These shoes were made for walking....

         Say hello to my shoes.  These shoes (more importantly the feet inside them) haven taken me on quite the journey today in my PE world.  I always say I am trying to make a difference in the life's of my students.  Today, each and every class (10 down, 2 more to go) has walked to our check point (if it's ever decided our building is not a safe place to be).   This "point" is about 9/10 of a mile from our building round trip.  One block is uphill....(I know, Kansas doesn't have "hills" well, WE DO)!  Anyway, I'll let you do the math, but you get my point.  I've walked ALOT today.  Don't get me wrong, no complaining (although 65 degrees would have made it a bit better) I have enjoyed, and needed the extra exercise!  One of the trips home, I was thinking about the privilege I have of being in charge of these kids for 25 minutes each day.  What an amazing chance I have to make a difference.  What a luck lady I am! Not only was I blessed with two AMAZING children that call me mom, I also have 400 (ish) that are mine for a little part of each school day!  Not going to lie, my feet are currently burning and swollen, and TIRED! :)

     I have been meaning to talk about a quick warm up that is so very effective, and so VERY simple.  I got this from a fellow PE teacher aebout 4 years ago.  I adapted it to make it my own!  It's called 5 Touchs.  So, the students move around the track, using whatever motor skill you choose.  You play music, when the music stops, they freeze!  You then call out an grade level appropriate math problem (classroom teachers LOVE it when you bring in their curriculum).  The students in turn shout out the answer.  Whatever number them get (let's say 20/2=10) so then you pick a body part to touch on different places in the gym.  I have 8 teams of 6 numbers painted on my gym floor that we call our "homebases."  My students know, that's their touch points.  I may say "10 Elbows," so they have to bend down and touch their elbow on 10 different numbers.  When they are finished they walk on the track until the music starts again, then we repeat, different motor skill, different math problem, different body part!  

   I am off to finish my walking journey today!  Go make a difference, and go to Twitter, find your #PLN! 

Physical Literacy

Hello!
       As you may or may not have known SHAPE America  (formally known as AAPHERD) released National Standards recently.  In these standards you see the words "Physical Literacy."  While attending the 2014 AAPHERD Convention in St. Louis (All physical education teachers should aim to attend a National Convention....truly an AWESOME, eye opening experience), I started to make sense of and understand a little more about Physical Literacy. 
   Today, we were working on our Motor Skills!  I like to start the year with this, making sure that students have the basic motor skills we need to do our activities.  I found myself really thinking hard about physical literacy.  One of my favorite follows on twitter +Amanda Stanec (MoveLiveLearn) recently started a chat on Twitter under #BeWellTeacher.  While following along (you should too) I became really interested in the idea that as teachers (both PHYSED and regular) we have to set good examples for our students.  We all aim to help create healthy students, so we must make sure we are healthy teachers leading the way!  I started to think, "Am I physically literate?"  After getting approval from my principle, I decided to make a little board in the lounge all about physical literacy! 

 

Oh, and I love technology...notice the QR Code!  My favorite QR code maker? Qrafter Pro

 

Have a fantastic day!  Aim to make a difference, and aim to not only be on Twitter, but be active!  Looking for a place to start?  On Twitter, search #PHYSED and #PEGEEK!

 

Friday!

     The first week of school is almost over.  Although I only taught three of those days, it seems like it's been a long week!  Long, but exciting none the less!
    Today as I sit down to type this, I thought about how I loved twitter so much, and how it has sparked so many idea's for me.  Then I thought, you silly girl, (I may have said that in a little bit different way) you haven't even given your twitter handle?!  Geesh.  It's @baugha, please go follow me if you are not already! :)
   Yesterday I used one of those activities I got from good ole twitter, sort of.  I found the creator on twitter. If your not following @capnPetesPE you should be, he created the cards I am about to tell you about.  I purchased alphabet exercise cards from Teachers Pay Teachers (you need to know all about that too...type in Teachers Pay Teachers in google or whichever search engine you prefer).  Here is a picture of these awesome cards!

 

      Okay, so now insert the #pegeek that I am.  I quickly realized when planning, that my 2nd day of school kindergartners (and even first graders) were not going to have the slightest clue how to make their way around the gym and find these cards on the walls or cones.  Easy fix, I'll take pictures of each card on my ipad, set up the projector and use the air server to project them on the wall!  I did just that and it was awesome!  My scared to death of school kinder's had fun!  And guess what? They were exercising! I simply scrolled through and found a letter, set a timer for 20 seconds and we did the exercises from the comfort of our home bases!  In between I had them jog in place or do a yoga pose for 30 seconds.  They loved it.  So did I!  I tied in a little bit of their alphabet work by having them guess what letter came next, what letter was before, etc.  For my first graders, I asked them to tell me what letter was 3 behind W (example).  Worked well with them too. 

      I like it when I can use the same equipment/lesson plans for all grades, so I adapted this to my 2nd-5th graders as well.  I first scattered around the cards on the outer part of my gym.   I was able to sneak in technology by using a quick and easy timer app (Stopwatch+).  The students did a given motor skill on the track area for 30 seconds, then stopped at the nearest card and did the exercise for 30 seconds.  I ran the clock from my ipad as I wondered around the gym checking in on the action.  

