Teaching PE this week was so much fun, and  I liked how engaged everyone was with our Bingo activity and our animal-themed warm up and cool down.  As we prepared I was thinking of how to facilitate engagement in activities that would promote an integration of mindfulness, health and fitness.  Throughout this course I’ve come to recognize how important it is to be present in the moment when we’re getting active – focusing on breathing, appreciating the process, enjoying the surroundings, having an attitude of acceptance and engaging in exercise for physical, mental and social benefits.

We incorporated stations to promote good social interaction during physical activity: cheering for each other, running a ‘victory lap,’ engaging playfully in physical activity together, and exploring new games.  We also incorporated health and mindfulness activities: meditations, positivity flowers, and personal goals.  Our approach was to plan an activity that could be used as an end-of-term festive class party to celebrate the big ideas that we would hope to have covered with our class already.

I was very appreciative of the feedback I received after teaching.  I felt encouraged to hear that I set a safe, inclusive environment for everyone to participate in.  I look forward to practicing developing better volume in the gym so that all participants can hear me!  I found this feedback extremely useful practically.  Thanks for the safe environment to practice teaching PE!