Frisbee Golf

The students wrapped up a unit on Frisbee skills right before Thanksgiving break.  They enjoyed getting outside to play three 9 hole courses. Take the family out to try one of these free Disc Golf Courses in our area. All you have to do is bring your own Frisbee.

1. New Hanover Presbyterian Church

2. Bryan Park

3. University of Richmond

4. Gillies Creek Park

5. Dorey Park

6. Dunncroft - Castle Point Park

SUPERHERO DAY

Students had fun working on their superpowers by training in circuits on SUPERHERO DAY! This Wonder Woman joined in on the fun.

Bones!

During the last week of October the students had the opportunity to learn about the skeletal system. They worked together to create their own skeleton by piecing together the correct bones. They learned the anatomically correct names. Ask your child to share what they learned.

All the students learned a modified version of the Kid's Bop Thriller. The students had a great time acting out the dance and learned how to count out the beat of the music to their moves. See if your child can teach you the dance.

Football Skills

Rain, Rain Go AWAY!

Unfortunately today's running club is cancelled due to rain. Lets hope for some dry weather next week. Participants have started earning their shoe charms for miles logged. The charms can be worn on shoe laces or on the silver chain given to the club members.

3 Miles	12 Laps	White Foot
5 Miles	20 Laps	Blue Foot
10 Miles	40 Laps	Yellow Foot
15 Miles	60 Laps	Black Foot
20 Miles	80 Laps	Silver Foot
25 Miles	100 Laps	Gold Foot
30 Miles	120 Laps	Blue Dolphin

Students are wrapping up their fitness unit on the 5 COMPONENTS OF FITNESS. Next week we will start studying the skeletal system.

All students are working on football skills such as the overhand throw and catch and giving and receiving hand-offs. Students in grades 3-5 are also working on running wide receiver routes and play calling. Ask your child to share their favorite route with you or show how to make a mailbox to receive a hand-off. The student below is demonstrating catching hands high and low.

 

Basketball Wrap Up and Marathon Jr.

Students in 3-5 are wrapping up their basketball unit by combining the skills of dribbling, passing and shooting. The students also participated in a circuit training lesson where they performed various exercises using exercise steps, jump ropes, medicine balls and resistance bands. They are working on recognizing what exercises focus on specific components of fitness. Next week they will begin a unit on football skills (running routes, catching, throwing and kicking). 

Students in grades K-2 are finishing up their ball control unit where they have worked on dribbling, the bounce pass and even progressed to shooting at the 8 ft. basket and a 6 foot target. They also participated in the circuit training lesson. Next week we will begin to work on the components of the overhand throw.

 

The Dolphin Running Club met for the second time this week. Students have logged many miles over the last two weeks. Next week they will begin to earn charms for their chain. 

Check out the Call Federal Marathon Jr. which partners with the Richmond Marathon. All participants receive a medal and awards will be given for the top 3 male and female finishers in each distance. They are also having a costume contest. Don't miss this awesome event!

Hooray! The first Dolphin Running Club meeting was a huge success. Thank you to all the energetic students who came out eager to start their day with exercise. A big thanks to all the parent volunteers that helped make the morning run smoothly. I can't wait for next Wednesday!

Students in 3-5 grade continue to work on basketball skills such as dribbling, bounce passing and shooting. In conjunction with this unit they are also taking their Fitness Gram Tests. Next week we will wrap up these topics and move on to football skills such as throwing, catching and kicking.

Students in K-2 began working on ball control skills such as bouncing, catching and dribbling. Next week they will move on to passing.

All students have been exploring the fitness components MUSCULAR STRENGTH and MUSCULAR ENDURANCE. The students worked on recognizing that 12 or more repetitions of an exercise with a less than maximum force improves muscular endurance while muscular strength involves maximum force and a smaller number of repetitions.

Check out these great events hosted by Hanover County Elementary Schools!