They were sweating and working hard!  And learning too.  We talked about how many words they could come up with that started with the given letter! In the future (when their ipads are ready) I would have used an app called Educreations and had them quickly write down the words, then send them to be using an app called Showbie!

   Our students ipads are still being set up for the year.  Hurry up!  I have a few apps I am dying to try! One is Lazy Monster, a 7 minute exercise app.  Simple exercises done by a monster of course.  Students will follow along! Aurasma is another app I am uber excited about!  Ever heard of augmented reality?  It's like QR codes on another level!  I promise a post all about it in the future! 

   Okay, that was a techy post!  Anyway, I want to share my awesome warm up from today, it's an oldie, but certainly a goodie!  Next post, this #physed teacher has a group of 27 kindergartners on their third day of school about to arrive in my gym! Yikes!!

 

Make a difference, have a good weekend, and of course GET A TWITTER!  (And follow me)!

 

ME!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Day of School and all the crazy that comes with it!

Okay, so truthfully I still have two classes left in my first day of school, but I had a small break and decided to blog a little!  First day: Awesome so far!  Kids have been enthusiastic, it's been great! 

Things I have learned (or been reminded of today):
1.  It's okay to over plan...yesterday I talked about an instant activity at the end of the class periods....um, well that has happened twice?  Maybe?  Otherwise there hasn't been enough minutes on a clock.
2.  Little kids are scared the first day!
3.  Time out on the first day? (Haven't had to yet, but man it's been close).
4.  Kindergartners do not know how to tie their shoes.
5.  Third graders like to stop and untie their shoes and retie them to waste time from moving. Boo.
6. I love my job.

I have been reminded today of why this sign jumped off of my pinterest search (and into my gym) this summer!

 

One of the classes who got to enjoy the instant activity!  If you do not have a supply of plastic bags, you are missing out on a super simple but effective piece of equipment!

 

Go make a difference, and go make a Twitter!

#physed #youwillnotregretit

Welcome to my new (PE) world!

    Hello!  As you may have already read, I am a elementary physical education teacher in SW Kansas.  My school population is around 400-410 students grades K-5.  I am the luckiest teacher in building (along with the music teacher) because I see each and every one of our smiling (usually) students each and every day!

    I decided it's a new school year, why not do something else new in my life and start a blog.   "New" is a theme for me, did I mention we JUST moved approximately 48 hours ago...okay I am exaggerating, it was almost two weeks ago, but you understand the "new" theme.

   I LOVE my job!  LOVE it.  God knew exactly what he was doing 7 years ago when he paved the road to a career change for me.  My first degree/career was in Sports/Recreation Management.  I didn't go the traditional quit your job and go back to school route.  Instead, I entered a alternative education program (FHSU Transition to Teaching...amazing program) so there was no practicum or student teaching, I went strait to the gym and started teaching!  I still remember my first week as a  PE teacher.  OVERWHELMED!!!  Looking back though, I wouldn't change a thing!

   Fast forward to today, it's the day before WE START SCHOOL!  I am seriously as excited as the kids, I know it!  I am lucky enough to teach in a 1:1 ipad school.  In addition, I am lucky enough to have been the PE teacher from our district to attend Apple Vanguard training a couple of years ago. You may call me a #pegeek.  I am, and I love it!  Not just the ipad part, I love ALL of PE!  I am very passionate about physical education and the benefit it has on our students. 

   What can you expect from this blog?  Providing live doesn't throw any MAJOR curve balls my way, I hope to keep this going on a very regular basis.  I want to share my ideas (and hopefully GET idea's from others).  Most definitely you should expect a whole lotta (not a word, I know) techy PE stuff.  I am preparing to do a presentation at our #KAHPERD convention in October, on you guessed it...ipads in PE!   (more about the hashtags later).

    So what are my plans for day one?  We are starting with "Walking and Talking (borrowed idea from a fellow PE teacher on Twitter...we'll come back to twitter soon, I promise).  This will allow the kids to walk around the gym and talk!  It's that simple.  Then we will find our home bases, talk about the rules, and of course the procedures (and practice all of the above).  Then we will end our 25 minutes class with a quick instant activity to make sure our heart rates are up!

    Quick tidbit on twitter.  If you are not on twitter and you are a PE teacher, YOU ARE MISSING OUT!  Seriously, stop what you are doing and set up a twitter account now!  You will be amazed with the networking, collaborating, and sharing you will find.  There are so many #PHYSED teachers on twitter.  It's a must for all educators (but of course, my favorite are PE teachers)!

Okay, so you are suppose to have some pictures on a blog, right?  Here are some I found to share!

 

 

My ipad screen.  You see me (the only female) along with my two amazing boys, and my equally amazing husband (who really doesn't have a purple app face).

 

Our last day of school field day.  Love the action in this shot.  Loved that his was the day school ended last year.  Loved my summer.  Love that a new year is upon us. 

A couple shots of my gym!  I'm so ready to make a difference.  Let's get the bodies moving, the brains working, and the fun started!

Go make a difference, go move, go live, go learn.....go set up a twitter account!
AB