The 2018-2019 school year has been one full of excitement and progress for us at Elon Park Elementary. Last year we started our initiative to create more movement for the students in our school, and this year we really came into the year with a full head of steam. I could spend hours talking about the benefits of physical activity for students, but it is something we all now know. Whether we choose to do something about it is where the importance now lies.
This is what we have done so far to address this ideal.
This is what we have done so far to address this ideal.
EXERCISING EAGLES MOVEMENT LAB
ELON PARK LIFETIME FITNESS CORNER
The thought process behind our Elon Park Fitness Center was to provide an outlet for those students doing a great job in the classroom. Those who may get there work done a little early, or maybe just need a quick movement break during the day to get those classroom jitters out.
The fitness center hours are posted on the website for the teachers, but the center is open mainly during school hours when we have our P.E. classes going on in the gym. It is open to all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. Each teacher has two fitness passes that they can use in their classrooms however they choose. The students come down to the gym, sign in on the fitness center sheet (like a real fitness center), sign their time in and are allowed 15 minutes before they have to sign their time out.
We did a fitness center training with all of the students at the beginning of the year showing them a variety of different activities they could do when they come down to the gym. We also have our Wall of Fame challenge wall, which lets the students have a goal to work towards while they are there. The Wall of Fame changes every month. We have so far had fitness challenges, jump rope challenges, gymnastics challenges, and are going to have agility and speed challenges next month.
In addition to all of the provided equipment, we have added a Nintendo Wii with fitness and movement themed games only, and a variety of different workout programs. Or the final option, and arguably the best, is the students can join in and play with the class in the gym with whatever they are doing.
The fitness center is also open to our teachers before school, on breaks, and after school.
Questions I have had in the past???
1.) Do the students that come in during class distract the P.E. students?
- No. The students are talked to at the beginning of the year about fitness pass expectations. They know if they are a distraction they will get a warning with their teacher. After 3 warnings they are no longer allowed to come back and use the fitness center.
2.) If you are giving instructions to a class what do the students who come in to use the fitness center do?
- They know that when they come in if instructions are being given they can either sit down with the class that is in the gym or sign in at the fitness center desk and quietly go in to the fitness corner to work out.
3.) Is it a distraction for the students who have class?
- This was initially the biggest concern when creating the fitness corner. It has been a pleasant surprise that after the first few times it happens the students that are in the classes become used to it, and the students using the fitness passes are very respectful of the classes in the gym.
4.) Have teacher's abused this system?
- For the most part, no. The teacher's love having another means of rewarding the students for good work in their rooms. This is also a great resource for them during indoor recess days. The only issue I have run into a handful of times is teachers sending kids having trouble in the classroom right before they send them, as a means to get them out of the room. I remind the teachers this is for sending kids doing the right thing, in the classroom and is to be used as a reward.
The fitness center hours are posted on the website for the teachers, but the center is open mainly during school hours when we have our P.E. classes going on in the gym. It is open to all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. Each teacher has two fitness passes that they can use in their classrooms however they choose. The students come down to the gym, sign in on the fitness center sheet (like a real fitness center), sign their time in and are allowed 15 minutes before they have to sign their time out.
We did a fitness center training with all of the students at the beginning of the year showing them a variety of different activities they could do when they come down to the gym. We also have our Wall of Fame challenge wall, which lets the students have a goal to work towards while they are there. The Wall of Fame changes every month. We have so far had fitness challenges, jump rope challenges, gymnastics challenges, and are going to have agility and speed challenges next month.
In addition to all of the provided equipment, we have added a Nintendo Wii with fitness and movement themed games only, and a variety of different workout programs. Or the final option, and arguably the best, is the students can join in and play with the class in the gym with whatever they are doing.
The fitness center is also open to our teachers before school, on breaks, and after school.
Questions I have had in the past???
1.) Do the students that come in during class distract the P.E. students?
- No. The students are talked to at the beginning of the year about fitness pass expectations. They know if they are a distraction they will get a warning with their teacher. After 3 warnings they are no longer allowed to come back and use the fitness center.
2.) If you are giving instructions to a class what do the students who come in to use the fitness center do?
- They know that when they come in if instructions are being given they can either sit down with the class that is in the gym or sign in at the fitness center desk and quietly go in to the fitness corner to work out.
3.) Is it a distraction for the students who have class?
- This was initially the biggest concern when creating the fitness corner. It has been a pleasant surprise that after the first few times it happens the students that are in the classes become used to it, and the students using the fitness passes are very respectful of the classes in the gym.