Battlefield Park Elementary Run for Fun

Mechanicsville Miler - Run for Renee

Beaver Bolt 5K

I am very pleased to announce that Cool Spring Elementary School has been awarded a $500 grant from Richmond Road Runners Club and Sports Backers. The funds will be used to purchase items for the Dolphin Running Club.  A big thanks to both organizations! The Dolphin Running Club starts October 1st at 7:20 AM

Last week students in K-2 worked on locomotor skills and manipulating hula hoops. The students used their imagination to pretend their hula hoop was a puppy and teach it fun tricks. Next week we will begin to work on ball control skills with the playground balls.

Students in grades 3-5 continued with Fitnessgram Testing by taking the Pacer Test which measures Cardiorespiratory Endurance. They will be taking the Curl Up Test this week which measures Muscular Endurance. They also moved along with their basketball skills unit by working on dribbling and shooting.

Don't forget to check out the Short Pump Mile which is this weekend. CLICK HERE to register.

PE Update - 9/17

Dolphin Running Club News

The club starts October 1st in the MORNING! All participants must be dropped off between 7:20 and 7:30 AM. If your child has a health concern please note that Nurse Linette will not be in the building until 7:45. Get your permission slip turned in my this Friday, September 19th. Look for an informational letter in the next Tuesday folder.

Learning Objectives

Students have started learning about Cardiorespiratory Endurance by performing various activities and noting the difference on breathing and heart rate. Students in grades 3-5 are taking the Pacer test this week which measures their cardiorespiratory endurance. Students will be studying oxygen transport later this month.

Students in grades K-2 learned about our three types of space: PERSONAL, GERERAL AND OPEN. The students also learned about the difference between LOCOMOTOR SKILLS (ways we travel) AND NON-LOCOMOTOR SKILLS (stationary movements) . This week students are exploring levels and pathways with hula hoops.

Students in grades 3-4 spent last week learning about the 5 Wellness Related Fitness Tests. They will be measuring their CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE this week when they take the Pacer Test. Students in 5th grade took a pre-test on the 5 Components of Fitness.

Community Fitness

Don't miss the 2014 Short Pump Mile and Express Fun Run on September 29th at Short Pump Town Center. This is Richmond's largest timed road race just for kids. CLICK HERE to register. Don't forget to enter your school name. If your child participates send in a picture for the Community Fitness Wall of Fame.

DOLPHIN RUNNING CLUB

CALLING ALL 3rd, 4th and 5th GRADERS

Be sure to check your Tuesday folder for the Dolphin Running Club permission form. All forms must be returned by September 19th.

I am also looking for parents to volunteer to help ensure safety during the club. I encourage you to come out and be active with your child.

If you return a permission slip be sure look for another letter with more details which will come later this month.

Please subscribe to this blog by email to receive updates.

WELCOME BACK!

After a wonderful summer I am excited to be back at school with my students. I am looking forward to a fantastic year. 

Last week students participated in parachute activities in order to review our six rules. They had a blast going on an imaginary hiking trip where they built a mushroom, a mountain and a tent. They also popped popcorn (yarn balls) over the campfire. Grades 3-5 also participated in an icebreaker activity involving various fun handshakes. Ask your child to share their favorite with you. 

Don't forget to remind your child to wear play clothes and sneakers on their Physical Education day. Hanover County Public school has highly recommended that students do not wear flip flops to school at all this year. I encourage students to wear sneakers everyday so they can engage in safe play at recess. 

Moving with Math Field Day

Each year in collaboration with my mom (a fellow Physical Educator, lucky me) I pick a theme for Field Day. I usually pick something that is current or can be tied into SOLs. This year I did a Math theme and the kids really enjoyed it.

I set up about 25 centers around the track for half of the classes to rotate through. At these centers each class visits an event and divides into 3 teams. The students are divided into six colors using wrist bands and each color is paired up with another color at each event to form 3 teams. This cuts down on wait time without taking away the competition aspect. Also, each student gets a chance to team up with every student in their class.  These stations were all themed around math.

