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!

MY PLATE - A new look at nutrition

The students had blast learning about nutrition with the new My Plate model. This model replaced the old Food Pyramid.  The idea is to get students thinking about what each meal should look like. There is a big emphasis on having half the plate comprised of fruits and vegetables. 

Visit www.choosemyplate.gov to print out your own My Plate diagram to keep in your kitchen or classroom. Encourage your children to help with meal planning and checking to make sure all food groups are represented in appropriate amounts on your plate. 

The students also incorporated fitness into this activity my jogging along the nutrition speedway to collect a food card.  While the other students waited, each student had a chance to lead their group in an exercise of their choice. 

Teacher Tip: I bought these great My Plate banners with pockets from School Specialty but you can visit the website and ask for free colored posters. The cards are also awesome which are part of the Focused Fitness curriculum. This curriculum is new to our school this year and I LOVE it! You cold make your own if you are a real go getter!

The students raced to see which group could collect at least one card for each category. We also talked about things that are not found on the plate such as empty calories. In my class we call these sometimes foods. They are foods that add calories to your intake but offer no nutritional value. After cards were collected we created our own breakfast, lunch (that could be packed), and dinner as a class. 

 Here is an example of a packed lunch one class created. 

Questions: 

1. Does your plate typically match these recommendations?
2. Do you like the new model better than the old?
3. Do you see yourself incorporating this in your household or classroom?

Nutzy's Rotary FUNN Run - December 7th!

Check out this GREAT family fitness opportunity! If your child or your family participates in this race or any upcoming community fitness events, send in a picture to add to the Family Fitness Wall. Your child will earn a small prize from the Physical Education Prize Basket!

SCOOTER HOCKEY

K-5

HOCKEY SKILLS, TACTICS AND POSITIONS

  

The students completed two weeks of hockey using long handed sticks. In order to effectively teach tactics and positions for the game of hockey I like to use scooters.  This slows down the movement of the students so everyone isn’t swarming around the ball. It also provides a great workout for the lower extremities.

Teacher Tip: Divide the playing area into three zones using floor tape.

Divide the class into three groups. I have a yellow team, a blue team and a sideline team.

Color code the goals using cones.

The students had the opportunity to play many different positions.  They played in a designated playing space on the hockey court.

• Goalie
• Defense
• Offense
• Midfield

The fitness focus for the side line players was to work on cardiorespiratory endurance. We talked about howthere is a wall on an ice hockey court that the puck bounces off.  The sideline team acted as this wall and gently kicked the ball back into play if it went out of bounds near them. They had to keep moving by performing a cardiorespiratory exercise such as running in place, jumping jacks or imaginary jump rope.

Teacher Tip: Star Students are students who are on task and demonstrating proper components of the skill you are teaching. After each round choose a rock star exerciser and a rock star hockey team player to receive a star sticker.

Rather than use one ball like a traditional game I use three. This allows the students to have more opportunities to demonstrate the skills they have learned. It also keeps them moving more. Students strived to demonstrate the following tasks to earn a star student sticker. 

• Move to open space
• Gain control of the ball before passing or scoring
• Look for open teamates
• Call a teamate's name before passing to them

Teacher Tip: Adaptations for students with special needs: I often add a fourth ball that is larger and a different color. The students know this is the superpower ball. Whenever this ball comes their way they pass it back to the designated

student. This allows them more chances to strike the ball and keeps other students from stealing the ball