Pajama Day Mixed with Basketball!

Basketball in December

During the month of December students at both schools have been working on their basketball unit. This unit teaches them the history of the game, some basic rules, along with proper techniques for dribbling, shooting, and passing. Each grade level covers these fundamental skills in a different manor, with different expectations for each grade. The first graders really focus on dribbling with their dominant hand and shooting on a lowered hoop with a smaller sized basketball. The fourth graders work on dribbling with both hands along with the cross-over dribble. They also work on shooting a regulation size basketball at a slightly lowered hoop. The second and third grade students work on these skills and use balls that are in between what the first and fourth graders use, as well as a net hight that is somewhere in the middle. The students really seem to be having a good time with this unit! After vacation, the classes will begin their juggling unit and work on increasing their hand-eye-coordination. Should be a blast!

Food Fat Attack

Recently the students got a hands on experience learning about nutrition, exercise, and the delicate balance between the two. All of the classes started this unit off with talking about nutrition and what is in the food/drinks we put in our bodies. They learned about the difference between healthy foods (fruits, veggies, etc.) and non-healthy foods (chips, brownies, etc.). We talked about balancing our diet with mostly healthy foods, but eating "treats" sparingly. The students then played an activity that teaches them about the relationship between our diet and exercise. The more bad foods you eat, the more you have to exercise to burn them out of your body. This game was a tag game that involved unhealthy foods (the taggers) and people trying to make healthy choices. The students could stay healthy by staying away from the unhealthy food. If you eat something unhealthy (get tagged) you had to go get a fat ball and put it in your pinnie. At the end of each round, the students with no fat balls could take a break. The rest of the class had to do exercises based on the number of fat balls they had! The students had a blast with this activity and really seemed to understand the importance of eating healthy!

Pics From Robot-Writer

Start of the Year

The school year has gotten off to a great start! My first grade classes have been working on gross motor skills. They are learning about personal space and how to move their bodies around a space using a variety of movements. The students got to act like animals during last weeks classes. As I read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear the students got to move around the room moving and making the sounds that the animal mentioned would make. This week they are working on movements like skipping, hopping, galloping, etc. through a variety of tag games. The second through fourth graders have begun the year with a cooperative games unit. During this unit, I give each of the classes a challenge. The classes need to work together in order to complete the challenge. These activities are designed to build a stronger sense of community and help improve the classes ability to communicate with each other. These games really stress the importance of staying positive, staying focused, and having good communication (verbalizing your thoughts, and listening to each other). The students are doing a great job with these. Near the first week in October, all of the classes will begin a soccer unit.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Maple Avenue, and welcome to all of our new students. We have an exciting year planned in physical education this year. We will start the year off with some rules reviews for the classroom and playground. We will then cover some of the evacuation and safety drills related to the gym/cafeteria and the playground. After we do this, the first graders will begin the year off with some gross motor skill activities while the other three grades will get right into a cooperative games unit. The gross motor skill activities are designed to help teach the students how to control their bodies, keep their personal space, etc. The cooperative games are designed to get the classes working together and building a strong community. I look forward to another fun and exciting year!

Disc Golf with Zola's Class

Flying Discs

The students are ending the year with learning about flying discs (Frisbees). They will learn about the history of the flying disc and where the name Frisbee came from. They will also see a variety of ways to throw the discs. The classes will then focus on learning about the backhand throw. This is when they hold the disc with three fingers on the bottom of the disc, their index finger running along the side, and their thumb clamping down on top. They then hold the frisbee level with the ground at elbow height. Now they turn their bodies sideways towards the target, so their throwing hand is closer to the target. The disc starts touching the opposite elbow, then moves straight across their body towards the target. The thrower stops their hand releasing the disc with their index pointing at their target.

Tabletop Bowling

I would like to thank Tyler Turcotte and Jon Powell for the wonderful gift I received yesterday. These two young men are students at GHS and are currently enrolled in a woodworking class. They were presented with a project that needed to be made from wood and donated to a local organization. Tyler and Jon paired up to make a tabletop bowling alley with pins. This project is completely made of wood and has retractible legs for easy storage, and hand carved pins using the lathe. I am very excited about having a new activity to use in the classroom when the gym is being used by another group. This will be a sure hit with our students. Thank you again!

