“If you dream and you allow yourself to dream you can do anything” – Clara Hughes, cyclist & speed skater
Journal entry #3
This week we were lucky to have a member and advocate of the physical literacy movement come in to speak with us. Physical literacy is such an important topic for us to learn about as future elementary teachers. My understanding of it is giving students the ability and confidence to master fundamental movement skills like running, hopping, throwing and kicking. Moreover, it gives children the tools to use these skills for the rest of their lives in order to lead healthy, active lifestyles. I think physical literary is a critical part of the BC Curriculum and I have enjoyed learning about it. When I was in school I never felt super confidant with some of these skills and I’m looking forward to ‘relearning’ them this semester.
During our conversations we were divided into groups of 4 to make a placemat about how we will active physical literacy in our classrooms. Some of our ideas included:
- jumping jacks or hopping while counting syllables
- taking brain breaks (like stretching or repetitions) when the students seemed sleepy or restless
- little yoga breaks or mindfulness exercises
- nature exploration walks (which is particularly important in Montessori)
- dancing to different types of music (i.e. Bollywood, ballet, Irish)
- practicing the fundamental movement skills during class breaks
