Since PE has never been my area of expertise, I must admit that the idea of leading a room full of children in physical activity gave me a mild case of the jitters. As I sit here in anticipation of tomorrow’s workshop, a few questions dance through my mind:
– How might I communicate the importance of physical activity to children beyond designated physical education blocks?
– How could we make physical activity a relevant and interesting choice for children?
– Would it be possible to incorporate any elements of the SEL approach to teaching and encouraging physical activity?
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The workshop was a real eye-opener! I’m glad to report that I’ve developed some tentative answers to those questions above after an engaging lesson in physical theatrics:
– Tying physical activity to proficiency with schoolyard playground equipment: by incorporating core-building exercises and introducing them to a wide range of physical exercises, some of which may include use of the playground equipment itself, children become empowered through DPAs to interact with and explore the playground, providing them with the ability and confidence to create and join games and further enrich their social experience outside of the classroom
– Building fundamental core strength and abilities allows facilitators to introduce more targeted techniques, such as throwing a baseball or kicking a soccer ball; raising students’ overall athletic ability will enable them to feel more comfortable and confident with trying new sports and participating in new games
o Moreover, the creative dance and yoga activities offer children a novel experience that will stretch their physical abilities and show them how to use their bodies in never-before imagined ways!
Most importantly, the workshop was filled with resources and program ideas to springboard our lesson ideas – after introducing basic skills, a possible extension may be for children to collaborate in smaller groups to brainstorm strategies and alterations to the basic technique to improve efficiency and effectiveness, thereby engaging students in a community learning experience