Lab #3

Today was our classes third lab at St. Mary's school. We got to work with the Pre-K students, and boy were they filled with energy. We started lab by observing students playing games that went over the movement skills such as the slide, horizontal jump, and the leap. From there, my group and I went outside to play with the students on the playground. They really have a thing for tag and hide and go seek, let me tell ya. The students were either playing with the Cortland students, or among themselves. As we were outside with the kids, I noticed one child who wasn't interacting with the other students, and was off to the side by himself. I asked what was wrong and he began to tell me how his father had surgery on his leg, which was why he was upset. I then began to comfort him letting him know that the doctor took care of his father, and he will be fine but just needs rest. Once I saw he understood, I tried to motivate him to participate in some of the activities that were taking place outside, but he is one of the kids that like to do their own thing. Realizing this, I decided to challenge him to go down the slide, and give me a high five at the bottom. This put the biggest smile on his face, as he would go down, give me a high five, then run back up and keep doing it. It made me feel really happy that I could have an effect on cheering him up and letting him know his father would be alright. After outside time was done, Devin and I read books to the students, and they were all really into the books we had for them. After reading, we went into the gym where we had several games for them to further there movement skills in the horizontal jump, leap, and slide.

Lab #3 Observations

Lab #2

Today was our classes third day at St. Mary's, and was our second lab. We got to observe two St. Mary's students, and record our observations of certain skills. The skills we were observing today was running, galloping, and hopping. It was interesting to see exactly how each student performed each skill by closely watching them during the games. All of the kids today were very energetic, and they all wanted to do their own thing, but once we finally got them all together, I'm pretty sure they enjoyed the games we had prepare for them. I'd say that all the Cortland students, and their groups did a really good job today, and most of us looked like we've done this before. Everyone walked into St. Mary's with energy, and confidence that was needed to run a successful day at the school.

Lab #2 Observations

Lab #1.

Observations and Responses.

Chapter #3 Summary.

                Chapter three begins with the importance of developing movement skills. One who would be considered a skillful mover, would be an individual who moves with control, efficiency, and coordination in tasks such as performance of fundamental or specialized movements. Failure to develop and refine movement skills in children during preschool and elementary school years often leads children to frustration and even failure. For example, bad habits can be formed by improper learning. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they cannot learn these skills later in life, it’s just easier to develop these skills during childhood.

                In this chapter, the different categories of movement are explained. The three categories of movement include stability, locomotion and manipulation. Stability movement skills are important because they are the foundation for the other two skills. They have a strong emphasis on maintaining equilibrium and balance during a movement task. One must maintain their equilibrium against the force of gravity. Locomotor movement skills include activities like running and skipping, in which the body is transported in a horizontal or vertical direction, going from one point to another. The final category of movement is manipulative movement. This category deals with either gross motor, or fine motor movement skills. Activities that deal with gross motor movements include throwing, catching, kicking, and many more. These movements are considered gross motor manipulation because it involves giving force to objects, or receiving force from objects. Fine motor manipulation deals with object – handling activities that stress motor control, precision and accuracy of movements. Some of these activities can include the tying of ones shoes, target archery, playing the violin, playing darts, and many more.

                There are many environmental factors that influence movement skills that are explained in this chapter. These include opportunity for practice, importance of encouragement, quality and clarity of instructions, and an individual’s environmental setting. Also, in this chapter it goes over the different levels of movement skill learning, and different stages a child comes across during development.

Chapter #2 Summary.

Chapter two goes into detail how individual variation should be considered in physical education. There are hereditary and environmental factors that influence variety among children, which also influences variety in performance, progression and development. Some of these factors include nutrition, physical activity, illness, and lifestyle.

Since early childhood development is so important, play is the primary means in which children understand and grasp true realizations of their bodies, and their moving capabilities. Play has an important role in cognitive and affective growth in young children while developing essential motor skills. Using movement as a way of learning and progressing a child’s capabilities, is easier than classroom tactics, because it is hands-on. This hands-on technique makes the children active participants, which holds onto their attention more effectively.

Chapter #1 Summary.

Chapter one begins with how the National Standards for Physical Education was adopted by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, also known as NASPE. This is an organization that stresses the need for quality physical education, and for it to be offered daily.  Then the chapter goes into detail of the seven content standards for physical education, these are National Standards. A few of these standards require a physically educated person to: applies movement concepts and principles to the learning development of motor skills, and another is that they demonstrate responsible personal and social behavior in a physical activity setting.

                Chapter one stresses that the goal of physical education is to teach children how to move. From there, this movement can positively influence both cognitive and affective development. Learning through movement has many advantages, such as that it holds a child’s attention much stronger since it is hands on active participation. Most children would much rather learn through play, than through a class room. Another advantage of learning through movement is that it helps promote an active way of life, which in turn promotes a healthier lifestyle as well. Movement is a key method in enhancing one’s self esteem, and it encourages positive socialization, along with clarifying values and morals. Physical Education also has effect on motor (the body), cognitive (the mind/brain), and affective (emotional) development and growth for the better.

Summer 2011

Never in my life, have I ever actually looked forward to go to school, until this fall. Never, have I ever, actually wanted summer to be over and for school to start back up again. But this fall isn't like any other one, it's the one that finally, after two years of hard work and determination, I was able to be a student here at Cortland. It's my new home, and I have yet to find anything that I do not like about this school, or even merely a complaint about. I never thought I would ever get into a school with a reputation like Cortland. For two years, i dealt with excessive self doubt, but never stopped working hard. I will never forget the day i received my letter stating that i got accepted. It really goes to show, that if you want something for your life, it takes hard work and determination. It's nice to finally feel proud of myself for once.