Lab #6- The Finale!

It's hard to believe that the spring 2012 semester is coming to end. With the semester coming to a close, it also means that our time at St. Mary's is coming to an end. Overall, I enjoyed lab #6 the most. I had a great time at our last visit to St. Mary's and I know the kids had fun as well even though we had a couple of injuries during this lab. The first thing we did at lab was play with a huge parachute with all the kids. They all seemed to really enjoy it and had fun playing all the games. I remember back when I was in elementary school and we played with the parachute during Physical Education class; it was one of my favorite days in PE and I have great memories of it. I hope that we were able to make great memories for the kids of St. Mary's. After we finished playing with the parachute, I played knockout for a little with some of the older boys. Once again, I'm always amazed at how well these boys can play basketball. I also played jump rope with some of the girls and played tag with some of the younger boys. Throughout the day one boy seemed to keep following me around the gymnasium and kept playing the same activities that I was participating in. I finally asked him if he wanted to play any game in particular, he told me he wanted to play the statue game. He made up this game and it was so incredible to see him use his imagination and think of his own game to play. He had so much fun playing it. We also played Simon says together and then soccer for a little bit. At the end of the day, It was really nice to see all the kids playing the game we organized and that they were having fun. I'm so sad that our labs at St. Mary's are over. This was a great experience and the kids were so much fun to work with. I'm glad that I got to know the kids and that I was able to learn things about most of them. They were a great group of kids and working at St. Mary's has just made me even more excited to become a Physical Education teacher in the future. I would like to thank St. Mary's for having us at their school this semester and for everything that they have done for us.

Check out my Lab #6 Write Up!

Bouncing Our Way Through Lab #5

It's hard to believe that this was our second to last trip to St. Mary's. Time has gone by so quickly! We observed a boy and a girl's dribbling and kicking skills. They were both in the 1st grade. Both children seemed to struggle with kicking the ball. Both of them didn't really have an approach when they kicked it. They also stood very close to their target. They both just stood next to the ball and kicked it with their toe. As for their dribbling skills, the girl seemed to have more control over the ball. The boy would lose control over the ball after attempting to dribble it once or twice. My group went outside for a little and played with the pre-school kids on the playground. It was such a beautiful day and the kids had so much energy. I was running around with all of them. I was playing, hide and go seek, red light green light, and tag. When my group had to go back in the gym the kids were so upset. They were having so much fun with us. We didn't get a chance to play our games that we had organized for the older kids. There were only about 5 or 6 boys there so we decided to play basketball against them. It was boys vs. girls and the St. Mary's boys got really into the game.They took it very seriously and played hard. These boys can play basketball so well. They took some amazing shots and almost all of them would go in. The boys knew how to communicate well and pass the ball to each other. It was interesting to see the boys interacting with one another. We played basketball for such a long time and everyone was exhausted. However, the boys didn't want to stop playing. They would of played all afternoon if we didn't have to stop. I actually had a lot of fun playing with the boys. Overall, Lab #5 was very successful and I enjoyed it a lot. Before we left St. Mary's everyone signed the posters on the door and thanked St. Mary's for having us at their school. I'm excited for next Monday, but I'm very sad at the same time because it is our last lab for the whole semester! 

Lab #5 Write Up

Performing Live At Poolside

On Wednesday, April 11th my group, "The Powerpuff Girls" performed our song "Baby Move." I was shocked when I saw how many people came to watch our performance at Poolside. There was a lot of falculty there and a lot of students from different classes came to watch as well. Professor Yang had a huge screen set up that played our music video and song in the background as we sang our song. I was extremely nervous to perform, because I have never sang in front of this many people ever. I thought it was scary to sing in front of just the class, but there were so many people at poolisde that I was even more nervous. Once I got up there to perform my nerves went away a little bit. Our performance went well and afterward many people came up to me and told me they really enjoyed our song. They said our song was catchy and they couldn't get it out of their head. Overall, this was a good experience for me, because it gave me confidence to stand up in front of a group of people and do something that I am not too comfortable doing.  