The other half of the school participated in Grade Level competitions with more traditional Field Day events.  Each class competes against all the other classes in their grade. The wait time is longer but the students love the grade level competitions. See below for this years grade level events and directions.

This year I utilized class coaches. Each teacher was asked to recruit a parent volunteer to help read directions and lead the events. I found that this gave parents the opportunity to help while still being able to watch their child participate in all the events.

I recruited the help of my fabulous 5^th graders to set up and take down each event. I just put out the station signs and the start cones. I assigned a small group of students to each station. They were given a map of the track and a diagram of how to set up the equipment.

Hanover High School's Practical Nursing Program sent students to run our First Aid table. It was great seeing them interact with the students. 

Check out the following resources to help organize your own "Moving with Math" Field Day. 

  

ABBY'S RACE FOR HOPE 5K

This is a 5K fundraiser and public awareness event that benefits a 7 year old student at Cool Springs Elementary School, Abby Van Meter. 

The race is a benefit for Abby's special needs trust, and also donates a portion of the proceeds to national foundations that support vaccine research for CMV (cytomegalovirus), the virus which severely affected Abby. CMV is a threat to all pregnant mothers, and is thought to affect 1 in every 150 children, yet is little known.

Please visit: http://www.racerpal.com/races/AbbysRaceForHope.html for registration and race details. 

If you attend the event bring in a picture to Ms. Beazley for a small prize. Thanks for supporting one of our very own Dolphins. 

Teacher Tip: Guidelines for Organizing a Succesfull APE Group Class

Teacher Tip: Guidelines for Organizing a Successful APE Group Class

My school is home to 3 Autism classrooms and 1 Multi-needs classroom.  All of these students attend their General Physical Education class with their peers but I feel like they could benefit from some extra practice. Over the last few years I have been able to use some of my planning periods to provide 25 minute Adapted PE classes.

When planning a group APE class here are some things to keep in mind.

1. Routine Establishing a routine is very important in order for the students to feel comfortable and safe in their environment. They should enter the same way and the class should start the same way each week. I start with circle time. Each time the students enter they find a dot place around the circle in the center of the gym. Then we perform the “Where are you?” song with movements. At the beginning of the year students may need help with hand over hand assistance to perform movements. By the end of the year many of my students can do it all on their own.

I know, I know. Boring. It seems redundant but trust me, IT WORKS! The students love knowing what to expect and you will really see improvements this way. 

I used to have this song on a CD from college but can't seem to get my hands on it these days. In my class the teachers help sing it without music. It goes like this: 

Where are you? (Hide your face with hands)

Here I am? (Uncover your face)

Are you ready?

You bet! (thumbs up)

How you doing?

Better and better. (raise hands up)

Give yourself a hand. (clap)

Head, shoulders, knees, toes. 

Legs, waste, chin, nose

Head, shoulders, knees, toes. 

Legs, waste, chin, nose

Then you FREEZE. Clap, clap, clap.

We repeat this slow, regular and then fast. 

2. Goals After warm-up we do our goal focused lesson. For many of my students with autism their goal is inclusion with their home base class.  For these students we often provide extra practice opportunities to work on the skill they have been learning in class. For my students with more severe physical disabilities we usually focus on their specific APE goal such as grasping or rolling. All of my students participate in the Special Olympics Little Feet Meet so a portion of the class is spent practicing those three events which include running, throwing and jumping.

3. Rewards This time is usually followed up by rewarding good behavior during our goal portion of the class with scooter time. Most of my students LOVE scooters and will do anything to get a chance to ride.  They look forward to this time.  I like to keep this less structured and more of an opportunity for free time. For students who are not a fan of scooters they are rewarded with whatever their preferred PE equipment is. For some it’s the bouncy ball and others love rolling on the mats. Find what works best to motivate your students.

4. Choices My students love to have a choice. Be flexible. Let them choose what color ball they want. Perhaps allow them to choose what order they want to work on their goals in.  Choosing their reward is also a big motivator. For example, when working on kicking have a variety of balls that are different in size, shape and color. 