Lacrosse Pictures from MAES

Golf at Bartlett

Jai-Lai at Maple Ave

This week the students will be participating in jai-lai during physical education classes.  The students will be using hi-li scoops, which are a common summer activity.  The classes will be learning about the traditional game of jai-lai, along with activities they can play with their scoops at home.  We will be talking about the release point, where the ball comes out of the scoop, how to catch correctly, along with different throwing techniques.  It should be a fun activity to learn about that can be played during the summer!

Intergenerational Wellness Walk Today

Both, Bartlett and MAES, will be participating in the Intergenerational Wellness Walk today.  This walk is sponsored by the Governor's Council on Health and Physical Fitness, and is a tool to promote living a healthy, physically active lifestyle.  Both of the schools will be participating at satellite locations (near the schools), while many schools around the state will be walking together in Concord.  This is a great way to remind us the importance of being healthy and active especially with  the warm weather months here!  Enjoy the walk today!

Lacrosse/Golf

The first and second graders are involved with a new unit here at Maple Avenue, golf.  This unit will discuss some of the history of the game, along with some rules, and golf terms.   We will also discuss different parts of the course and why clubs look the way they do.  The students will focus on chipping and putting with plastic clubs that are designed for this age group.  The third and fourth graders will be using this time to work on Lacrosse.  Here they will learn the history of the game along with rules and differences between male/female lacrosse games.  The students will specifically work on throwing and catching, while integrating some throwing challenges into the mix.  Both of these units have a rich history behind them, so please ask your students about it!

Dancin' In the Dark

This week the classes will be finishing up their dance unit.  This dance unit focus on the benefits of dance: great exercise, fun, and a lifetime activity.  The students participate in a number of line dances like the Hokey Pokey, Chicken Dance, Cha Cha Slide, Cotton-Eye-Joe, Men In Black, and Macarena.  They also have time at the end of each class to free dance and express themselves how they think it fits the music.  To make the class more exciting we have the lights off and a funky light projected up on the wall.  This helps convert the gym into a "dance club."  The students really love this and helps get them a little more excited about dancing.  Ask your children to show you their great moves!

Physical Activity Logs for Fourth Grade

Starting this week the fourth graders at Maple were given an physical activity log to fill out each day.  The students are not asked to fill out each slot, or asked to be active everyday.  What is asked of them is to write down stuff that they already do.  This might be kickball at recess, soccer practice at night, dance on the weekends, etc..  They do not have to do anything special for this assignment, it is just a visual tool to help them see how active/inactive they are.  I would like them to bring them to PE with them so I can take a look at them.  I understand that not every day will have stuff written in.  Sometimes we are too busy to be physically active, and sometimes we might just plain forget to write down the activities.  Please try to put this log in a central location that will help remind you to write in your activities.  Springtime is a great time to get out and be active, so enjoy the outdoors!

Bartlett Elementary School April 9, 2009

Today the students will be finishing up their juggling unit.  During the last two classes, the students worked on traditional juggling, the tossing and catching of objects.  They did this by working with scarves and juggling balls.  Today they will be working on non-traditional juggling, which is balancing objects by moving them.  They will do this by working with peacock feathers and juggling plates.  It should be a fun filled class that works on hand-eye-coordination! 

Hand-eye-coordination Homework

Reading through the homework assignments I have already collected on how hand-eye-coordination is required in a future profession, I am very impressed by the imagination, creativeness, and thoroughness that this assignment was done with.  Some of the future professions included jobs from waitressing, to fashion design, to professional athlete, to archeologist, to farmers, to firefighters, to being a teacher.  It was amazing to read how the students need to use their hands and control their bodies in these professions, great work!

Mrs. Packard's Class Juggling

Steps for Traditional Juggling

Steps to Learning How to Juggle


One Scarf
Toss/Catch One Hand
Toss/Catch Opposite Hand
Toss/Catch Between Hands

One Ball
Same Steps as One Scarf

Two Scarves
Toss/Toss/Catch/Catch
Two Scarves with One Hand
Two Scarves with Opposite Hand

Two Balls
Same Steps as Two Scarves

Three Scarves
Continuous with Toss/Toss/Catch/Catch

Three Balls
Same as Three Scarves

Tricks

Fourth Grade Homework Due Week of 4/6/09

Please pick a profession that you think you might want to become when you grow up. Please write one paragraph explaining how hand-eye-coordination is used for that job.

Fourth Grade Homework Due Week of 3/30/09

Please list five electronic devices in your house, along with how much it cost to run for one month. Examples of devices include your computer, microwave, television, etc.. A couple resources that might be of use include www.earthhourkids.org and www.psnh.com.