Using Technology in Physical Education

Using technology in Physical Education can be very beneficial for students. I had the opportunity to use a toy called the Hyper Dash. This toy can be used by holding the Hyper Dash in one hand and spreading the color spots out. Each color spot is a different color with a different number on it. Students listen to the Hyper Dash and it would say either a color such as "blue" or a math problem such as "4+1" depending on the level the Hyper dash was set to. This toy could help pre school students who are learning their colors or older students who are learning math equations such as addition or subtraction. I could use the Hyper Dash in my classroom by creating a relay race. I know relay races aren't the best things in physical education classes, because many kids stand around, but this relay race would be different since it would also involve concepts students are learning in the classroom. In the relay race, the first student would perform a locomotor movement to where the the Hyper Dash was set up. The student would listen to the Hyper Dash and answer the question. If the student got the question right they would perform the locomotor movement back to the next person in line. If the student got the question wrong they would have to do ten jumping jacks before they could do the locomotor movement back to the next student in line. If the questions on the Hyper Dash were too easy for the students I would set the Hyper Dash to a harder level.

Another game we used in lab was called Dance Dance Revolution, also known as DDR. This game was so much fun and I really enjoyed playing it. It was actually quite the workout and by the end of the game I was pretty tired and actually sweating. I believe students would have so much fun playing this game in a physical education class. It would definitely get them moving and tire them out. Also students would be able to challenge themselves by playing the game on the hard level or even the expert level. I hope I have the opportunity to have my students play DDR in my classroom.

                                                                  

Lab #4- Catch That Ball

I feel that every lab we go to at St. Mary's gets better and better. For this week my group was in the Preschool room. This might of been my favorite lab so far, because the Preschool kids were so much fun and they were so energetic. They were a pleasure to work with. I have worked with kids this age before, because my mom is a Preschool teacher and when I'm home for break I always go to her class and help her out and play with the kids. It is always so much fun. Before we went into the Preschool room, we watched all the kids throw and catch balls. I was surprised at how well some of the kids could throw and catch a ball. We had to watch two kids in particular. The two kids that we watched did a pretty good job of both catching and throwing. However, both of them needed to work on a couple of things. They were both still in the elementary level which is okay since they are both at a young age. When we went into the Preschool room the first thing we did was a craft with all the kids. They had to draw on paper that was in the shape of an egg and then we glued on colorful shapes to the "egg" as well. I was surprised at how well the kids did with this project. They all seemed to enjoy it, and it kept them busy for awhile. All the kids kept coming up to me and showing me their egg and what they drew on it. They were all really proud of there work. A lot of the kids drew flowers, bunnies, and crosses. After the project, I read a book to the kids. I read "Rainbow Fish." I picked this book because I remember my mom reading me the story when I was younger and it was one of my favorites. I always loved the colorful scales on the fish. The kids loved the book and they also liked to look at the scales like I did when I was little. Then, we ate a quick snack with the kids and then we went into the gym. First, we played a quick warm-up game with the kids to get some of their energy out. They had to copy everything that we did. If we hopped then they had to to hop. If we slid around the gym then they had to slide around the gym. The kids enjoyed moving around and the game was able to tire them out a little bit. After, we taught them the proper way to throw and catch a ball. Each of them got a partner and practiced with their partner. Then, each of them practiced throwing the ball into a soccer goal. They actually really loved this and we made a game out of it. We counted how many goals the kids could get. They were really into this game, and it kept them entertained for awhile which I was really surprised by. Overall, Lab #4 went very well and it was exciting to work with the little kids. I had a lot of fun. I am looking forward to next lab, because my group will be working with the older kids, and we can definitely play a lot of fun games with them.

Lab #4 Write Up and Assessment!

