PREZI

The Best and the Worst moments in my motor development life so far

Motor Development Video

Motor Development Video

Find your groove

Not all kids like to participate in one main stream sport or activity.  Switch it up and keep the kids guessing. Dancing is fun and appealing to the eye but also can get people active.  Think about it. You're in a really good mood listening to one of your favorite songs when you spontaneously bust into dance. Little do you know through all your enjoyment that you are getting exercise. Dance can involve all parts of the body! Increase endurance, improve strength, improve eye hand coordination along with footwork and much much more. Besides just the physical aspect it also taps into the affective and mental categories. Dancing can be done just about everywhere. Doesn't require anything you don't use in your everyday routine. A couple different styles of dance can be shown in class and encouraged to do outside of class too.

click here for lab 5

click here for lab 6

I have learned several things since going to St. Mary's and interacting with the kids. Each kid has a smile on their face whether it is playing a game or just moving around. It's as if all of their troubles are gone. Then I started to think about it. When i'm playing sports or just playing games I feel freed from my daily struggles. With all the stress that kids go through I can only hope that I am helping not only physically but mentally too.

The season is over... so what.

Basketball finished up a little more than a month ago but I still find a way to keep busy and keep myself active. During the season basketball took a majority of my extra curricular time but now that the season over you would assume that I would be a lot less active. Even though basketball is over I have found several more activities and sports to keep myself busy and active. Throughout the week i get one day off which is just like our basketball schedule. Switching between basketball, volleyball, lifting, and swimming. The time after your season is not as much the off season but more of an extended preseason. I hope to be able to improve my overall fitness while competing and playing in different sports. 

Lab 4 

Making exercise fun

I have realized that exercise for me has always been easy because the sports and games that I play are fun. I reap all the benefits of exercise and have a great time doing it. So after reading this article I acknowledged how easy it is for me. Many other people constantly worry about their weight and health. They try and go to the gym to walk or run on a treadmill. But continuous trips to the gym are uneventful and boring. Exercising should be fun and beneficial. If flat out running is something that you enjoy then I'm not knocking it. But if your just running because you're told that "it's good for you" then maybe you can find an activity that entertains you and gives you the advantages of running. The writer of the article, Su Reid suggests swimming, pattleboard or kickball. These are sports that are not commonly seen on TV but are fun and different from the well known broadcasted ones. The list goes on and on. The one thing that Su Reid preaches is that you don't stop at one form of exercise. Persistence will be needed in order to find the right game or activity. When you do find something you like and enjoy practice will lead to you getting better. The whole message of the article is to have fun while exercising. 

western standoff- St. Mary's Lab 3

This lab consisted of a couple new skills but were nothing new to the students. They have a general feel for the movements but were not perfect. Teaching was still a little difficult. It was harder to get their attention then it actually was to teach them the game. My game was the 3rd one to go and the kids were already tired physically and mentally. Giving them a water break gave them some time to gather themselves and get ready for the next game but some were overall fed up and just sat on the bleachers and refused to play. Emotions also ran a little high when some kids don't want to be labeled as the builders or the bulldozers. It did help that you made it clear that sides will switch so that everybody gets a fair chance. The kids did enjoy the game but some more than others. The importance of timing and breaks can make a difference on how the kids play and focus.




Lab sheet here

St. Mary's Lab 2 - Cartoon Lab

This was my first trip to St. Mary's while being dressed in a theme. The theme this week was cartoon characters. I decided to dress up as Mario. I was lucky enough that my neighbors had the costume available for me even though they were not quite big enough.  As the lab went on I got more and more attention from the kids. Who are you? Where's Luigi? These were reoccurring questions. I enjoyed the attention that I got from the kids but when it came to presenting and teaching my game the kids were completely distracted. Costumes within moderation I think would be attractive but not hindering to the actual teaching of the class. It probably depends on the age group that you are teaching. This made my first lesson a little more difficult than I originally anticipated. After finally presenting the game and getting the kids moving it looked like they were having good time.  

