Lab day 2

Today we learned what games we were going to play with the kids at St. Mary's with just our lab class, no kids.  What helped me out a lot was actually teaching the activity in front of my peers as if they were little kids.  It allowed me to get more comfortable with the activity I was explaining and allowed me to be familiar with it when I will actually be explaining it.  Today's lab taught me to be myself, teach like myself and be comfortable with the way i teach and who I am.

Lab day 1

The first day of lab at St. Mary's was pretty crazy.  Kids were all over the place and it was very hard to get and keep their attention.  My group was with the first and second graders.  We played tag in many different versions in the gym, i even spent time with some of the kids who did not want to participate in the class activities.  During the cafeteria time many of the kids were actually very good at the games they played.  One girl I was playing checkers with knew how to play with every correct rule, a lot younger than I ever learned.  All in all i thought for the first lab it was very successfull.  I learned a lot of the kids names, got to interact with them and learned what they liked, didnt like and what they were capable of.

Dodgeball in Physical Education class

Dodgeball, an activity that has been argued upon for quite some time now in the school systems.   Yes, dodgeball does have its negatives to the game with the human targets but it also has a ton of positives if the game can be played the right way.  Dodgeball is a game of agility, awareness, teamwork and althleticism.  In dodgeball you need to be aware of your surroundings at all times, who's around you, where the balls are and who is throwing the balls from the opponents side. It helps you work on your throwing and catching as well as your footwork on how to dodge a ball.  It teaches kids to always be on their toes during an activity and is a great workout for kids in highschool, which many kids in highschool need a good workout. Also dodgeball teaches kids teamwork, maybe helping a teammate catch a ball, or teach a teammate how to throw the ball more effectively to get someone out.  If the school feels that dodgeball is a risky activity, then there is plenty of variations of the game.  You can use a bowling pin as a target for the students to knock down to win the game, while also keeping the human targets.  This takes away the motivation to hit the human target and puts the motivation into hitting the bowling pin. Also make sure that there is always a chance for the students who are out to get back into the game.  This makes the game more enjoyable for every student and allows the game to last longer.  Dodgeball I think is a great game for students in physical education class because it works on many of the things needed in order to get a daily dose of physical activity.