"Baby Move" (Remix)

My group, the Powerpuff Girls called our video, "Baby Move." We were assigned Chapter 7 in the Motor Development PED 201 book. We used the song "Rack City" by: Tyga. We took out his lyrics, and used the instrumental version. We created our own lyrics using terms and concepts that were found in chapter 7. In this chapter you learn about infant reflexes and rhythmical stereotypes. I learned a lot from this chapter as we made the lyrics. I even learned what the word Babinski means. It is a reflex that is elicited by a stroke on the sole of the foot. There were other interesting words that I learned about in this chapter as well. This project allowed me to learn new material in a fun and creative way. My group had so much fun making the lyrics, recording our voices, and creating our video for this project. It was a great experience; I have never done anything like this in a classroom before. I'm definitely glad we did  this and I am looking forward to seeing everyone elses video's. I am also excited to perform our song for the whole class. However, I am a little nervous, but I am sure it will go great!

Don't forget to watch "Baby Move" CLICK HERE!!

Lab #3- Show me your muscles!

For lab number three at St. Mary's the theme was sports and my group was the gym group so we all had to prepare a game that had to do with leaping, jumping, sliding, and sports. The game I chose was called Oodles of Noodles. In this game, I laid out hockey sticks all around the gym. The students had to slide around the gym and when they got to a hockey stick they had to leap over it and then continue sliding. Once I blew the whistle all the students would stop and pose in a sports stance, such as throwing a ball, shooting a basketball, or kicking a soccer ball. Then, the students continued to slide around the gym, but this time they jumped over the hockey sticks. The students seemed to have fun with this game. They understood my directions and listened well when I explained the game to them. When I started the game only three kids wanted to play, but as the game went on more and more kids came over to join, because they noticed the other kids were having fun. As I was watching the students perform these locomotor skills I noticed that a lot of them struggled with them and a lot of them were definitely on the elementary level. A lot of the students had a hard time leaping and they even had to ask us what a leap was. We described it to them as taking a giant step. My group’s games all went very well and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. After we finished the games we started to play tag for a little, but one boy ran into another boy and one of them got hurt pretty badly. So, we started to play soccer instead. There were a bunch of kids playing and many of them were getting really into it. I was able to see their competitive side come out a little. Later, we went down into the cafeteria and I ate a snack with some of the students and also colored with some of the girls. It was really entertaining and enjoyable to listen to them talk about school, their friends, and their family. Our third trip to St. Mary’s was very successful, and I can see myself improving each time I go there. I feel more comfortable around the students and talking in front of all them. I’m also starting to learn some of their names and learn unique things about each child. I’m looking forward to our next trip to the school; however it won’t be for a couple of weeks due to our spring break. At our next trip to St. Mary’s I will be in the pre-school room which should be a lot of fun. I can’t wait to work with the younger kids!

 Lab #3 Write Up and Assessment Sheet!

The Great Debate Showdown

I thought the debate we had in class was awesome! I have never done anything like that before in a classroom. Each group made some great points that I would not even had thought about before. It was pretty cool that the whole debate was recorded and also that many pictures were taken and put on the blog. It was really fun tweeting during the debate, because I was able to see what my other classmates were thinking about during the debate and who they thought was going to win. I was also able to find more classmates on twitter and follow them because of the live twitter stream on the computer. I was part of the skills theme advocate group. We believe that every student should learn all the basic locomtor skills, because they are the basis for all other sports. If a child knows all these basic skills and can perform them well they will be able to participate in any activity of their choice I thought our group did a great job and we made many valid points. However, the other groups and even the board of education were able to fire it right back at us and ask us questions that were a little tricky to answer. In the end, the board of education concluded that both lifetime activities and the skills theme advocate group were both correct in different ways and they thought that both groups were very important. I'm very glad that we did this debate in this class and that I took part in it. I was able to learn new things about the stick group, the lifetime activites group, and I even learned some things about the locomotor skills as I was creating the powerpoint with my group. The debate was a lot of fun and I wish that I did more things like this in other classes of mine.

