IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!!!

I can’t believe we just had our last lab at St. Mary’s Elementary School. This was a great lab. The theme of this lab was Christmas. Many of us in lab dressed up like elves and reindeer and once the children saw us they became very excited. This week in lab my group started off in the cafeteria. I played checkers and chest with the children. The children play checkers by some different rules than I remember. I think some of the rules are not exactly in the real checkers rule book like the children told me. I was very surprised with how good the children were at chest. They thought out every move and really had a good knowledge of the game. After we went up stairs into the gym and played a Christmas game that my group had prepared for them. The game was a maze where the children would start off going through a windy road on scooters. Then the children had to hope over hula hoops. The children would then run to the throwing/kicking station. The children would get a ball and try to hit the Christmas posters on the wall. We started off with the children kicking the ball at the posters and then we changed it so the children were throwing the ball at the posters. I think the children really enjoyed this activity. After playing this game I was playing catch with a football with a few other children. We ended this lab was Amanda leading a Christmas song. I have really enjoyed my experience at St. Mary’s Elementary School and I have become a much better teach because of this experience.

Clifford Made a Visit to St. Mary's!!!!!

I cannot believe that this was our fifth lab already. This semester is going by so fast. The theme for this lab was Thanksgiving. My group this week worked with the pre-k children. I was amazed with how much energy they have. The first thing we did was go outside and play on the playground because it was a really nice day. We played tag with Derek and many other children. We also played hide and go seek and a bounty hunter game that the kids really like. The rules to the bounty hunter game are all the college kids are fugitives and Christina and Derek were two of the bounty hunters trying to catch them. Once a college kid is caught they must be brought to jail until they get the chance to escape. This game was a lot of fun and while we were playing it I was amazed at how fast some of the children are. There were times when I was running as fast as I could and Derek was right behind me. After we played outside for a while went back into the classroom and Chris read the children a Clifford book about Thanksgiving. After the story was over we all went into the gym and had an activity based on the story. The children would start out by going through a tunnel just like Clifford did in the story. Then the children had to hope through the city while trying to avoid hitting any buildings. Finally the children would select a piece of food that were scattered on the floor to put in Clifford’s dish. The children had a great time with today’s lab and I did to.

The Circus Came to St. Mary's School

Lab this week was a lot of fun. The theme of this lab was circus and many of my classmates and I dressed up as clowns. This week in lab our games and activities incorporated throwing and catching skills. My group, the leaping lizards, started off by playing wall ball type of game. We put up squares of tape on the walls and the children would all get in groups of three to four and line up facing a square on the wall. The children would stand about four yards from the square target and try to have the ball hit within the square. Then the next person in line would run and get the ball and throw it within the square. The game continued on in this pattern. After the children got used to the game we increased the distance of the throw. We also changed the size of the balls we used. We started off with larger foam balls and then switched to tennis balls. We also played a game where the children got into two teams and each would line up on one side of the floor facing each other. Each child was given a ball, which varied in size. Pins were lined up between the two teams and the objective was to knock down the most pins. This was a great game and I think the children really enjoyed it. We then went downstairs with the children where we played with toys and board games. Mike and I played legos with a few children. We then went upstairs and played some more games with the children. We then finished the day by doing the chicken dance. I had a great time at lab today and I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving Lab.
Also this week I was able to go into the classroom in the morning and work with the pre-K students. I noticed a great deal of difference between how they behave first thing in the morning to how they behave in lab after school. They are much calmer in the morning then they are in lab. This is understandable considering some of them arrive at the school before 8:00am and don't leave until 5:00pm. When they come into the classroom in the morning they go and take off their coats then the teacher gives them their first worksheet. I helped them with their worksheets. The first one was to help them write their names. Once that worksheet was completed they would bring it to the teacher and they would get the next worksheet, which was on shapes. They were working on triangles so they had to trace a triangle then draw one and then color all of the triangles. After that each child cut out two leaves. Once each child was finished cutting out the leaves they got to play with some of the many different toys of the classroom. I had a great time in the classroom with the children. It was really nice to interact with them in a different setting.

