Welcome to Steve's Class

Week of January 31, 2012

I hope that you have received paper copies with information regarding Jump Rope For Heart by now. I think many of the children are excited to show off their jumping skills. On Valentine's Day we will start the morning by getting as many kids as possible jumping. I don't think we will have much room for extra adults but if your child is especially excited to have you there feel free to squeeze in. If you do come be sure to bring your jumping shoes.

If you did not get the papers please contact your child's teacher or me. I will be happy to answer any questions. I hope this event is a fun way for yourchild to learn about staying healthy as well as raise a little money for the heart association.

Here is the link to the American Heart Association web site http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Giving/ForIndividuals/JoinanEvent/jump-rope-sub-home_UCM_315609_SubHomePage.jsp

Week of January 23, 2012

This past week I have been playing a lot of volleyball type games. The youngest groups are getting started by throwing and hitting foam balls over the net. We play a game with many balls where half the students on each side underhand serve or throw the balls over the net. The older students have been practicing bumping back and forth with a partner, sometimes with a foam ball sometimes with a volleyball. The LEAP group will have volleyball for 4th and 5th grade students beginning in February. A group of non-TCAPS schools have been trying to organize a league to include 6th grade students as well. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Please look for information on Jump Rope for Heart beginning on the 26th of January. I hope your child will be excited to be able to help the Heart Association.

The groups of students helping out around the school have had plenty to do over the last few weeks with all of the snow to shovel. I have been able to include children from three years old and up, and continue to be so pleased to see how willing and able they all are to help out around their school. Community service helps them understand the value of thinking about other people, about putting their needs before our own. Children learn how to share, both on a physical and an emotional level, when they're exposed to community service at an early age. 

Week of January 9, 2012

I'm glad to be back after such a long and even extended break. I look forward to many good things happening in the new year. We will have a Jump-Rope for Heart event on February 14, whenever we hold this event I get excited to see how much our students want to help and also learn about ways to keep their heart healthy. Heart disease is still the number one cause of death in the United States and I am happy to be able to help change this even in such a small way.

Soon we will play some volleyball and the upper elementary students will have a chance to participate on a team to compete against other schools if they would like. Look for information in the next few weeks. Everyone will have a chance to play in the gym the youngest groups have great success playing "balloon volleyball" and it is fun to watch the progress they all make over the few weeks we play.

I look forward to a great winter and hope you all had a good time with your family over these past few weeks. As always, please contact me with any questions or comments. Thank You! 

Week of December 5, 2011

This past week I was able to help harvest a large crop of parsley and sage to dry for the lunch program. We had a good time out in the garden and the children were surprised that we could still be harvesting in December after the ground had begun to freeze. The only problem was keeping our fingers warm while we used the scissors, but we managed.

In the gym, the upper elementary group has started playing four on four basketball games and will continue to learn more of the rules of the game over the next week. I have been impressed with the willingness of the students with experience to help players new to the game. Even the most competitive of the group are willing to take time to explain how to get better at a new skill or learn the details of the rules.

Some of the younger groups have been getting lots of hand eye coordination practice while playing badminton. It is great to see the look in their eye when they realize they have just made three consecutive hits. I try to allow a lot of space and have them play alone while they work on just hitting the birdie. They usually find a partner or small group to play with and pick it up rather quickly.  

Week of November 28, 2011

This past week we began working on basketball skills. I've tried to stress the team aspect of the game while giving students time to practice the individual skills needed to play in a game setting. The team aspect of the game can carry over into other parts of the day as well. When we help our teammates to feel included they are more likely to get better and have a good time doing it. They will also have a more positive opinion of us and want to help when needed if they feel valued. Taking time to talk about this part of team games may help students be more able to work together and a lot of fun while doing it.

While working outside this week, the community service groups have put away hoses, worked in the garden, raked leaves and put even more potatoes in the root cellar. I think students enjoy time outside and are glad to provide further opportunity to feel helpful and needed in their school community. Hopefully we will have even more to do very soon when the snow arrives.