PE Hall of Shame

I have actually never played any of these games in my Physical Education classes. However, I have played tag but it was always a different kind of tag game. I remember I used to play red rover and spud during recess, but my friends and I would organize the game ourselves. All these games in the Hall of Shame are really fun games and I used to enjoy playing them. On the other hand, in a Phyiscal Education class the teacher should be teaching the students new games that they have never seen before. Outside of class students can organize their own game of spud or red rover, as I used to and they don't need a teacher there to do so. I believe the game of tag can be altered so that it doesn't need to be in the Hall of Shame. A teacher can alter the game of tag, so that everyone is "it" and if a student gets tagged twice they can just do fifteen jumping jacks or ten sit ups and then come back in the game. This modification will allow everyone student to be playing the whole time. Also, in a game of tag the teacher can have the students hop, skip, leap, or jump rather than just running. By doing this, it will allow the students to work on their locomotor skills and the students will be able to improve.

Staying Healthy This New Year

Check out how I use the internet to stay healthly and fit!

Party in the USA!

Check out my lab group dancing and lip syncing to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. I was a little nervous performing the dance since it was being recorded, but the video turned out great and I had so much fun! Watch the dance!

Love Is In The Air- Lab #2

The second time we went to St. Mary's I felt more comfortable and I wasn't as overwhelmed as I was the first time. This week the theme was Valentine's day and we played a lot of games that had to do with love and Valentine's day. When we first got there we assessed two children on their skills of running, galloping, and hopping. I noticed that the two students had a hard time doing some of the locomotor skills for a long period of time. When Billy and Susie both galloped they never kept their arms bent, they were kind of just all over the place. Also, Susie wasn't able to gallop with both legs. I believe galloping to be a hard locomotor skill for many young children to do. After we finished assessing Billy and Susie we split up into our groups. This week at St. Mary's my group was the special projects group. we created a bulletin board. We titled the board "Be Active" and wrote different sports all over the board. We also wrote other ways to stay active, such as doing locomotor skills such as, running, galloping, and hopping. We also drew pictures of sports equipment and  people playing sports. When my group finished the bulletin board, I played with some kids in the gym. I played knock out with some of the boys. It was interesting to see their different personalities. Some of the boys were very competitive and were being sore losers if they lost in the game. I had to remind some of them that it was just a game and that we would play again once the round ended. Other boys were very encouraging and would say "Good job" or "Nice shot" if another student made a basket. A couple of the older boys were even helping the younger boys during the game. It was very interesting to watch. At the end of the day it was time for me to present my game to all the kids. I was a little nervous, but I was able to talk loud and get the attention of all the kids. The game I played with the kids was called, Aerobic Walk Tag. In this game everyone gets a partner and one person is "it" in every duo and the other person is the one who walks away. The person who is "it" counts to five and then starts walking after their partner. There is no running allowed in this game. Once the other person gets tagged then that person becomes "it" and the other person walks away. I also had the students hop, gallop, and leap after their partner. Later, I had the person who was "it" spin three times really fast and then start chasing after their partner. This made the game more fun and kept the kids interested for longer. The kids surprisingly all listened well and played the game. Overall, Lab #2 at St. Mary's was very successful and went well. I feel more comfortable at the school now and I am excited for Lab #3. It should be fun and interesting since my group is the gym group. The kids at St. Mary's have a lot of energy and are always ready to play. They have been a pleasure to work with so far.

Check out my Lab #2 Write Up and Assessment sheet!

Post #5-Reaction to Virtus

Having Sister Harriett from St. Marys come into our classroom and do the Virtus workshop with us was a really great experience. The films that we watched made a huge impact on me. It was amazing to hear from children who had been sexually abused. There stories were very moving and touching but also hard to listen to, because you can tell these children have been through so much pain and suffering in their lives. When the two male abusers talked in the video and told the viewers how they get children to be comfortable around them and what they do to children was just awful to hear. It really made me sick to my stomach and it made me feel a little uncomfortable. On the other hand, it was very important to hear what they had to say so I know what to look for if I notice something suspicious occurring. If I notice something unusual occurring I know to call the hot line first and not the police, because I don't have to give the hot line my name and they will come in to the school and take care of the problem. I learned it is very important to report anything I see, because we wouldn't want anything to happen to any child. Who knows if someone reported to someone what was going on at Syracuse and at Penn State perhaps the situation could of been taken care of faster or maybe it wouldn't even had occurred at all. Overall, this workshop made me change how I will look at the things that occur in the classroom. Also, these videos were very powerful and definitely got the message across to all of us.

