Last Wednesday was the food lab at St Marys. The theme of the day was favorate foods, as each group had to create games that had to do with food, and also worked on overhand throws and catching. Our group decided on a game called popcorn. The students are broken into 3 groups. One group stands behind mats that are stood up and have a bunch of balls of different sizes. They have to throw the ball over the mats to the other teams. The other teams have to catch the balls (or the popcorn) and take it to their team's "bowl" (hula-hoop on the ground halfway across the gym). If the ball hits the ground then the teams have to throw it back over the mats and back into the "popcorn maker." It's similar to a game I remember playing when I was in elementary school.
I got to lead the activity which was fun, and I think it went pretty well. The teams got mixed up a little but it was still alright. I found that by being enthusiastic about things made the kids want to play the game. All the kids were involved which is always a plus, and none of the kids got bored with the activity which has happened in the past. I think keeping the game pretty simple was a good idea. Sometimes the games played are way too complicated for the kids and they get confused and end up not enjoying the games.
After the activity my group finally got to stay up in the gym and work with the older (3-5 grades) kids. We started by playing the game "SPUD" which was a lot of fun. Then we played some Knockout basketball. It was fun with the older students because we could participate with them and they would be able to compete with us more than the younger kids could. I still like the younger kids as its fun to be creative and keep things fun.
I also met a 9 year old who's soccer skills were amazing, and his knowledge of the game. He truely amazed me that he could finish crossed balls from across the gym. And since soccer is my favorite sport and I have a strong background in it, it was fun to talk about soccer teams and players with him. It still amazes me some of the skills these young kids have, I just hope they stick with those sports.
Overall it was another fun week at St Mary's, as all weeks are.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
I saw this a couple weeks ago while flipping through the channels, and have finally gotten around to posting it. This video clearly shows just how important Adaptive Physical Education and Sports are to people. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm doing the right thing by adding the Adaptive concentration, even if it means a few extra classes.
I'm also behind on a post about the last week in St. Mary's. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow, I've just been busy with school work.
Monday, March 2, 2009
St. Mary's Lab 2
Last Wednesday was our second lab at St. Mary’s. Upon arrival I was surprised that I could not only remember many of the kid’s names, but they remembered me. Once again it was fun getting to know some of the other kids there that I hadn’t gotten the chance to work with.
This lab we were to rate some students on their locomotor skills (running, hopping, and galloping). To do this we observed other groups of college students teaching the kids new games. Also during this time I went around to the kids who were trying to just walk away and do something else and motivate them to play the group games. My group also had a chance to teach the kids a game. Our game was “Zanny Zoo” from the Station PE site. It was a great game, the students picked up on it quickly and they were very active during it and were patient when they were waiting to go.
To explain the game quickly, students are in groups with half the group on one side of the gym and half the group on the other with a pile of cards face down in the center. One student walks out and picks up a card which has an animal on it and an action (for example: Gallop like a horse). The student then gallops like a horse to the other line where they hand the card off to the next person. That person then gallops to the center and picks up a new card and does that action to the next line, and it repeats.
After the games my group got to go work with the Pre-K kids. This was an interesting place. As soon as we entered we were basically ambushed by eager kids. They wanted to tell us their names, how old they were, what they were playing with, even showing us around the room. We helped set them up for snack and then two of us were sent into the gym to set up an activity for them, while the rest of the group had story time.
I was one of the two in the gym, so we decided to create an obstacle course which would teach them jumping. It was great, the kids loved it, especially crawling through the tunnel and rolling across the mats like a log. We even had some older kids join in.
Afterward we played a giant game of “Chuck the Chicken” with all the kids. I think this game is a little bit too high of a level for some of the young kids, but they still had fun. The college students had to help them, but in the end it worked.
As always it ended with everyone getting together and saying a cheer. I was exhausted afterward again, but it was well worth it.
This lab we were to rate some students on their locomotor skills (running, hopping, and galloping). To do this we observed other groups of college students teaching the kids new games. Also during this time I went around to the kids who were trying to just walk away and do something else and motivate them to play the group games. My group also had a chance to teach the kids a game. Our game was “Zanny Zoo” from the Station PE site. It was a great game, the students picked up on it quickly and they were very active during it and were patient when they were waiting to go.
To explain the game quickly, students are in groups with half the group on one side of the gym and half the group on the other with a pile of cards face down in the center. One student walks out and picks up a card which has an animal on it and an action (for example: Gallop like a horse). The student then gallops like a horse to the other line where they hand the card off to the next person. That person then gallops to the center and picks up a new card and does that action to the next line, and it repeats.
After the games my group got to go work with the Pre-K kids. This was an interesting place. As soon as we entered we were basically ambushed by eager kids. They wanted to tell us their names, how old they were, what they were playing with, even showing us around the room. We helped set them up for snack and then two of us were sent into the gym to set up an activity for them, while the rest of the group had story time.
I was one of the two in the gym, so we decided to create an obstacle course which would teach them jumping. It was great, the kids loved it, especially crawling through the tunnel and rolling across the mats like a log. We even had some older kids join in.
Afterward we played a giant game of “Chuck the Chicken” with all the kids. I think this game is a little bit too high of a level for some of the young kids, but they still had fun. The college students had to help them, but in the end it worked.
As always it ended with everyone getting together and saying a cheer. I was exhausted afterward again, but it was well worth it.
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