Wednesday, March 9, 2011

It's been a while.

Halfway there.
I have been teaching for the past two weeks, and it is exhausting, but I absolutely love it.  Everyday is a learning opportunity for myself.  I deal with so many students in a week, it is hard to get to know each one of them personally and what they like to do in PE. 

Since last week, I have started my "full-time" teaching.  I decided to do my unit on jump roping.  As a kid, in elementary school, I remember the annual jump rope competition.  We would compete as individuals to see who could jump the most consecutively.  I have always been competitive, and I wanted to win.  I jumped over 5,000 times and received my own poster in the gym.  It was the best feeling in the world to know that my peers saw that poster and knew I was a great jumper.

I wanted to give the same opportunity to my students.  They are not only competing individually, but they are also competing as a class against their peers.  Each grade level is working on getting the "golden jump rope".  They are allowed to jump during school hours and give me the numbers at the end of the day.  I have a bar graph posted outside the gym that keeps track of how many jumps each class does.

yes, I know the posters are cut unevenly.  give me a break!

Today when I left school, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.  At one of my schools, the entire school has jumped over 100,000 times.  It is unbelievable!  The kids are loving the competition, and have no idea how great of a workout they are getting!  (Jump roping is considered one of the easiest and best types of cardiovascular fitness exercises).

Tomorrow I visit my second elementary, and I will tally up how many jumps they have done.  I am so proud of my students!


On a side note, I think it is time for me to invest in a new car.  The equipment is not fitting in the bug!