Post #4- Lab #1 Reflection

Last Monday, we went to St. Marys for the first time. I was a little nervous going there, because I didn't know what to expect. The kids were great, they were energetic and ready to play. The lab assistants did a good job with the kids. Most of the kids followed directions and played the game they were told to play. There was always one or two boys who would kind of just wander off sometimes. The Preschool room was so much fun. The kids were so cute and they had a great imagination. I played house with a couple little girls. It was interesting to see them interact with each other. When we played with the parachute in the gym the kids seemed to love it. They loved crawling underneath it. I even had a lot of fun playing with the parachute too. At the end of the lab, I thought dancing in the circle was a cute way to get the kids moving. A lot of them seemed very tired after that activity. Having all the kids and the college students get together in a circle in put their hand in and chant "St. Marys" was a great way to end the day. I had a lot of fun going to St. Marys, I'm excited to go back and to show the kids what game I have to play with them.

Lab #1 Write Up

Post #3- "Learn Through the Physical" and Affective Growth

When someone says, "Learn Through the Physical," it could mean many different things. I believe "Learn Through the Physical" means that someone learns how to be physically fit. They learn how to eat properly, how to exercise right and how to take care of their body. Being physically fit means that a person has the ability to perform daily tasks without fatigue and to have sufficient energy reserves for participation. "Learn Through the Physical" could also have to do with a Physical Education class and the students in the class. If the students in this class have an effective physical education class they could psitively influence their cognitive affective development. This is an important goal in Physical Education. The students in this class could also permanently change their motor behavior brought about by experiences designed to foster understanding of the movement concepts, skill concepts, fitness concepts, and activity concepts of the developmental physical education program. This term is called concept learning and can occur in the Physical Education classroom or on a playing field. Many important academic concepts that are learned in the classroom can be taught and leaned in a Physical Education classroom.

Physical activity can impact a child's affective growth. The term affective growth can be described as learning that increases the ability of children to act, interact, and react effectively with other people as well as with themselves. When students get lots of physical activity their affective growth will develop and improve, because they will be surrounded by other students and they will need to communicate with each other and learn how to work together. When students participate in physical activity they will also need to learn how to be honest, how to play fairly, and how to cooperate. Learning these positive moral behaviors will increase the students affective growth and will help students to become a better person.

Post #2-First PED 201 Class

I was a little nervous about my first PED 201 class. There is a lot to do and a lot to remember for this class. However, I believe this class will be a lot of fun and a wonderful experience. During the first class, the professor went over where we would be going for our lab and what we would be doing  there. I'm excited to go to our lab at St. Marys, it sounds so much and I can't wait to meet the kids we will be working with. The professor also went over how to blog and how to set it up. Blogging is actually more fun than I thought it would be. Having a blog is like having a diary where you can write how you feel about everything. I look forward to writing more posts for my blog.
I'm excited to finally be in PED 201. I feel like I am finally in the major, and I will start to do things that I love. Going to St. Marys will be a good experience, because I will be working with kids and teaching them new things and those are two things that I enjoy doing. It's exciting to see kids learn how to do soemthing new. In the future, as a Physical Education teacher, I will be able to see children learn something new everyday in my class.

Post #1- reaction to blog and winter break

I have never had a blog before. I was a little nervous to make one, because I don't really know exactly how it works. It's actually easier than I thought and I'm starting to like it. I used to think blogs weren't useful at all, but I'm realizing that they could actually be helpful. In the future, I will be able to see what we did in PED 201 and what I enjoyed from the class.
This Winter break I volunteered at my high school with the school's track team. I used to run track back in high school and I really miss the sport. I came to their practices a couple of days a week and I helped some of the new kids on the team learn how to do cetain things such as, a handoff in a relay, how to go over hurdles, how to do a down start, and certain drills that should be done before every practice. I'm really glad I did that over my break. I saw so much improvement in the athletes that I helped out.