PE for the body, mind and soul

Today our school celebrated National Girls and Women in Sport Day.
We had an amazing presentation by
All American Field Hockey Player…Elise Britt!
She talked about all the sports she’s played, injuries shes had and offered advice for our 5th graders. WOW the hour flew by! Our Pashley students had great questions for her too. Can you believe she is a Red Sox fan over my Yankees!!!!

We all had such a wonderful experience. Girls and Women do play sports and they play them WELL.
BRAVO BRITT!!
Hope you can come back to visit again!

5th Graders…What was something she said today, that made an impact on you??

OK, football fans… How well do you think you know your teams?
Try to figure out who these NFL Teams are, by these hints!
Good Luck!

“Uncles Spouse in the Army”
“Seven Square”
“$1 for Corn”
“I.O.U’s”
“747″
“Marine Bird”
“Thieves”
“U.S. Bird”

I think the best part of teaching PE is all the different sports and activities we do during the year. Most of our units last for two weeks, so there is always something new coming up.

I would say that MY favorite activity would be x-country skiing. I love getting outside in the fresh air!! My second favorite activity would be the Rock Wall.

What about you??

What is your favorite activity/sport in PE??
What is your least favorite??

So the countdown is on for all you football fans! The 2010 Super Bowl will be played February 7, 2010.
This year, the game will be played in Miami, Florida.

Since the Giants are out of the playoffs, my family is devastated. I am a Giants fan however, but I’m a bigger fan
of Kurt Warner from the Cardinals. Must be his age, and his huge heart.
I was upset to see them lose last week.

So, do you have a favorite football team?

Did you pick this team because of their “star” quarterback, their defense, or just a team to pick??

Next month we will be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

The 5th grade girls have a project to do! They have to write about what female athlete inspires them!! As we started the discussion today, many of the girls had a hard time coming up with any female role models in the sports world!!
Hopefully within the next few weeks they will have discovered that there are MANY, MANY female athletes dedicated to their sport.

If you had to pick, who would your favorite female athlete be?

Recently in PE, we’ve challenged each class to see how long they can jog as a group for a warm up. This activity has involved strategies, teamwork, and lots of encouragement!

I decided to help them by playing a different piece of music every minute. The results were great! The music I selected had a big impact as well. I tried to stay with current songs (that were school appropriate). As each new piece of music came on, the students verbally and visually got pumped up.

When I work out, or go for a run, my ipod is full of motivating songs. I think my favorite music group to work out to would be the Black Eyed Peas.
Do you have a favorite song for exercising?

How does music affect you when you are working out??

Last week I got to be a guest reader in Mrs. Gilgallon’s First Grade Class.
As I was walking into their classroom, they were having a big discussion about the importance of breakfast. They were writing down why breakfast was so important. I was impressed at the answers that they gave. Most importantly, they all knew that breakfast was the most important meal of the day!

Do you make time for breakfast in the morning??

What is your favorite breakfast??

In August, I  was asked to help coach field hockey for Burnt Hills.
I was really excited to get back into coaching. I love the sport of field hockey so it was a perfect coaching position for me.  I ended up with 30 girls trying out for my modified team!  After much thought, I decided to keep all 30 players.  I didn’t want any of them to think that they were not ”good enough” to play field hockey.  I kept all 30 girls beacuse I knew  that with practice, they would become skilled players.

We practiced hard, ran many miles,  and starting mastering the skills needed for the field.  The girls on this team always supported each other, and we were a team!   We scored  goals, and kept improving and learning our positions of the field.  The last game of the season was the hardest.  It was hard because I knew it would the last game that we’d all be together.

The best part of coaching this team was meeting the them every day after school to practice.  My team was a awesome group of girls.  They were motivated and worked hard for each other.  It was pleasure and privilege to coach them. 

Have you ever been on a team before??

What was the best part for you??

To me, the phrase LIVESTRONG reminds me to make the most of each day.  I try to surround myself with positive people, friends and for sure try to keep my body strong and healthy.  Sometimes, life  brings us good as well as bad surprises.  I feel how we handle this adversity is the key to living strong.   We need to be strong in the mind,  and try to overcome bad days with positive thinking.   One of my favorite sayings is, “Keep your head up and charge the mountain”.  We are all stronger than we think….we are all courageous.

So, for those of you dealing with a “bad day”…you will get through this, and the sun will shine strong soon!

My thoughts are with you Jacob!!

HANG IN THERE AND STAY SHELLSTRONG!