Playing with purpose

Where has September gone?! It was such an excellent month, myself and all the students have been enjoying our new shade cover in the court.

The Toddler students began their PE classes halfway through the month and are already accustomed to playing with me twice a week. They are very busy exploring all the equipment, hoops, wobble boards, balance beams, giant shapes and balls and bean bags of all shapes and sizes.

The Casa students have been working on learning how to find their own space and use the space around them carefully while playing with others. The concept of tag games, chasing and fleeing has been introduced.  The children are learning to respect themselves and others in all forms of play and to respect and follow rules correctly.  Throughout September they worked on many locomotive, non locomotive and manipulative skills. They have been practicing balancing, hopping, throwing catching and bouncing and most importantly they have been having fun! In October, I will be continuing to reinforce the many skills they have learned throughout September.

The Kindergarten students have been revisiting the important skills I listed above but have also been learning about self-motivation and ability to encourage others. They are learning the skills needed for teamwork, fair play and sportsmanship. This month they will be exploring the world of field hockey.  They will be learning how to hold the stick correctly, move safely around others and other simple stick and ball handling activities.

During September the Elementary children thoroughly enjoyed their “Games” unit.  They learned many new games, how to organise them and how to follow the rules. In their tag games  they worked on cardiovascular fitness and endurance in a fun way. During relay games they worked on self-motivation and ability to motivate others. The games they played worked on teamwork, fair play and sportsmanship. The cooperative games emphasize participation, challenge, and fun rather than defeating someone. During these games the children worked together to achieve a common goal.

After a long summer away from teachers each class revised the expectations within PE class and worked on their ability to listen and respond to direction.  During October the children will be exploring field hockey and learning all the skills essential to playing a game.

Middle Years also completed their “Games” unit but their main focus and energy was put into their Running Club. Each week they complete a mile run on Monday, and on Wednesday, they take part in interval training. They will also be moving onto field hockey for their next unit.