Happy Holidays!

I hope this finds you well!  Well rested, well fed, and well....ACTIVE!

This is certainly the time of year when we Minnesotans hibernate and it becomes all to easy to curl up with a blanket and bing watch your favorite movie, series, or tv show.  Don't get me wrong, I love to curl up as much as the next person...  However, this is one of the best times of year to get some exercise and have some fun!!!  Take a hike, go sledding, make a fort, skiing, skating, and snowshoeing, are all great ways to be active in the winter.  Here are a few pictures of our most recent family hike.

I know that winter can be miserable, but make the best of it and enjoy!  Here are some links where you might find some winter fun!

Powder Ridge (tubing, skiing, snowboarding)--http://www.powderridge.com/

Lake Maria State Parks (Hiking, Snowshoeing, Biking, and Winter camping)--http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/lake_maria/index.html

If you find that it is too cold outside here are 4 creative ways to be active while indoors.

http://www.sparkpe.org/blog/4-ways-to-keep-kids-healthy-during-the-holidays/

Happy Thanksgiving!

First off, I would like to wish you a very safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.  We all have many things to be thankful for and I encourage everyone to take time and share one of those "thanks" with others.  

Personally, I am thankfully my family, my health, and a great community/school to live and work in. 

Before we all depart for a day of overeating and indulging, I wanted to share a quick read from a blog I subscribe to.  It is a great way to get active on a day that is easy to nap...

Check out this link for three great activities for a little family fun!

http://www.sparkpe.org/blog/3-thanksgiving-themed-games-to-play-with-your-family/

Throwing and catching

Over the past few weeks we have been enjoying some great weather outside and playing catch.  Although the temps have been great the wind has sometimes affected our ability to be outside as we continually search for ways to be successful with our motor skills like throwing and catching.  We have used footballs, gatorskin balls, tennis balls, bean bags, and E-Z grab balls designed for easier catching.  Activities included:  toss and catch, centerpede, capture the bean bag, catch and switch, air it out, steal the ball, and many more.  Here are a few pictures of our second graders in the gym...

This week we plan to use the calm days for a little Frisbee exploration!  Have a great week!!

Mile Run week!

It is was an exciting week in MLE PE!!  The mile run is an incredibly challenging week for students for a number of reasons.  First and foremost it creates some very real anxiety for kids.  Second, it is physically demanding and difficult.

The mile run is a cardio-respiratory endurance "test" (I like to think of it as a challenge), which means it is testing (challenging) the heart and lungs to see how well they work together.  Larger than that, this is a challenge that builds stamina, persistence, and teamwork.  We do our very best to help all students do their best and overcome the fear of this "test"(challenge).  At the end of the day, it is about finishing and proving to yourself you can do it even though it is difficult.

Check out our rainbow run pics as we prepared for the mile run!   The rainbow run was a team scavenger hunt to find each color while jogging from one spot to another.  Our rainbow run tattoo was 100% washable:).

3rd-6th grade students took on the full mile run, while our K-2 groups did the 1/2 mile.  Thanks for persisting and making this past week great!!

Soccer Fun

The second and third weeks of school have and will be spent out on the pitch, (soccer lingo for "field").  Dribbling, passing, trapping, goaltending, and teamwork are all a part of our plans.  Check out one of the passing activities...  It is a combination of soccer and golf, we call it "Solf"!

School is back in session!

Well, we are in our second week of school and it is off to a great start.  Last week we went through expectations, daily routines, morning movers and even had some time for some good ol' fashion fitness.  Check out our Hula hoop Fitness!!

Track and Field day is May 20th

Track and Field day is almost upon us.  This is a much anticipated day for a number of different reasons.  The Kindergarten group will kick off the track events by running of the 50 meter dash at approximately 8:30 a.m.  From there, we will see our primary grades participate in the 100, 200, and 400 meter dash.  The intermediate grades will begin the day at the field events.  Prior to lunch the primary grades will culminate their track events by running the 4 x 100 meter relay.

After lunch the groups will simply switch, the intermediate grades will be on the track and the primary grades at the field events.  More precise schedules will be posted on the concession stand.

Here are a few other reminders about the day...

1.  Water bottles are acceptable and should have a name on them.
2.  Wear your sunscreen!
3.   Be sure to wear your class color.

• Kindergarten--Purple
• First Grade--Yellow
• Second Grade--Blue
• Third Grade--Orange
• Fourth Grade--Red
• Fifth Grade--Green
• Sixth Grade--Tie dye

4.  Students will be eating lunch in there classrooms to provide some time for them out of the sun.  Parents are invited to join their child in the classroom if they would like to.

