Fitness, Fun and Games
The children have settled well into the new school year. In P.E., we start each September with a two-week Games Unit for children at all levels. The children play a wide variety of tag, cooperative, team and relay games in which they relearn or build skills such as communication, teamwork and space awareness, having a lot of fun in the process.
We have since moved on to our Invasion Games Unit: football, tag rugby, field hockey, basketball and netball. The children in Kindergarten to Grade 6 will experience these sports in an age-appropriate way, using fun games to work on the skills needed for these sports, develop an understanding of how the game is played, and transfer those skills into a game setting. We are all hoping that inter-sports events will resume later in the year, and that we will have our Inter-school Tag Rugby Tournament and Basketball Rally to look forward to.
The Toddler and Casa students have been working on essential skills, such as listening, getting proficient at lining up, and self-management, as well as space awareness games, balance and coordination activities. Each P.E. class also includes fun games which work on locomotor and non-locomotor movements, and the children work on a wide range of manipulative skills using a range of equipment.
Clubs have been a huge hit this first term, and has us squeezing in new participants weekly! The children mastered a three-tier pyramid in Sports Acro Club, and Track Club participants have been developing speed and agility by doing a range of fun circuits. I am seeing the children connecting their skills in basketball and netball, and they are now able to play and understand game concepts. Tag rugby is always a hit with the children and the upcoming tournament is causing quite a buzz. Seeing how the children interact during clubs, and observing the older children help develop the younger players are always highlights of my day, and show that their Montessori spirit still shines strong even in sport.
It has been wonderful to return to MBTS and the excitement the children have for developing their love of sports and fitness. Please e-mail me at ms.karen@mbts.ky if you have any P.E. curriculum or Club questions; I always love hearing from the parents to see how best we can help instill and grow the passion for health and fitness in our MBTS children.