Lab write up

Mario in St. Mary's Lab 2

Repetition

Keeping the classes attention

Today in class our groups presented information from certain chapters in the text book. I presented half of chapter three. What made presenting rather difficult was the fact that i've been sick the past couple days and have had very little voice. This made it difficult to present my slides. I showed very little enthusiasm and effort. I did put time into the presentation but I didn't make it like a real teaching setting. Like most sports, if a skill is not practiced at a game like speed it will be harder to apply to an actual game. So when a basketball player goes to practice to work on their shooting they will do drills that are realistic to game like situations. So next time when I prepare for a presentation whether it is in front of my fellow peers or in front of my students I will have to prepare like I do for basketball. Repetition

My mom, Lynn Hefele, recently made a book that helps aid physical educators and students in and outside of the classroom. 

Page 21-24. 

teaching under duress

As we were going through our activities today in the gym for our lab I couldn't help but think about what if things didn't go so smoothly.  This popped up into my head because I have been sick the past couple of days and have just about completely lost my voice.  I thought about how I would go about presenting my game even with a lack of voice. Luckily I was given the day off because of it but I'm not always going to be given such good fortune. I thought about how close I'd have to bring in my class and make it clear to them that they'd have to focus real closely in order to hear the rules to the game. I also thought about using helpers in the class to set an example. I would ask a couple kids to stand up and set up the game as they help demonstrate as it would be played. The music would be a way to communicate to the kids whether or not the game has begun or ended.  There must be other ways to get your message across to the class without just verbally conveying your point.  

St. Mary's 2

Earlier today at St. Mary's we had our second lab where we were a little more prepared for what to expect. Many students had the chance to teach and initiate their first game or activity.  Some kids looked attentive and willing to participate while others had their attention somewhere else.  I did not get the chance to teach any games but I was able to get plenty of personal time with some of the kids.  I started off in the cafeteria with a couple of boys playing with Legos. Zachary was nice enough to build me a house with a door and window. After a short while we made our way back upstairs to the gym where everybody was more active.  Casey, a young and talented jump roper, showed me the ropes (pun intended). She put me through a difficult and rigorous jump rope tutorial where I would be ranked. By the end of the day Casey and a bunch of other girls got together and started to do some double dutch. I learned a lot from Casey today. As much teaching as I will be doing in the future I too will also be taught some new things.

Fundamental Skill Development

As physical educators it is important that basic motor skills are taught and applied to their students daily lives. Skills learned in Physical Education classes don't just help in gym class but may help in routine activities.  A good  teacher is capable of helping students improve in motor, cognitive, and affective categories.  Basic physical movements taught at an early age are helpful when it comes to teaching different material in physical education.  Basic skills like running, skipping, and hopping can help lead to more difficult movements like punting or throwing.  These common movements are in many sports seen on television that many kids wish to participate in.  This greatly helps with proper exercise and a healthier lifestyle.  Without the basic techniques taught and acquired it makes it difficult for children to progress.  Teachers usually incorporate group play in their classes which promotes teamwork and developing social skills.  Lessons taught in Physical Education class give students new thoughts on movement, fitness, and academic concepts. Basic fundamental skills lead to many other important concepts taught at later stages.  


http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/Active_Ed.pdf 
Approval of Physical Education

First blog

This feels really weird for me.  I have never had a blog or posted anything like this before.  I do think that this new wave of communication will be beneficial for many aspects when it comes to teaching.  Over the winter break I was mostly here in Cortland.  One of the afternoons in early January the basketball team went to a local detention center.  We spent several hours getting to know about the routine and life inside the center.  The kids ranged between 14 and 18 years old.  After a short while of getting to know the ground rules we got to bring kids to the indoor field house.  We got to meet the kids and know a little about them.  The kids were excited to see new faces considering that many of them only get to see their family every once and a while.  We set up a couple simple basketball drills to help warm them up both physically and too us as a group.  We joined in some drills whether it was by actually doing them or by encouraging them vocally.  Players would talk friendly trash talk as they got ready to play one another.  The kids were amped and ready to compete.  The ball was tossed up and the boys were all smiles.  You could tell by watching them that they were happy.  They wanted to impress us and the rest of their friends.  It was a good experience that I actually really enjoyed.  I learned just as much from them as they probably learned from us.  I hope I can do it again some time soon.