 5.  I have made an effort to talk about the competitive side of track and field day.  I enjoy the competitive nature of the day as long as we keep things in perspective and recognize a few things.
        a.  The competition helps us put forth our best effort.
        b.  We compete with others not against them.
        c.  The results of track and field day do not define any of our students. 

6.  The value of this day is far greater than the races being run.  Lessons in perseverance, integrity, respect, and responsibility take precedence over the race, results, and ribbons.  

It is shaping up to a gorgeous day, see you on Friday!!!

Perseverance...

School provides students with difficult tasks on a regular basis.  Whether it is cleaning out your locker, completing the MCA test, or even drawing a self portrait in art class, students have a choice--to give up or continue to work despite the complexity of the task at hand.  Last week we completed the half mile run in kindergarten, first, and second grade as well as the mile run in third through sixth grade.  In my opinion, a challenge, like this, is one of the best ways to teach perseverance in P.E.  Very few students take the time to go run a mile on their own, making this particular activity daunting and often times creates anxiety for students.  I am happy to say, nearly all students took the challenge head on and improved their time from the fall.  Although the time is of little importance to me, it is a great way for the students to measure themselves and truly find the benefits of perseverance.  So proud of all students--Way to go!!

Jump for Heart and Springtime P.E

First of all, I need to apologize for the lack of blog entries over the last two months.  To get things back on track, I would like to the recap our Jump for Heart event that took place throughout the month of February.

Jump Rope for Heart was a massive success for the second year in a row!!

Jump for Heart is a great service learning project for students because of the message it contains.  By jumping rope and learning about the heart, several students took it upon themselves to collect donations for an incredible cause--the American Heart Association.  The American Heart Association uses Jump for Heart to spread the word about heart disease and how it can be prevented.  This February the students of Maple Lake Elementary raised over $4,000 dollars helping the AHA and their fight against heart disease!!  Thanks to all the students involved, you truly make a difference.

Springtime in P.E

Spring brings on some needed sunshine, green grass, and MUD...  Please remember to wear your gym shoes in the gym to limit the amount of dirt on the gym floor. 

It also means we start thinking about physical fitness testing.  In P.E we test students in five different areas--pull-ups, sit-ups, shuttle run, v-sit, and the mile or half mile run.  As we begin these tests I like to take time to discuss physical fitness and its importance.  According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, being physically active can increase academic achievement, reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease and obesity, and help improve academic behavior.  Although we track the results of these tests, I am constantly reminding students that the results are not defining us as people.  The effort we give throughout the test is what is really important.  I am so much less interested in the outcome of each test than I am in the process of how we got there.  Do you best, bring your positive attitude, and treat others the way that you like to be treated and tests will take care of themselves. 

Have a great spring!!

Winter fun!!

On January 21st the sixth grade students and staff took off for a day of skiing at Powder Ridge in Kimball, MN.  We ran the gamut of emotions from excited to nervous, happy to frustrated, hopeless to hopeful, anxious to elated...  Needless to say we learned a lot about skiing, we learned a lot about ourselves, and we learned a lot about empathy (understanding the feelings of others).   This is a trip I look forward to each year, because of the challenge it presents to the sixth graders.  For some it is a physical challenge and others it is an emotional hurdle that, at the end of the day, all were happy to have the opportunity to face.

Here are a few photos from our day at Powder Ridge.

Teamwork

The month January brings team-building to the forefront in P.E classes.  Students in grades K-6 are tackling activities with a team focus.  For example the Primary grades are completing the human alphabet, the hula hoop rescue, and some incredible parachute formations.  The intermediate grades are completing more detailed challenges like the human chair, shipwreck, and survival island.  If you are interested in what some of these activities look like, please check out one of my greatest teaching resources https://physedgames.com/.   Although the activities are great, the meaning of teamwork is what we are really after...

Teamwork--working together as a group to accomplish a goal.  (As defined by most of our intermediate grade level classes.)  Teamwork is also communication, compromise, integrity, unity, and leadership.  Teamwork is in fact one of the most important life skills, in my opinion, we can learn.  It is important to learn about teamwork, because it doesn't happen innately--we are actually very selfish by nature.  The way I see it, we, as adults, rarely get through a day without having to communicate, compromise, show integrity, unite for the common good, or lead.  Therefore it is important, maybe even vital, to teach, model, and learn this skill at all ages. 

Think of families and how often they use teamwork...  If it is anything like my house, I rely on my family for so many things and without them each day would be a struggle. 

Something as simple as emptying the dishwasher takes teamwork...  We all know how aggravating this task can be, but with teamwork it actually gives us a sense of belonging, gratitude, and achievement.  Build the tower of teamwork early, it will pay off. 

Shoutout to my kids for being awesome:).