Earth Hour

Earth Hour is less than a week away! Please take a few minutes to check out www.earthhour.org! It is a great movement to be a part of that does not take anything more than shutting some lights off! Please check it out!

Volleyball At Bartlett

This week we finished up volleyball at Bartlett. During this unit the students learned some basic rules and history related to the sport, along with some basic skills needed to play. Our main focus in first and second grade is the bump. Here the students learned the proper hand position, and striking technique used to hit the ball properly when bumping. We ended the unit by playing a modified game with a large ball. The students had a blast, enjoy the pictures!

Homework Due Week of March 23

Name the 5 tallest mountains in the world. Please tell me their elevation, country located, and what continent.

Homework Due Week of March 16

Please tell me what towns the Iditarod race starts and ends in, how long it is (miles), and name 3 past champions.

Photo's from Rock Climbing

Rock Climbing

This week the students at Maple Avenue will begin their rock climbing unit.  We have a rock wall that is about 8 feet tall and 20 feet long.  This wall is designed to climb up and then across.  We have the ability to add equipment to the wall to make it more challenging.  The students will get a couple of "free" climbs to start the unit off with.  This is when they just get to climb up and then across the wall.  We will then move into challenges like climbing through hoola-hoops, the electric fence challenge, and the eagle's nest challenge to mention a few.  Rock climbing is one of the few activities we do in physical education where the students are challenging themselves without trying to beat someone or work with someone else.  It is the student versus the wall, and many of the students really like the independent non-competitivness of the activity.  Rock climbing is all about decision making, and watching the students go through this process while they are up on the wall is fascinating.  If you have the chance to stop in while your child is having PE, please feel free to come and watch. 

Physical Education with Mr. Brooks

Bartlett Elementary School January 29th

This week the students are beginning their basketball unit.  This unit will consist of three classes that will teach some basic rules and history of the sport, along with some fundamental skills needed to participate in the game.  This week the classes will start off by learning about the history and basic rules of the game.  We will then participate in an activity that teaches the fundamentals of dribbling.  The students will be taught how to use the pads of their fingers to push the ball down and not slap at the ball.  The will practice dribbling with their dominant hand, their opposite hand, a v-dribble (crossover), and other fancy moves.  Should be a fun time!

Maple Avenue for the Week of January 26, 2009

This week at Maple Avenue, we are beginning our "Net Games" unit.  This unit will focus on sports and activities that can be done with a volleyball or tennis net.  The first couple of classes during this unit will focus on volleyball.  The next couple of classes will focus on a variety activities that can be done with the net.  This week, the students will learn some basic history of volleyball, rules related to the sport, and some basic hits.  Our activity will focus on the students having the correct hand position and technique when bumping the ball.  

Glow Bowling at Maple Avenue

Glow Bowling at Bartlett

Glow/Disco Bowling

This week we will be finishing our bowling unit with a fun class that incorporates our bowling skills with music and lights! The students will have the opportunity to bowl in the dark with a disco style light illuminating the gym and music playing to sing and dance along to. This exciting class is often one of their favorites each year! It is a fun way to end a unit that teaches a lifetime skill that allows everyone to participate! We will be moving on to "net games" next week. We will start this unit off with a couple of classes devoted towards volleyball, and follow up with a couple of classes that teach a variety of games and activities that can be done with a volleyball or tennis net. Should be a fun time!

Bowling

This week will begin our second week of bowling here at Maple Avenue.  Bowling is an exciting lifetime activity that everyone can participate in.  Bowling allows for entire families to participate without limiting people based on age or ability!  Although the children may poke fun if they beat you!  This fun activity is also a cost effective alternative to other traditional forms of family entertainment; movies, arcades, etc..  Last week the students worked on their rolling the ball towards a target, and setting up the pins correctly.  This week they are going to bowl and work on keeping score, we don't have the computers to do it for us.  Should be another fun movement filled week!  

Exercise During Winter

Winter is a great time to get outside and be active!  Playing in the snow and doing snow related activities are a great way to exercise.  Things like sledding, skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, snowball fights, building snowmen, and shoveling are all great ways to exercise during  the winter.  As long as you are dressed appropriately, hours can be spent being active outside.  The key to dressing appropriately is to dress in layers.  By dressing in layers, you are able to add/remove clothing when your body temperature fluctuates.  So bundle up and get out and enjoy the snow!  This goes for you too parents!