Bo James

Our baby boy arrived a week early, on Monday, February 13th!  

Bo James

7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long

We feel so blessed to have a happy, healthy baby boy!!!

P.E. Volleyball Serve, Jump Rope Partner Tricks and Tag Game

This week was very special because Mr. Metz, my long term substitute teacher, came to visit!  He will be filling in for me while I am on maternity leave this winter/spring.  Mr. Metz joined us as we participated in the following activities: (similar to last week's agenda)

5th Grade Agenda:
Warm-Up:  Fitness Centers
Skills Practice:  Jump Rope - single rope tricks and partner tricks, Volleyball Underhand Serve Drills
Game:  Freezer (Tag Game)

Kindergarten Agenda:
Warm-Up:  Yoga
Skills:  Jump Rope and Jumping Sticks
Game:  Freezer (Tag Game)

Picture of Mr. Metz demonstrating the underhand serve:

Pictures of Kindergarten Students using Jumping Sticks

5th Grade Jump Rope - Partner Tricks

5th Grade - Volleyball Underhand Serve

P.E. Volleyball, Jump Rope, and Freezer Tag Game

This was our first week back to school after Christmas break.  The 5th graders began their Volleyball and Jump Rope Units.  Below was our agenda for the day and a couple of video clips.

5th Grade Agenda
Warm-Up - Fitness Centers (30 second intervals of activities such as push-ups, leg lifts, jumping hurdles, agility ladder, planks, jumping jacks, etc.)
Skills - Jump Rope (Single Rope Tricks) and Volleyball Underhand Serve
Game - Freezer Tag Game - click this link for directions of how to play.


Kindergarten Agenda
Warm-Up - Yoga Exercises
Skills - Introduced Jump Ropes and Jumping Sticks
Game - Freezer

This video shows a 5th grade students doing the agility ladder during the Fitness Center Warm-Up



This is a video of 5th graders playing "FREEZER"

P.E. Christmas Games

Today was the last time I'll see my students until after Christmas.  We played a  lot of Christmas Games, and 5th graders were also given about 10 minutes to practice and be tested on the P.E. Central Challenges.

Our 5th grade Agenda today was:
Warm-Up = Christmas Match Relay (A running activity)
Skills Practice = P.E. Central Challenges and Feed the Reindeer Relay (catching/throwing activity)
Game= Santa and Mrs. Claus Tag


Kindergarten Agenda:
Warm-Up = Yoga/Exercises
Skills Practice = Feed the Reindeer Relay (catching/throwing activity)
Game = Christmas Tag

Pictures of Feed the Reindeer Relay - Students worked in groups of three.  Each child had a turn to do each "job".  One child rode the sled (scooter) to collect reindeer food (balls).  They tossed the reindeer food to the person standing inside the hula hoop and that person had to catch the food and throw it into the reindeer's bucket.  The third child's job was to be the "catcher" and try to help get the food into the buckets.  We played Christmas music during the game and switched jobs every 3 minutes.

Tossing Reindeer food into the Reindeer's bucket. The catcher had the option to hold the bucket and try to catch it.

Tosser had to stay inside the hula hoop while throwing.

Kindergartener's playing Feed the Reindeer Relay.  This is a great activity to teach them about teamwork and cooperation!

Student on the "sled" collecting "reindeer food".

Catching and Throwing Games Continued

My 5th graders have continued to practice catching and throwing skills the past few weeks. I have given opportunities during each class period for them to complete the PE Central Challenge of catching 30 in a row with a partner. We have also practiced many catching "stunts" with partners such as a two ball toss, kneel and toss, toss under leg, behind back, etc.

Here is a list of some of the games we have played this month: (Click on some for directions or videos of the game).
Jail Ball
Hoop Guard
Catch Everything (Similar to Throw Everything, except toss and catch with partner)
Keep Away
Bean Bag Battle
Dr. Mario (aka. Medic)
Star Wars
Thanksgiving Match Game (Running Relay)

I also introduced the Balance Beam Challenge to 5th graders this week from the PE Central Challenge. With a partner, students have to pass each other twice while keeping their balance to pass the challenge.

Kindergarten classes have also been working on catching and throwing. They have played a few of the games above, plus a throwing game called "Oscar's Garbage Can" and Thanksgiving Tag.

Pictures of Kindergarteners playing the Thanksgiving Match Game (Running Relay):

Students ran to the opposite end of the gym to get a Thanksgiving card (with a picture of food on it...turkey, potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc) and then ran it back to their team's "plate" to make a match.








Kindergarteners playing "Oscar's Garbage Can"

Catching and Throwing Games

This month students will be focusing on catching and throwing skills. Below are details and videos of what we did this week.

5th Graders Agenda:
Warm-Up
Catching Practice - Individual Catching Stunts/Partner Toss and Catch
Catching Games - 1) Jail Ball 2) Hoop Guard

Kindergarten Agenda:
Warm-up: Yoga
Throwing Practice: Underhand and Overhand Throwing
Throwing Game: Star Wars


Catching Practice - Students practiced individually in their own space tossing to self and catching. We caught with two hands, one hand and then did some stunts such as Toss/Clap/Catch, Toss/Kneel/Catch/Toss/Stand/Catch, Toss/Spin Around/Catch, Toss under legs/Catch.


Partner Practice - working on the Throw and Catch Challenge from pecentral.org


Game: Jail Ball - Click here for directions on how to play Jail Ball.


Game: Hoop Guard - Partners try to toss the bean bag into the other's hula hoop for a point.



Video of Yoga Exercises:


Video of Star Wars Game:

Fun P.E. Games - Pin Kickball and Battleship

Oct. 24th = After two weeks of fitness testing, I decided to rewarded my 5th grade classes with a day of fun games! They played Pinball, Pin Kickball and Battleship. Below are some video clips!

Oct. 31st = This week our school had a Halloween "Multi-age" day, so with those events going on the students did not have P.E. class. The Kindergarten class joined the activities in the gym during their P.E. time which included dances such as Monster Mash, Thriller, Chicken Dance, and "Who Let the Ghosts Out?".

Video of Battleship:


Battleship - This time I allowed two teams to join together as one fleet - a suggestion from one of my students! They enjoyed this version as well!


This video shows how teams have to begin most games we play - lined up with their team with a ball between their feet. Teams are rewarded points if they are able to get ready in 30 seconds or less (for each round). This ensures we don't waste any of our valuable P.E. minutes!


Playing Pin Kickball - kicking the balls to knock down the pins instead of rolling them like we do in the game "Pinball".