P.E. Easter Games - Easter Egg Hunts, Jellybean Tag, Easter Tag

This week my classes did an Easter Egg Hunt!  The kids had SO much fun and got a lot of exercise! 2nd grade students also had time for some dribbling practice with Mr. Gietzen, and also did a "dribbling maze".  Pictures and videos below.....

Kindergarten doing some warm-up exercises before the Easter  Egg Hunt.

Kindergarteners taking turns to find Easter eggs.

Kindergarten Easter Egg Hunt

2nd Grade Hunt

Early Childhood Special Education Class - They hunted and then sorted eggs by color.

For more Easter Games please click here!  This includes Easter Egg Hunts, Easter Tag, Jellybean Tag, and "Jellybean Wars" throwing game.  Enjoy!

Elementary P.E.- Tripods and Headstands

Activities the students have been working on since our last update:
1) Leaping Leprechauns Warm-Up Game
2) Tumbling (Somersaults, Log and Pencil Rolls, and tripods, headstands and cartwheels for 2nd grade)
3) All students are participating in basketball activities for the month of March.

See pictures and videos below!
Second grade students finished up their tumbling unit with tripods and headstands.  We taught the tripod first and required students to balance for 10 seconds before trying to lift their legs up for a headstand.  Key points to remember when practicing a tripod - 1)  make a triangle with your head and hands, 2) Spread your feet apart on the mat (to line up your knees with your elbows), 3)  Slowly walk your feet in towards your elbows and lift knees up to balance on elbows.

2nd grade student doing a tripod.

Student balancing in a tripod position before raising legs up for a headstand.

Headstand!

Headstand

Video of our student teacher, Mr. Gietzen, teaching a round-off. We typically do not teach this skill, but decided to this year because of student interest. Students had the option to try this, or participate in other tumbling activities.

Video of Kindergarten doing the "Leaping Leprechaun" Warm-Up:

Video of 2nd grade doing "Leaping Leprechauns"

PE Game - Hide and Seek Valentine Hearts

Here is a fun, easy Valentine game I created to play with my elementary classes.  This is a great game for special education students as well.  For a printable of this game, please click "Hide and Seek Valentine Hearts".

A St. Patrick's Day version of this game is called "Hide and Seek Shamrocks".  This game is also found on my blog here.   You may also visit my web page for many more games!

Video of this game:

Another dollar store purchase!

Hide and Seek Valentine Heart Relay

Equipment Needed:
5 buckets or boxes (one for each team)
75 + Valentine Hearts (I use plastic hearts from the dollar store, but you could use paper hearts that are laminated)
20 + cones or domes  (I like these domes the best)

Intro:
Take 30 seconds to talk about Valentine’s Day.....why we celebrate, what we do on Valentine’s Day, etc.  Then tell the students they are going to pretend to be CUPID, and they have to FIND the Valentines Hearts that are hiding in the gym!

Description of Activity:
This is a continuous relay race that keeps going until all of the hearts have been collected.  I use the width of the gym and make groups of 3-4 students.  Give each group a bucket to leave by the side wall to collect their hearts.  Students take turns running to find a heart.  When they lift up a dome to peek, they should put it back down to hide any remaining hearts.

Set-Up:
Using the width of the gym, set a bucket near the wall for each group.  On the other side wall, scatter the cones/domes and hide hearts under them.  Hide about 5 under each dome.  

Rules:
Students must wait their turn to run (groups of 3 are best so kids are not standing in line too long).  When it’s their turn, the student runs to the other side of the gym, peeks under a dome and takes ONE heart, then run back to their team’s bucket to drop it in.  Then the student gets back in line for another turn to run.   If a dome is EMPTY, the student may flip it over so other students don’t continue to look under that dome.  

Peek under a dome to find heart!

Notes:
When all of the hearts are collected, groups may count their hearts, or sort them by color, size, etc if you are using a variety of different hearts.  (see my pictures on my blog).  They may also count how many total hearts their team collected.  Have students hide hearts for the next class (tell them how many to put under each dome so you don’t have many empty and others with too many).  

You could also substitute skipping, galloping, crab walk, riding scooters, etc. instead of running. 

These are the domes with 4-5 hearts hidden under each one.

Leaping Leprechauns - Fun P.E. Warm-Up Game for St. Patrick's Day

For a printable version, please click on "Leaping Leprechauns".  Pics and Videos of this game are below.

Leaping Leprechauns

By:  Carly Glanzman

Equipment Needed:
4 cones, preferably numbered 1-4
4 Buckets or boxes
30 paper shamrocks or gold coins.  May also use beanbags, small balls, etc.
Items to leap over such as hurdles, jump ropes, poly spots, etc.

Skills:
Leaping
Following Directions

Description of Activity:
Tell students they are pretending to be leprechauns who have to LEAP through the forest to find treasures (shamrocks, gold, etc.)