Week of November 14, 2011

I spent some time with students in the gym talking about the things that go into leading a healthy life. They all knew how important exercise and proper foods are to being healthy. A couple of things not many students remembered were sleep and proper hydration.

I mentioned that sleep is especially important for children as it directly impacts mental and physical development and that children aged five to 12 need 10-11 hours of sleep. I I hope this supports what you already have told your children. I reminded them that getting enough sleep helps them to fight sickness be in a good and be ready to learn in school.

We also spent some time talking about drinking enough water. I shared the importance of enough water in many of the bodies functions. I also told students their bodies are 60 to 75% water. I let them know that it is okay with me if they bring a water bottle to P.E. each day and to start their day with a glass of water. I try to share information with students so they can make good decisions for a lifetime of good health. If you have other topic suggestions I would be interested in hearing them.
 

Week of October 31, 2011

Physical education is not just fitness and fun. I believe that it helps children gain control over their bodies. They do not automatically gain complete control and coordination. I enjoy giving specific instruction on the simplest of motor skills. This week we have been working on sprinting. I think breaking even this simple task into small parts helps everyone begin to master the skill and gain confidence needed to pursue other activities needed to remain healthy for a lifetime. Throughout the year we will continue to develop balance, speed, strength and agility.

I continue to assist students in getting a lot of work done on the campus getting ready for winter. We have collected leaves for compost, cleaned out flower beds and distributed finished compost to classroom gardens. I hope to continue expanding on this by involving more students daily. When children do these jobs at their school they may begin to take ownership of the entire place. They are practicing cooperation, decision making, self-confidence all while having a good time getting to know students from other age groups and classrooms.  

Week of October 24, 2011

It was great to see so many parents in the building for the visiting day. I was lucky enough to have Nadine's class in the gym for the first part of the morning, as always. I think everyone had a good time and joined willingly into the activity. I want to invite everyone to join their child in the gym anytime that fits your schedule. If you are not sure when your child is in the gym, ask me or their teacher. I promise you will have a good time and return to the rest of your day with a with a smile on your face. We know from current research that moderate vigorous physical activity aids brain function and makes us happier. Less than 5% of elementary schools nation wide provide daily physical education. I continue to feel lucky to be in a school that is following what everyone knows to be true; People need to move a lot in order to function at their highest potential. Thank you for choosing to be here as well.  

Week of October 17, 2011

Agnes brought some toddlers to the gym this week and helped teach a game she learned as a little girl in Poland. Gra w gume is a game involving elastic bands and patterns of jumping, one or each grade in school through seventh grade. I'm glad to have Agnes (a toddler classroom assistant) as a resource for our school wide study of Poland. Bringing games Polish children play into the gym helps students to become even more interested in learning more about the country. I hope to teach them a few more games from Poland over the next few weeks.

I've gotten a lot of help over the past few weeks with the compost. We have collected several yards of leaves and pine needles to mix in with the fifty or so pounds of food we add each day. We have also distributed five wheelbarrows full of finished compost to the gardens around the grounds. I am looking into the best way to insulate it so that we can keep everything warm over the winter.

The best part of composting is when I get to hear comments like I did this week. As we were dumping some finished compost into the garden a second grade student said, "Hey Steve, it's like a circle. We put food in the compost and in a few months we can put it back in the garden and grow more food."

Week of October 10, 2011

In the gym this week we have had a good time with balloons. We have played catch and kept them aloft using hands, feet, knees and heads. They are also fun to keep up with a partner. A favorite activity is to see how far apart partners can be, tap the balloon up and try to switch spots without letting the it hit the floor. I have enjoyed watching some of the youngest students who are learning to catch be successful and gain confidence while they learn.

The root cellar is finally taking shape. After several weeks of digging we have a hole large enough to store lots of veggies for winter use. As the hole got deeper I lowered buckets to the children for them to fill. Groups were always surprised at how much progress their classmates had made and loved getting in "the deepest hole I've been ever in". An estimate of one ton per foot means we have removed over three tons of soil to prepare the site in the greenhouse. Give us a week or so to build walls and fill it with produce then come check out our low cost way store farm fresh food all winter.

