P.E. News
PE in October 2011
Here are the basics of my PE program – and I am writing this every year because they are that important to me:
“The first and perhaps most important aspect of physical education is the direct bearing it has on children’s physical, mental, and social well-being. The child who is well educated physically is likely to become a healthy adult who is motivated to remain healthy. The healthy, physically active child is also more likely to be academically motivated, alert, and successful.”
“A common mistake is to emphasize competition too much while children are still quite young. Children are able to create their own competition in normal play. Only at about the age of ten or eleven are they ready physiologically, socially, and emotionally to participate in competitive activities. The goal of the physical educator should be not to identify winners but to make winners of ordinary students. Every Student is a Winner. Students should be helped to discover what they can do and appreciate their own uniqueness and that of others.”
This means we are running. We are running every time after we finish the warm-up exercises and the stretches. We are running for five minutes non stop. Slowly…at a speed where we can comfortably talk to a running friend without running out of air. Everybody runs at their own pace and that is okay. But everybody runs. Walking is not allowed. After the five minute warm-up run, we are doing speed laps. Now I want the students to run fast: Full speed at the end. Two laps. The third lap is the “race.” Two (or three) students with about the same speed run together. This is not about winning, but about doing their best. Mostly it motivates them even a bit more and I want them to feel the difference between running with somebody compared to running by themselves. All of them get put-ups from me, when I catch them doing their best!
Memory of the Month: “The Flaming Mustaches” (Ms. Fernandez’s 5th grade class) being absolutely focused and respectfully quiet during their PE time, which is not only a pleasure for me, but also saves time and allows us to do more PE! GOOD JOB!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mr. Wenger
