Invest In Your Community

     Yesterday, I took some time to visit St. Mary's Elementary school and volunteered for their second annual 'Run for the Stars'. It was a great experience to help out such a deserving group of people. I felt inspired once there, as so many people showed to support each other on their active endeavor. People of all ages arrived for the same reason, to support their community, socialize, and have fun while exercising. I recognized most of the children, as I see them weekly. It felt great to be there for the kids and I feel they really enjoyed our presence and extra support as we cheered them on in their 1k race and for some, a 5k. Not only did I recognize the children, but some of the school's staff was in attendance.

     I can definitely see myself creating such a race for my school, to bring the community together. Asking local markets, and chain restaurants for sponsorships is a great idea when planning these events; as most of these places will be interested in getting their name out for such a large group of locals. Races, along with other types of engaging large group activities are great ways to bring people together. Adding these types of activities for your district's community will keep everyone interacting and staying active while keeping up with the newest trends in physical activity.

     Working with the community in the district you teach will definitely show the community, district, and school you teach in how much you care for the children. People will recognize the extra time put in outside of school time, and appreciate how much more involved your are in their child's life. I can't wait to initiate new fun activities for my future school or district's community, because the town and its children deserve it.

Thank You, St. Mary's

A collection of some of the memories from St. Mary's Elementary School in Cortland, NY; along with pictures from the Brookhaven-Roe YMCA, NY.

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.

St. Mary's Day 3

     This week at St. Mary's proved to be another fun, exciting experience from which I could learn. I have learned to recognize effective teaching strategies, and those which are less effective. Also during this visit I was able gain more experience assessing the elementary students. This week we assessed the same kids, Eric and Ana. The students' ability to execute particular locomotor skills such as leaping, horizontally jumping, and sliding were accurate in some regards, and not as much in others. While assessing I have learned there might be some amount of variable which can throw off a student's assessment. Although some of this week's locomotor skills weren't executed perfectly, there is always time for the students to develop their skills, as every child develops at a different rate.

     Some of the effective teaching strategies I used this week were the same as last week. The first strategy was to recognize the well behaved and mannered students who are listening attentively and reinforce their behavior either verbally or by granting them privileges such as becoming the first "tagger" for the activity. The other students not paying much attention soon understand the more behaved students are granted some form of reward, and they too begin to calm down and listen as attentively as their peers. Another strategy I used was to use a firm, direct, loud voice while describing my game. Using this type of voice, I was able to excite and hold the attention of the young students, which leads to their understanding of the activity they are to perform. Using these strategies is an enormous help, especially when you are trying to describe a game for many children.

     After spending another week at St. Mary's, it has become evident the students respect, and listen to us more as their model teacher. I have learned more about the children and what to say to them that will have them listen and behave quickly. I am looking forward to next week's visit to St. Mary's to strengthen the bonds I have made with the children, all while utilizing the information I have learned from the previous weeks to develop my professionalism an make myself a better teacher candidate.
Lab 3 Write Up

PED-201 Physical Activity & Fitness Enhancement

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St. Mary's Day 2

     My time spent at St. Mary's this week was full of new learning experiences and practice with evaluation. This week the Lab's theme was cartoon, so my group member and I tweaked our games to include some of the kids favorite and funny cartoon characters, which the kids really enjoyed. At the school, I was introduced to some new teaching strategies which I'm eager to use in my own classroom someday. Some of the strategies include acknowledging the students displaying the correct behaviors our loud, which encouraged the students not doing the correct things to do them. Another strategy was to always describe the game about to be played to the kids in depth, before sending the kids out to run around and play. Another strategy was to tell the kids they're about to play a great game and that it is really fun, while squatting on their level. This will engage the kids from the start and keep their attention for a longer time. Also not asking the kids if they want to play game will increase their rejection of your game ideas. 


     Also this week, I evaluated two kids ages six to seven, in grades kindergarden or first. The boy, named Eric was able to perform certain locomotor skills better than the girl, Ana. The locomotor skills we evaluated the kids on were carefully hidden in the games used, which made the process run smoothly. The skills tested were running, hopping, and galloping. The kids were evaluated on various criteria, and for the most part the kids performed the skills accurately; with some exceptions. It sure is interesting watching and evaluating children for the first time, and made me feel more prepared to do it another time in the future.


Lab 2 Write Up

St. Mary's Day 1

         My second week at St. Mary's school was just as fun and exciting as the first. The kids seemed to open up a bit more and were easier to talk to, I even started remembering some of their names. My group and I were able to implement our new games by ourselves and the kids really enjoyed playing. Paired with music, there was no stopping the kids from moving about and getting the most out of each of our games. I noticed a difference in the motor behaviors of children of different grade levels, gender and ability. The older students tended to engage in more skillful activities, such as small sided basketball games. The younger students had their attention held by simple games such as tag, and red light, green light, one, two, three (healthy foods version). As far as gender, the boys and girls for the most part tended to be engaged in different activities. While the boys played basketball and soccer, the girls were having fun playing in the mini doll house or jumping rope. The different abilities in the gym seen varied from small kids just learning the basics of jumping and hopping, to kids who were on travel soccer teams and possessed a high level of skill; having a certain skill level definitely influences the student's motor behaviors. Every activity played today had the kids' skills enhanced through the use of a simple stereo and ipod. The addition of music made everyone more excited and eager to play, which is definitely something I'll be using in my gym classes in the years to come. Overall, my second time at St. Mary's was another great eye opener and experience. I can not wait for my next visit in just two weeks!

Lab 1 Write Up