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!