4.) Have teacher's abused this system?
- For the most part, no. The teacher's love having another means of rewarding the students for good work in their rooms. This is also a great resource for them during indoor recess days. The only issue I have run into a handful of times is teachers sending kids having trouble in the classroom right before they send them, as a means to get them out of the room. I remind the teachers this is for sending kids doing the right thing, in the classroom and is to be used as a reward.
ACTIVE HALLWAYS
What started out as just a few easy designs in our school has evolved into an elaborate set of hallway challenges in two different locations in our school. Our active hallways are in hallways not next to classrooms. They are the adjoining hallways which lead to the middle of the school. Which means they are located in high traffic areas, but not near any grade level classes.
Phase 1 of the active hallways was using floor marking tape to make movement areas for the kids to perform different skills while walking through this area of the hallway.
Phase 2 had us using FloorMarX Floor Markers to create even more patterns and designs in each of our active hallway areas. This gave us the options to use words, math equations, etc. The possibilities where endless. https://floormarx.com/
Phase 3 coming in 2019-2020 school year is using floor decals. We ordered two different sets of floor decals that we are going to put down on the floors in the summer before our custodians wax. They will then wax over these areas and it should help us keep the decals for 5+ years. For the decals we are making some of our own using vinyl printers a number of the teachers at the school have with the program Silhouette, and the rest we ordered from Jump2Math. A teacher designed and teacher run business out of Canada. https://jump2math.ca/math-shop/
Phase 1 of the active hallways was using floor marking tape to make movement areas for the kids to perform different skills while walking through this area of the hallway.
Phase 2 had us using FloorMarX Floor Markers to create even more patterns and designs in each of our active hallway areas. This gave us the options to use words, math equations, etc. The possibilities where endless. https://floormarx.com/
Phase 3 coming in 2019-2020 school year is using floor decals. We ordered two different sets of floor decals that we are going to put down on the floors in the summer before our custodians wax. They will then wax over these areas and it should help us keep the decals for 5+ years. For the decals we are making some of our own using vinyl printers a number of the teachers at the school have with the program Silhouette, and the rest we ordered from Jump2Math. A teacher designed and teacher run business out of Canada. https://jump2math.ca/math-shop/
PAINT THE PLAYRGROUND LEGACY PROJECT
This year while working with our 5th grade students we devised a plan to pair with their legacy project fundraiser to go along with our movement themed vision our school is taking. We came up with plan to paint our bus lot and blacktop areas with movement themed games and learning tools to help our students not only learn, but move during their recess periods. The pictures provided below are just examples of things we are planning on undertaking to paint this year for the paint the playground night.
We have reached out to a number of different community organizations to hop on board with this project and have had an overwhelming response. Elevation Church is helping provide volunteers, Atrium Health has volunteered to buy the stencils (which will be come available at the end of this year to any school who would like to do the same, you would just need to contact me), and we are using Dyco Instacourt Paint after having contacted the regional sales manager (more information and contact info can be provided if needed).
We have reached out to a number of different community organizations to hop on board with this project and have had an overwhelming response. Elevation Church is helping provide volunteers, Atrium Health has volunteered to buy the stencils (which will be come available at the end of this year to any school who would like to do the same, you would just need to contact me), and we are using Dyco Instacourt Paint after having contacted the regional sales manager (more information and contact info can be provided if needed).
KINESTHETIC CLASSROOMS
I have provided two active classroom teacher training PDs, with all of our teachers during our half day plannings this year. Our first session was focused on ways the teachers could incorporate movement into their lessons which they may not have thought of before. This included material refreshers which the teachers were taught from our very own CMSHPE leaders (Kim, Keith and Andrew) on a Teacher Workday last year, and the rest of the PD was new movement lesson ideas they may not have been introduced to before.
The other session was classroom games and brain boosters the teachers could do throughout the day. This PD was less educational based and more movement based activities that could work in a classroom. This included recess games, classroom games, flexible seating ideas, and brain boosters. All these games and ideas will be converted into youtube videos in the next few months to be provided for all teachers on my Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfSf5bDUrCWrzBD4q5CNC4g?view_as=subscriber)
The other session was classroom games and brain boosters the teachers could do throughout the day. This PD was less educational based and more movement based activities that could work in a classroom. This included recess games, classroom games, flexible seating ideas, and brain boosters. All these games and ideas will be converted into youtube videos in the next few months to be provided for all teachers on my Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfSf5bDUrCWrzBD4q5CNC4g?view_as=subscriber)
