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Lab #6

Last week was our last lab at St. Mary's school. All of the children were pretty excited that Christmas is approaching. While my group and I were outside, I would try and talk to any of the students who weren't participating in any of the games their fellow classmates were playing. Most of these children who were by themselves were very shy and didn't seem like they wanted to do much talking. But once I brought up Christmas, and what presents they were asking Santa for, they became excited and talkative.

The experience I gained through working at St. Mary's is definitely an eye opener to my major of Physical Education. It wasn't the typical lab, where you sit through a boring lecture and do nothing but answer questions. These labs were very hands-on so to speak, and they force you to be involved to a great extent. Working with the students at St. Mary's has made me even more excited to get into my career as a Physical Educator. At first, I was a little bit shy, but with help from Prof. Yang and his T.A's, I was able to open up and feel comfortable working with kids in a school setting. Dealing with kids isn't the easiest task, but after finishing 201, I feel like I know the correct way to work with children. This was a very interesting class and I learned a lot from it, and I feel that much more confident in my pursuit for a degree in Physical Education.

Lab #5

Lab number five today, focused on kicking and dribbling. The kids seemed a little bit tired today, but I was clearly wrong once we started to play the game I introduced. They seemed to really enjoy it too. During lab today, different levels of the specific motor skills could be observed. Some students were kicking and dribbling like it was very easy to them, and there were some other students who were having trouble. It was nice to see that some of the kids who were having trouble, would actually stop and listen to one of the Cortland students while they help them and give them pointers on how to do it better. I was pretty happy to see that they wanted to better themselves in that certain skill, whether it was dribbling or kicking.

Lab #5 Observations

Lab #4 Happy Halloween !

Oh boy, the kids were very energetic during lab. You can just tell how excited they were since it was Halloween, especially with some of the Cortland students dressed up in costumes. We started lab by observing two St. Mary's students to asses their overhand throwing skills, and their catching skills. For the most part, the two students were fifty-fifty with the overhand throw. Both students were able to show a downward arc of the throwing arm which initiates the windup, and they were able to follow through beyond the release diagonally across the body toward the side opposite of the throwing arm. But the students did have trouble with the rotating of the hip and shoulder to a point where their non-dominant side faces an imaginary target. They also had difficulty transferring their weight by stepping with the foot opposite their throwing arm. When it came to catching, they only really extended their arms out in order to prepare for contact with the ball being thrown. They both ignored bending their elbows to absorb the force of the ball being thrown though. By the end of lab, all the children just wanted to go home and go trick or treating, and I don't blame them !

Lab #4 Observations

Crop Hunger Walk

Today was the 2011 Crop Hunger Walk, which is a fundraising event to provide money to help end hunger around the world. There were many Cortland students who attended, and also many people who live within the community. Luckily is was very nice out today, it was perfect for the walk. I believe over $4,000 was raised through donations. It's really amazing to see how people can come together for a common cause and really make an impact on the community around them, or even a community on the other side of the world.

Crop Hunger Walk's Website

The Jumping Jack & Jills "I Get Knocked Down, But Get Up Again !"

Video made in PED 201 class.

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