade on movement is something I must learn for my future profession, these observation/evaluation experiences have been nothing but interesting and helpful.
     As my lab group was in charge of the closing activity, I was responsible for a closing quote/cheer which summed up the day and reinforced our class's theme from the PBS children's show, "Dinosaur Train". My quote was silly and fun, but when presented with real vigor and enthusiasm turned out to be rather effective and informative for the group of children who had just ran around the gym playing numerous games for two hours after their normal school day. I used some basic locomotor skills in my quote which paralleled with some of the movements the show's characters displayed; such as flapping arms up and down, standing on one foot, roaring and shaking hands with a neighbor or two. In all, the children were really interested in my cheer/quote because I displayed a high level of enthusiasm and excitement.

Lab 4 Write Up

     These photos capture intensity and our ability to unleash our inner character for the children so they really buy into what we're saying, and in turn they are more motivated to participate and pay attention. The second picture shows my peers and I as we evaluate children executing various locomotor skills.