Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lab 2 Friendship

Today was the first day of teaching at St. Mary's. I think for my first time and everyone else it went well. I found it to be a little less intimidating teaching to the kids instead of my peers. I definitely feel more comfortable going into the next lab. I learned from myself and while observing my peers. I know now that it is very important to always know more than one game in case the first doesn't work out. You have to be on your feet at all times!

Also, we observed two students during the opening game. The skills we were observing were, galloping, hopping, and running. To see my assessment sheet click here!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

To dodge ball or not to dodge ball?

Should dodge ball be allowed in physical education class? It is a very opinionated topic with many different view points.
I believe dodge ball should be allowed in a physical education class. Dodge ball is a very good game to play when learning about motor skills. Dodge ball includes running, throwing, and dodging. People come up with the point that it is a very dangerous game, and children shouldn't be used as targets. If you think about it every sport is dangerous. Football, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, are all very physical games. All of these games involve either tackling, or a ball flying around the field. I don't see dodge ball as a sport that shouldn't played in school.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Fundamental Skills Development

Fundamental skills development and assessment is very important to our profession and the help of our students. Fundamental skills are a set series of basic movements involving a mixture of different body parts. There are three specific skills; stability, loco motor, and manipulative movements.

Stability- Stability is the most important aspect for all loco motor and manipulative skills. This is because all of these skills involve being stable. An example of stability movement is where the body remains in place but moves around on a horizontal or vertical axis. An example of a stability skill would be getting out of the way of an oncoming person.

Loco motor- Loco motor movement skill is a skill in which the body is moved in a horizontal or vertical direction. A few examples of this skill would be; running, jumping, and skipping. Some of these skills can be used in certain sports.



Manipulative movements- Manipulative movements can be either fine motor manipulation or gross motor manipulation. Fine motor skills are activities where one would handle an object. This requires accuracy and precision. A good example of this would be playing darts. Gross motor skills, which are focused on more by physical educators, are such as playing soccer or throwing a ball. Gross motor skills involved giving force to objects, or receiving force from an object.


All of these skills are extremely important to teach to make sure students stay healthy! Regardless if a student wants to play an organized sport or play with their friends, they will need to develop the fundamental skills.


NASPE

Get healthy!

St. Mary's Motor Development Lab 1

Had a great time at St. Mary's. Can't want to go back!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

St. Mary's

I was unsure about what to expect going to St. Mary's for the first time. Being able to observe at first, then being able to jump in the activities made it easier to see how an average day goes. The children at St. Mary's seemed so excited for us to be there. This made me feel welcomed, and excited to interact with the kids. I learned that it is extremely important to make sure you are on the child's level when speaking to them. This is so they don't feel intimidated by you. Also, learning how to just go along with their own rules while playing with them is key.

I had a great time and am looking forward to going back again!