Four mini-obstacle courses are set up for students to go through.  After completing a course, the student collects a treasure (shamrock or other item) from the bucket at the end of the course, then they will run to the opposite end of the gym, drop treasure in the empty bucket, and choose another obstacle course to go through.  Continue playing until all of the treasures are collected.   

Set-Up:
On one end of the gym, place 4 cones on the endline.  The cones mark the beginning of each obstacle course.  Divide students equally behind each cone to begin.  After they complete the course in their line, they may get in any other line and continue playing.  

For each line, set up hurdles or other obstacles for students to leap over, going all the way to the opposite end of the gym.  

Place 2 buckets filled with shamrocks (or other treasures) in the two corners at the end of the gym at the end of the obstacles.  Place two empty buckets at the corners of the gym where the start of the obstacles are.  After completing a course, students run to the corner, take a shamrock, and run down the SIDELINE of the gym (so they do not interfere with students who are doing the obstacle courses).  They put their shamrock in the empty bucket.  Then the student chooses another line to join.  (make each obstacle course slightly different for a variety).  

Notes:
The empty buckets could be placed by the wall in the corner with a rainbow taped on the wall (like it’s a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow).  

Remind students to collect their shamrock after completing a course, and run down the SIDELINE begin a new obstacle.  

For motivation to complete courses, tell students they can keep track in their heads how many shamrocks they get.  

For more P.E. Games visit my web page at http://carlyspegames.weebly.com!



Videos of my student teacher, Mr.Gietzen, teaching this game to Kindergarten:

Video of 2nd graders:

Pictures of Set-Up Ideas:

"Stepping Stones" to balance on.

To begin, students line up behind a cone.

Cones for running though (zig zag), poly spots for hop scotch,and bowling pins for leaping over.

Hurdles, agility ladder, bowling pin to leap over.

Tunnel to crawl through, hurdle and foam pins to leap over.

St. Patrick's Day Tag - "Lucky Charm Tag"

St. Patrick's Day Tag - "Lucky Charm Tag"

For a printable for this game click "Lucky Charm Tag".

Equipment Needed:
2-3 Tagging Sticks (We use small pieces of pool noodles or yarn balls)
1 Bucket (preferably green)
15-20 “lucky charms” such as paper shamrocks, gold coins, beanbags, small balls, etc.
1 picture of a rainbow to tape to the wall

Description of Activity:
This is a continuous tag game with no safe.  Students start scattered anywhere in the gym. Taggers start on the endline.  When the music begins, everyone begins moving around the area.  

Taggers are called Leprechauns.  They hold the tagging noodles to tag players.  The Lucky Charmer is the person who carries the bucket with lucky charms in it.  

If a player is tagged, they sit down and wait for the Lucky Charmer to bring them a Lucky Charm.  Tagged players put their lucky charm in the pot at the end of the rainbow, then return to playing tag.  

Notes:
Play 2-3 minute games, then stop to choose new taggers and a new person to be the “lucky charmer”.  


For more P.E. Games visit my web page at http://carlyspegames.weebly.com!

P.E. Game for St. Patrick's Day - Shamrock Relay

St. Patrick's Day P.E. Game - Hide and Seek Shamrock Relay

For a printable page for this game, please click the link "Hide and Seek Shamrock Relay".

I found these cute shamrocks from the Dollar Store!

Equipment Needed:
5 buckets or boxes (one for each team)
75 + shamrock cut-outs (or other small green object like puff balls, bean bags, etc)
20 + cones or domes  ( I like these domes the best)

Intro:
Take a minute to talk about St. Patrick’s Day.....tell the students some leprechauns came in the gym and hid a bunch of shamrocks/lucky four leaf clovers for them!  

Description of Activity:
This is a continuous relay race that keeps going until all of the shamrocks have been collected.  I use the width of the gym and make groups of 3-4 students.  Give each group a bucket to leave by the side wall to collect their shamrocks.  Students take turns running to find a shamrock.  When they lift up a dome to peek, they should put it back down to hide any remaining shamrocks.

Set-Up:
Using the width of the gym, set a bucket near the wall for each group.  On the other side wall, scatter the cones/domes and hide shamrocks under them.  Hide about 5 under each dome.  

Rules:
Students must wait their turn to run (groups of 3 are best so kids are not standing in line too long).  When it’s their turn, the student runs to the other side of the gym, peeks under a dome and takes ONE shamrock, then run back to their team’s bucket to drop it in.  Then the student gets back in line for another turn to run.   If a dome is EMPTY, the student may flip it over so other students don’t continue to look under that dome.  

Notes:
When all of the shamrocks are collected, groups may count their shamrocks or sort them by color, size, etc if you are using a variety of different shamrocks.  (see my pictures of the glittery and striped shamrocks).  They may also count how many total shamrocks their team collected.  Have students hide shamrocks for the next class (tell them how many to put under each dome so you don’t have many empty and others with too many).  

You could also substitute skipping, galloping, crab walk, riding scooters, etc. instead of running.  



For more P.E. Games, visit my web page at http://carlyspegames.weebly.com!