Halloween at St. Mary's!

I had a great time at this past lab at St. Mary's school. I played some basketball with Jim and a few others for awhile. Then Dan and I played football with Harold, Jim, Nick, Zane, and a lot of other children. It was a lot of fun. I was really impressed by how good the children were. Pat led the entire group in a bunch of parachute activities. We got to play popcorn and make a few mushrooms. We also each help on to our section of the parachute and ran, hopped, and slid in a big circle. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun with the parachute. No matter what age group I think that everyone can have fun with parachute activities. Then my group, the Leaping Lizards, lead the closing activity. The closing activity was dancing to the song thriller by Michael Jackson. We started out by walking around as zombies during the choirs and then we broke it down a little bit. I had a lot of fun with the thriller dance and a lot of children seemed to really enjoy it.

SUPERHEROS!!!

Batman Superman, Wolverine and More!!!

I had a great time at St. Mary's school this week. The theme for this lab was superheros. I was very happy to see that our entire class shared great enthusiasm for this lab by dressing up. My fellow Leaping Lizards and I dressed up as four different superheros. Jenna was batwoman, Chris was robin, Matt was optimus prime and I was wolverine. The children were so excited when they saw all of us walk into the school in different costumes. In fact Dustin, one of the students who I was playing with liked my wolverine mask so much that he tried many times to take it. Dustin and I played many different games, such as tag and catch with a football. However, I did notice that when I was "it" in tag more and more areas became safe zones. Also my team, Leaping Lizards played a superhero game with the children. This was a great game and the children really seemed to have a lot of fun. We had many different stations that each challenged the children in different skills, such as hoping, galloping, running, balancing and throwing. Each station either was a superhero or a villain, which made it fun for the children. I had a great time in this lab and I am excited for the Halloween lab.

Saving Dodgeball from the PE Hall of Shame

I feel that corrections can be made to the game of dodgeball to make it both safer and more enjoyable for children of all athletic abilities. One way to make this game safer is by introducing the rule that hitting anyone from the shoulders up is not allowed. I understand that this rule seems obvious, however it can make the game a great deal safer as long as it is strictly enforced by the Physical Education Teacher. Another way to eliminate safety concerns is my making a rule that the ball must bounce off of the ground before it can hit another person. This make this game extremely safe to play. Also making a space between the two teams that neither team can throw from is another way the game can be made safer. This zone makes for longer throws so the ball will not be traveling as fast. One way to get all the children involved is by making all the children who are already out ball retrievers. Once a child is out there knew job to help their team is to get all the loose balls and give them to their team members who are still in. Also the gym can be divided into two separate courts. The children are divided into four teams and begin to play two teams on each court. Once a child get out of one game they join into the game on the other court. The object is to stay on your original court or switch between court as little as possible. In this form of dodgeball the children are always playing and never have to sit out and watch the game until it is over. So I feel that by applying some of these changes the game of dodgeball can become a helpful tool for Physical Education Teachers to get their students involved in physical activity while keeping them safe.

Lab 1 at St. Mary's School

I had a great time at St. Mary's this week. I was able to get to know a lot of new students. Two of the children I met were George and Katelyn. Jenna, my fellow Leaping Lizzards group member and I played a game of around the world with George and Katelyn. We were both very impressed with just how good both of them were at shooting. By the end of the game me and Jenna were still back at the starting point because we had both missed on a chance. George won the game and Katelyn beat Jenna and I by a large gap. I also played football with a few other children. I was very surprised with just how much energy the children have. Amanda and I got quite a workout from playing football with the children and they were still full of energy. Also I thought it was funny how one of the little boys kept calling different plays for our team. His favorite play was "you run and get open and I'll throw it to you and you score". We had a great time playing football. I also got the chance to play Pokemon Sorry, with one of the younger girls. She informed me on the different types of pokemon and which one was her favorite, which is Raichu. All in all I thought it was a great day and I looked forward to our next lab at St. Mary's.

Lab 1 at St. Mary's School