Week 8

We had a fun and exciting week this week! The students learned new skills, were challenged, and had success in many different areas of physical fitness. 

The Elks National Free Throw competition is almost here. It is for students who are between the ages of 8 and 13. I will be handing out registration forms to students who are interested, so please talk to your child to see if it is something they want to do. It is completely free, students shoot free throws and move onto the next level if they get the most. Please visit the website to learn more about it. 

Elks National Hoop Shoot 

Thank you for everyone who helped with Mrs. Denman's birthday party. It was a great success!

K-2

We are continuing to learn how to manipulate different objects. The students are learning that larger objects are easier to throw and catch than smaller objects. We did an experiment this week with hacky-sacks and small basketball size nerf balls. 98% of each class was more successful at passing and catching the nerf balls. They explained that it was because they could see them more and that they would not fall between their hands or fingers. We started moving towards pushing heavier objects with partners. They had great success and enjoyed pushing a variety of weighted medicine balls. 

Things to do/ask with your child(ren) this weekend:

• Play catch with a small object, medium object, and large object. Which one was the easiest and why?

• Try to pass two objects with a group of four friends

• Can you pass two things with a partner? How many times can you do it?

3-4

This week we finished learning about the basic skills needed to be successful at basketball. The students had fun with some modified games such as pin ball, circle ball, and shooting stations. We spent a good amount of time on shooting and giving them plenty of time to practice their shot.

Things you can ask/do with your child(ren) this weekend:

• What does BEEF stand for?

• Do you shoot with your arms only?

• See how many lay-ups you can do in 1 minute. 

5-8

This week we worked on combining a number of basketball skills into a variety of games and challenges that made the students have to work together to accomplish a goal. We also learned a variety of basketball games that are great to play at anytime! The students are getting ready for our mini basketball tournament next week. We still need to go over some defense skills and basic rules, but then it is game time!

Things you can do/ask your child(ren) this weekend:

• How to play bump, horse, team 21, or taps?

• What does BEEF stand for?

• See how many free throws you can make in 1 minutes.

 

6th Grades Olympic Games

The 6th graders are on their Ancient Greece unit. This was a perfect time to teach them about the origins of the Olympics and have them practice some of the events. The students had a great time running around in their cardboard armor, racing their none vocal horses, and throwing their javelins.  Please enjoy some of the pictures below!

Things to ask them this weekend:

• When was the first Olympics?

• How long was the first Olympics?

• How many events did the first Olympics have?

• What did the winner receive?

Have a great weekend and remember to keep moving!!!!!

Week 7

Sorry about not getting this post out on my normal time, but we had a pretty busy weekend and had to leave school early. Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with the blog. Please give me feedback whenever you can!

Last week was a fun week. The students are really enjoying the new skills we are working on and the new units we are starting. The cooperative games unit is really paying off! Great job Falcons!

We had a very successful Harvest Festival. Thank you all for coming and helping us build our community relationships. I hope you enjoyed the hay ride along with all the other fun games. 

K-2

This week we moved towards manipulating objects. The students were given objects to manipulate in the space around them. The students had fun with moving bean bags around their body to music, playing fun balancing games with objects, and passing nerf bowling pins with themselves and partners. They are really getting used to manipulating objects to get them to go where they want them to go. Control is a very large part of it!

Things to ask/do with your child(ren) this week:

• Play catch with different objects, things that are not round

• How do you know someone is ready for the pass?

• Where do you pass the object? Partners head, feet, knees, hands?

3rd-4th

This week we started our basketball unit. The students really enjoy the basketball unit and it is a great unit to have at the beginning of the year because many of the rules can transfer to other units. It is a popular game that can be played at anytime as long as you have a ball and a hoop! It is a great lifelong skill that everyone should be able to do. We are focusing on the basics (passing, dribbling, and shooting). We will play many modified games to increase their ability to do the skills while moving around in many different levels and pathways.

Things to ask/do with your child(ren) this week:

• See how many chest, bounce, and overhead passes you can do.

• What are the three popular passes in basketball?

• What are the three dribbling cues?

5th - 8th

We started our basketball unit this week! Many of the students are excited, and I have already heard news that some are trying out for some basketball teams for the first time!!!! Go Falcons! We have been starting with the basics, and will move to more rules of the game, offense and defense, and then get into some actual games! Right now they are playing in a number of games designed to focus on the skills they are learning. They are all doing a great job and we are moving faster than what I had imagined. 

Things to do/ask your child(ren) this week:

• What are the three cues to dribbling?

• Play keep away with bounce passes and chest passes only.

• What are the cues for a chest, bounce, and overhead pass?

Have a great week Falcon's. Keep Moving!!!!!

Week 6

What a great week! We had such a great time running in the Jog-A-Thon, and such a great crowd. Thank you all for your support and help in creating a successful Jog-A-Thon! 

K-2

This week we really worked on moving around in a group. It is very important to communicate with your group when you are working together to move in a specific pathway. We did activities like the "centipede" and  "blob tag". The students are really starting to understand why it is important to communicate when you are working with a group. We continued to work on our locomotor skills this week by using them to incorporate some fitness components such as muscle strength and muscle endurance.

Some questions or activities to ask this weekend:

• What does doing the crab walk for long periods of time work on?

• What is blob tag and where did it get its name?

• How does magnet tag work?

3-4

This week we finished our flying disc unit! The students learned how to do the backhand throw, clap catch, two hand catch, and the one hand catch. They used these skills while playing catch with a partner, as well as in many drills and games. We ended this week with a modified game of ultimate frisbee. The students were really getting into it and having a blast. Frisbee is such a great life long activity that anyone can participate in!

Some questions and activities you can do this weekend are:

• How many catches can you do with your child(ren)

• Let your child(ren) show you all three of the catches and see what catch needs the most practice. 

• What makes ultimate frisbee so much fun?

5-8

We finished the Frisbee Triathlon with great success. Each student was successful and showed great participation for their team. Everyone had a chance to participate in at least one of the events and were successful at gaining points for their team. Sportsmanship was great in many of the classes! Nobody gave up and they all worked hard to the very end. Great job middle school!

Things to ask and do with your child(ren):

• What events were done in the Frisbee Triathlon?

• How many points did you make for your team? (Think about all the events and see if you can figure it out. Everyone made at least one point for their team!)

• What was your favorite event in the Frisbee Triathlon?

 

Have a great weekend Falcons and remember to keep moving!!!!!!!