St. Mary's Lab 5

The kids absolutely love tag games. It is amazing how no matter how long you play it for they love it all you have to do is tweak up the rules a little and you can play tag with these age groups for hours. Some of our games I feel were a little over their heads or maybe they just didn’t want to play our games they just wanted to play what they wanted after a whole day of being told what to do. Some of the kids will not focus on the movements but rather the game and how the game is going. For example if you are observing the dribbling of a soccer ball through an obstacle course the kids may kick the ball once and just run and follow the ball rather than dribble it.

St. Mary's Lab 4

The most difficult part about the labs is trying to calm the kids down so we can play the games and explain the rules. The kids have just sat through a whole day of school and the last thing they want to do is listen to more instructions so I can’t really blame them for being so crazy. The environment is fine I think it’s the perfect size for us to perform our games and keep an eye on everyone. Well the kids obviously can’t miss school so the only suggestion I have is to have like a huge instant activity where the kids can run around all over the place and basically do what they want and after like 15-20 minutes stop the activity and separate the kids and begin the planned activities.

St. Mary's Lab 3

Today we observed two 6 year old Kindergarteners Rowan and Anthony. We observed their leaping, horizontal jump, and sliding. Rowan and Anthony were very similar in their movements and made similar mistakes and corrections. Though similar in movements Anthony was slightly more developmentally coordinated than Rowan. I scored Anthony higher in all of the movements but not by much. My group worked with the pre-K group for the first time today and it truly was a different experience. I played with some of the kids using the toy dinosaurs and coloring books. I also read children’s picture books to the kids who were a little less wired. While reading it was very hard to keep the kids off of my lap or touching my arms and stuff. Though harmless the kids don’t realize how that can be a very bad thing and could get a teacher in trouble so I tried to get them to do the Criss-cross apple sauce thing but it didn’t work too well. I still feel getting down on their level is by far the most effective understanding way to get the kids attention.

St. Mary's Lab 2

Today we all observed 5 year old Casey, 6 year old Shamis. Shamis was a very energetic outgoing little guy who seemed to love the attention we were giving him. Shamis did very well with the running and galloping but had a hard time with the hopping. Casey struggled with her running but did well in her hopping and galloping. Both students were actually pretty good at each of the tasks we gave them, even though they are little kids and did get excited sometimes and forget what movements they were doing. For the most part they listened very well and demonstrated exactly what we needed to see. There are many little strategies that I’m beginning to pick on some of them I like and some of them I’m not a fan of. Having a whistle is a very good signal for attention because all the kids are hyper and very loud so you need something loud to get their attention. I’m not a fan of the whistle however I’m not sure why I just don’t like it. A whistle is very affective but I will never use one the method I will use will being getting down on the kids level. It’s amazing how much better the kids are when you aren’t standing over them as soon as you get down to their level it’s like your some TV star and they want to eat out of the palm of your hand.

St. Mary's Lab 1

I observed that there were both distinct similarities and differences between the age levels of the children at St. Mary’s. The older kids somewhat looked down upon the younger kids and in one case I distinctly remember a female older student was on the younger side of rock paper scissors and immediately became upset that she was with the younger kids. The age difference was only two years but this little girl acted like her younger peers were almost diseased or something. The physical ability between the age groups was pretty substantial in some areas. Some of the younger kids still ran with the egg beater motion of running while other older students were doing the proper running mechanics. I feel that the age of the student does have a direct impact on the child’s motor behavior. I feel this way because there is a clear difference in physical ability between the age groups therefore there is something that goes on over the difference in age that allows the older children to move more efficiently. When we played tag there was certainly a difference in ability between the age groups and genders. The boys for the most part were much faster and exerted much more energy. The younger boys were more passive than the older boys and basically each age group of girls was relatively passive. The older males ran around all over the place as fast as they could and usually with proper running form. The younger males were still very active but almost seemed submissive to the older boys and followed their lead. The younger girls were more stuck on our female college students then on the game. At one point I looked over during temple tag and there were five female St. Mary’s students swarmed around one of our college students. So there was a definite differences in the students in age and gender.

No Dodgeball In Gym Is Like Peanut Butter Without Jelly!

I have been waiting to be able to write or debate about the topic of dodgeball in PE classes for a very long time. Within the past couple of years most schools across the country have banned the game of dodgeball in their PE classes. Granted this is a very heated debate and I do indeed have a very strong opinion of my own. I have been a very good athlete my entire life I have played in so many different sports it would be hard to list. I guess you could say I'm your "A" typical jock or gym class hero. I like to look at myself as a competitor that strives for the best at all times. Some people can take that either way and think that I'm thick headed and just another dumb jock, but that isn't the case at all. I can very easily see the argument people have with not wanting dodgeball in PE classes. There are obvious hazards and risks involved in the game just as there are in any other athletic activity. The whole point of the game may seem barbaric but there truly are some great benefits from the game. The game of dodgeball is extremely exerting and quick speed bursts are crucial. Hand eye coordination is key when knocking the ball away with another ball. I feel the most crucial aspect of the sport is it builds character and both physical and mental toughness.

Our society has taken to this attitude of being "soft" just turning the cheek and not taking resposibility for our actions. Now you may say what does dodgeball have to do with anything I just said, but quite honestly how doesn't it? Our society is in shambles right now because people are afraid of their shadows, maybe dodgeball should be made madatory for classes. This is a sport that builds toughness and teaches people how to handle failure and if you do get hurt you bounce back up and play the next round, just like in life; or how our lives used to be. I'm not focusing on the physical aspect of the sport because to me it is a no brainer that it is physically exerting and requires a ton of movement and agility. Maybe this is why one in every three children in the Uinted States are obese. I'm not being ignorant here I really do see how some people don't want dodgeball for fear of head injury and other possible injuries. A well taught PE class will not have these injuries occur with the watchful eye of a good teacher. I feel in general our society needs to stop worrying about their little Johnny or Mary getting hit with a dodgeball and learn to let their kids grow up and toughen up and get ready for the ups and downs life is going to be thrown their way. You have to get up when you get knocked down in dodgeball, you also have to get up when you get knocked down in life.