A day in the life...Elementary PE

I had all my morning bags packed; seminary stuff, scriptures, computer, workout clothes just in case I didn't sub, and a bag with water, almonds, lunch money and book (Planning period) just in case I did. After seminary I discovered that I was to have another new life experience; elementary PE. That sounded kind of fun, I love PE. Of course my next thought was, "What am I supposed to wear? I was already wearing a carefully chosen comfortable dress and comfortable ballet flats for a day in the classroom. I couldn't wear my real workout clothes. No one should have to see those. Ask my family and the people who work at the grocery store. I ran home scanning the athletic wear and found some nice pants in my husband's pile (He loves to shop at Dick's.) I grabbed my BYU hoodie (also my husband's) and ran out the door.

I walked into the gym and introduced myself to the other PE coach. He told me about his daughter's volleyball, asked if I had watched the Superbowl, (I hadn't) confessed that he hadn't either and then said, "I have those pants." "Yeah, they're my husbands." It's a good thing I'm old or that would have been awkward. I just take it as a sign that I wore the right clothes.

Then I started learning about being a PE teacher. There are a lot of teaching styles out there and this coach used some excellent skills.  He used a gentle friendly voice but had high expectations. He gave frequent cues, praised and instructed rather than lectured and punished.  He had consequences for choices, but he conveyed a trust in the kids that they would use good strategies, be honest, use good sportsmanship, follow directions and as a result have fun. He modeled 3 classes for me and then it was my turn. I tried to use what I had learned, but it was harder than I thought.  I still sounded like a mom who was slightly exasperated.  It takes time to unlearn.

A couple of the genius techniques he used were 1. Rewarding good behavior with an opportunity to help. "I'm looking for students who have been listening, being good sports, etc. like squad 3, will you pick up the balls and put them in the yellow bins?" 2. Having cue words like "Red," That means stop, hold your balls, and sit down." 3.Solving disagreements with "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot." 4. Taking time to talk about strategy, (students share- he shares) sportsmanship, "Do we get mad if we lose? Do we brag if we win?" and honesty. And his games were fun.

Of course, where there are kids, there are humorous situations. We played a game where defenders were needed to protect the pigs from being trapped (knocked over by balls). In PE there is always great music playing. The valiant defenders took their positions, but one girl just couldn't resist the beat. She was dancing away. She had great moves and she managed to keep her pig from being trapped. I was impressed. On the other side of the gym there were 2 girls who had picked up the pigs that had been knocked down and were playing with them like Barbies. I guess we all have different levels of interest in sports.

The younger the students, the harder it is for them to understand the rules.  I was in charge of the 1st grade class. I explained the rules and then sent them out to play the game, They were running here and there and across the gym. The rules said, "Go right one hoop if you win the dice throw, and go left 1 hoop if you lose. I reminded them to just move one hoop. There was no change. Oh well, it's PE right? The more moving the better. My first graders also earned surprisingly more points than the other classes. They had kept their own scores. I'm sure it's just because they were running so much faster.

The last class of the day was Kindergarten. There was a lot of "Please don't touch the net. Don't touch the net, Please don't touch the net." One little girl needed to touch the net so bad she walked under it and wrapped it around her face. I went to tell her not to touch the net and found that she had gotten stuck. Her ponytail was stuck in one place, her bracelet in the other. Poor little thing. I wonder if she'll still want to touch the net.

One other new experience I had was cafeteria duty. Lets just say I don't view the elementary lunchroom as a healthy place.  Is it safe to be in a place that loud for 30 minutes? Just asking.

And then I went home, thankful for another chance to learn.