Balloons served a dual purpose this week in physical education classes.  Students tapped balloons in an A B pattern while also developing their hand eye coordination.  Students discovered that balloons are a very inexpensive way to enjoy movement and hone in on their pattern skills. 

Students enjoyed an instant activity called ball frenzy.  The object of the activity is to keep your ball rolling.  If two or more balls stop, the game is over.  Mrs Stasienko's class set the PVS World Record on Friday with time of two minutes and fifty-three seconds.  We discussed various strategies and what worked best.  Students decided that a soft tap and a slow roll were the keys to success. 

Kindergarten students enjoyed an introduction to children's Yoga this week in physical education.  Students practiced various yoga moves including the tree shown here in this short video clip.  Body management is an essential component of early motor development. 

PVS students participated in our annual Jump Rope for Heart event during their regularly scheduled physical education classes. Our students learned the importance of their individual heart health. The American Heart Association also benefited through donations of change collected during our two week event. Students first partnered with a friend and counted each others' jumps switching roles every minute. This was a great way to integrate counting skills as well as elevate their heart rate. We finished the lesson with a team jumping activity. Students quickly learned how important communication can be to overall team success. Teams would count together as the rope was being turned. Students counted one, two, three......let's run. They had to run together through a turning rope without being touched by the rope. Teams that talked and held hands ran through the turning rope with ease. 

PVS Jump Rope for Heart Update.............Wow!  Our PVS Jump Rope for Heart event raised $ 690.49 for the American Heart Association.  We surpassed our goal by over one hundred and thirty dollars.  A big thanks to our wonderful students and all who contributed.  Our students earned new playground equipment through their generous donations. 

Physical Education classes are up and running at PVS! Students have become familiar with the gym and how to safely move their bodies in such a large area. Our first unit of study was the mechanics of the overhand throw. This is a gross motor skill that is essential to our program and will be practiced throughout the year. The cues for the overhand throw are: side to target, scarecrow, step, and throw. After acquiring the skill, students played a game called Oscar's trashcan. Students threw healthy treats into Oscar's can in an attempt to feed him healthy snacks instead of garbage. Fall is a great time to practice this newly acquired skill. Enjoy the cool air with a game of catch!

Striking – Kindergarten and first grades next motor skill was striking. Striking is an essential skill for many life time sports and leisure activities. Activities such as volleyball, baseball/softball, tennis and hockey require this skill. Students began with holding a ball at their non dominant side. The cues were side, ball on a tee, step, and strike. Students were reminded to strike the ball with their favorite hand or the hand they write with. This skill was extended by tossing the ball, allowing it to bounce, and then striking against the wall. Finally, the ball was tossed into the air and struck against the wall. We finished this unit with a game of strike ball. There were over fifty balls spread across the gym. The students were instructed to run around and strike the balls with their dominant hand. If a person was hit with a ball below the knee, they would have to do five jumping jacks before re-entering the activity.

Catching – Catching is a manipulative skill required for physical education activities throughout the year. Students practiced visually tracking objects coming towards them. We began with scarves because they naturally float and allow plenty of time to develop students' ability to track an object. We tossed our scarves and repeated the cues: toss, eyes, and catch. It was also mentioned in our unit to use ten instead of two. Ten fingers can catch better than two arms. After practicing this skill, we progressed to catching large balls. Students were now able to play catch with a partner. Math was integrated by counting our catches.

November is Jump Rope For Heart Month at PVS. Students will continue to learn about the importance of heart health while “Changing lives while jumping rope” If a student has spare change that they would like to donate, there will be collection bins in each neighborhood. Last year PVS students and families raised over five hundred dollars by simply bringing in spare change. We're really looking forward to this year's event.