Week of October 3, 2011

What is a friend?

We spent some time over the past week talking about friends. We defined friendship and talked about what friends do together as well as apart. I think the time in the gym is a great time to develop new friends and strengthen existing bonds. I continue to mix students into groups of close friends and new classmates. Making and keeping friends happens thorough the day here at school and I hope that I can help in the process.

A fun activity in the gym this week has been using the scooters and a long cord to pull themselves across the room. It is a great way to improve hand strength as well as the muscles of the upper body. The cord is nearly the same size of a pencil so I think we are accomplishing more than having fun and building strong bodies. I believe we are also helping them back in their classroom when they pick up the pencil.

Week of September 26, 2011

It was great to see so many of you last Friday at the harvest feast. The mount of work we all accomplished that day will go a long way in getting the gardens ready for winter. I was in charge of digging a hole for the root cellar with the students from Nadine's class. The hole needs to be 6'x4'x4', we expect to finish the digging early next week and have it ready for storage by the 10th.

Indoors this week I have allowed a lot of time for students of all levels to practice throwing and catching both alone and with a partner. We have also started jumping rope more and will continue throughout the school year. I like the jump rope because it is an exercise that many people can continue for a lifetime of fitness. It provides benefits of burning up to 1000 calories per hour as well as building bone strength, it's easy to learn and most importantly it is a lot of fun! Look for the Jump Rope for Heart event to happen in February this year. If you need a few ropes at home I would be happy to share some of ours as the American Heart Association is always very generous in giving me ropes, just let me know if you want a couple to use at home.

Week of September 19, 2011

This week I had the pleasure of talking with your children about respect. I was not introducing the term to any of the groups, except possibly some of the kindergarten students, simply reviewing what they already knew. We defined respect as treating others as you would like them to treat you and providing encouragement. I hope that moving forward they continue to develop respect for themselves, their classmates and others.

A great time to practice showing respect is in the gym while we have taken on the tasks of team jump rope and shooting basketballs. It is great to hear and see the encouragement the students provide one another as they perfect skills while working up a sweat. I'm not sure where I heard this but I like this quote. "A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success."

Week of September 12, 2011

I started leading students in community service projects around campus this week. We harvested fifty pounds of apples and several hundred pounds of pears, cleared about two yards of brush and got rid of a couple of old and broken greenhouse tables that we were left ten years ago by the previous property owners. Each morning as I enter the classrooms I am happy to have several willing and excited volunteers waiting. I think by starting out helping around their school the students learn how good it can feel to contribute to their community.

We have spent most of this week working at stations including jump rope and the climbing wall. The older group has been having fun with a tagging game called bulldog as well as practicing dribbling and shooting a basketball. Each group starts their day with some running and skipping around the gym and we usually end with some stretching. I hope your child enjoys their time in the gym and will come home with a few nuggets of information about healthy living as well. 

Week of September 5, 2011

What a great start, I have had a great first week back with your kids. I will spend little more class time each week talking about why physical education is important beneficial.

This week we are spending a bit of time talking about bones. We talked about ways to get enough calcium. Muscles get stronger when we use them. The same idea applies to bones: the more work they do, the stronger they get. Any kind of physical exercise is great for your kids, but the best ones for their bones are weight-bearing activities like walking, running, hiking, dancing, tennis, basketball, gymnastics, and soccer. (Children who tend to play outside will also have higher vitamin D levels.) Swimming and bicycling promote your kids' general health, but are not weight-bearing exercises and will not help build bone density.

I will also expand on the community service piece I have been doing with the students for the past few years. Last school year, I was able to have the kids do many jobs at the school that needed to be done and are outside of their classroom responsibilities. This year, I want to keep expanding and I hope some students will come up with some projects at school that I may not be thinking of. I think this is a great way for children to feel more connected to their school and be proud of the many ways they truly can make a difference in their school community. I look forward to a great year with your children and hope to hear from you soon.