Week 16

Welcome back Falcon families. I hope you all had a great break. I know we have been back for a week, but it is never too late to say "hi". 

 

Last week we started our Ping-Pong unit. This unit will be taught to each class, at different levels. The younger students will be introduced to the paddle, ball, table, and focus on manipulating the ball with a paddle. The older students will focus on the rules, strategies, skills, and tournament play. It is a great unit that many students enjoy and that many students can practice at home if they have the equipment. Many recreational places have ping pong tables up for the public to use. It might be fun to go check out the ones in your neighborhood!

K-2

Many of the students knew what unit we were on once I showed them a paddle. We started off with talking about the different types of paddles and looked at the characteristics of a ping pong ball. They learned the basic grip of a paddle and started working on some ball control. We balanced the ball on the paddle, bounced the ball on the paddle, bounced it off the ground, and did other ball control skills. One things that we are really trying to get down is not hitting the ball so hard. I know with time and practice it will come!

 

 

We also had Coach Shannon from Soccer Shots come in and give the students a little fun soccer lesson. Soccer Shots is an After School Activity that will be held here at CHPCS starting January 23rd. It is only open to K-2nd grade. If you are interested in this class, please let me know and I can get you more information. 

 

3-4

We started last week off with ball control. Many of the students remembered the correct grip of the paddle from last year! We moved from hitting the ball up with a forehand hit to a backhand hit. This was tricky for many students. Most of them could do a forehand hit, but once we went to the backhand, it made things a little more challenging. We also moved to hitting the ball off the wall while we are on our knees. This forces the students to have more control and not hit the ball too hard. Many of them are doing a great job and I can see great improvements in their forehand and backhand hits. 

5-8

The middle school students love this unit because it involves the middle school ping pong tournament. Last week we started off with control, forehand and backhand hits, serving, and game rules. This week we will be practicing our game strategy, as well as really understanding all the rules to the game. The students are doing a great job understanding the rules and playing the game of ping pong. This unit improves their fine motor skills, increases their eye-hand coordination, and gives them something fun to do that can be a great life long skill to have.

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