 

5. Closure  Most students love being in the gym so when it comes time to leave they may put up a fight.  Practicing a consistent closure routine helps the students understand that it is time to leave.  We always end with the parachute.  I let the students shake it and freeze.  Then we practice name identification and direction following by running under the parachute when your name is called.

 

Good luck starting your APE group classes! I hope you will find some of these tips useful. 

   

The 2014 Dolphin Dash is only 10 days away! Sign up today at 

https://runsignup.com/Race/VA/Mechanicsville/DolphinDash

Congratulations to Cool Spring Elementary students for raising for $24,000 for the

American Heart Association. 

February Family Fitness Challenge

The students have been jumping away over the month of February. This month's Family Fitness Challenge has to do with jumping rope. The students have been learning about their heart's function and how to keep it healthy by exercising 60 minutes a day. Jumping rope is a great way to increase your heart rate! 

Complete the challenge below and send in a picture. Each child that brings in a picture will be entered in a drawing for a prize. I will extend the deadline to March 11th since we got a late start with the snow. 

This challenge can be done as a group or against each other as a race. The object is to get all six tasks completed.

a die

a jump rope

a copy of the roll and jump task card

You will start by rolling the die and doing the corresponding activity. For example, if you roll a 3, you will do 10 basic jumps backward. Once you complete the task put a check next to the number. You will continue rolling the die and completing the corresponding activities until all the numbers have been checked off. The catch is, if you roll a number more than once you have to repeat the exercise each time you roll the number until you have rolled all six.

Have fun!

Also, don't forget to visit www.heart.org/jump to join the Cool Spring Elementary fundraising team. Students have already raised over 10,000 dollars which will go directly to the American Heart Association. WOW!!!

Happy Friday! Check out the January Family Fitness Challenge posted a couple of weeks ago. If you meet the challenge this weekend send in a picture. Any student who brings in their picture from the challenge will be entered in a drawing for a prize next Friday. Look out for February's Family Fitness Challenge which will be coming sometime next week. 

Check Tuesday folders for Jump Rope for Heart information! During the month of February students will be learning all about the heart and how to keep it healthy and strong as they complete their jump rope unit. 

WINTER WONDERLAND FUN

Need to get the kids out of the house? Tired of the same neighborhood sledding your kids have been partaking in all week? Check out the "Best Sledding Spots in Richmond." There is a small chance for more this weekend. Try not to get to excited. :)

"Best Sledding Spots in Richmond"

JANUARY FAMILY FITNESS CHALLENGE

BOWL FOR FITNESS

Cool Spring students had the wonderful opportunity to use 11 bowling sets. Each sets consists of 10 plastic pins and one rubber weighted bowling ball. 

The students learned about a three step approach where they start and finish on their opposite foot. 

This month's Family Fitness Challenge is to go bowling and use the Bowl For Fitness sheet. Each time your bowling turn is over count the number of pins you knocked down and do the corresponding activity. You can pick the number of repetitions to use. In class the students did 15. All of the exercises on the sheet can be done in a small amount of space with no equipment. You can also switch it up and count the number of pins left standing

Can't fit a trip to the bowling alley in your schedule? No problem. Have the kids make their own pins. Recycled water bottles are a great resource for this project. 

Send in a picture of your child or the family participating in this month's challenge and your child can find themselves on the Family Fitness Wall of Fame. 

Please write your child's name on the back and I will do my best to return the picture however please keep in mind that it may unfortunately get lost or damaged in the hallway. 

HAVE FUN!

Feel free to share your comments, and dont forget to subscribe to the blog. 

1. Did you enjoy the challenge?

2. What was your favorite exercise on the chart?

3. What was the hardest exercise on the chart?

4. Did you improve your technique?

New Year - New Ideas

Welcome to 2014! I am looking forward to being more involved in the blogging process this year and trying out some new ideas.  My goal is to post something at the end of each week.  I am also excited to introduce Monthly Family Fitness Challenges. I hope to tie these challenges in with what the students are learning in class. Stay tuned!