Keeping Kids in Motion
Building a community where fitness and play are the foundation for all families.
Shopping Carts for PE? – FREE storage and STURDY transportation for your equipment!
I haven’t always had an obsession with shopping carts.
I mean, there was definitely a time when I didn’t…
…purposely cruise around the back of my local Target to see if the recently replaced carts were still stacked behind the building waiting to be recycled or
…stop to examine an abandoned cart on the side of the road to check its integrity and wonder if it would fit in the back of my SUV or
…marvel as I pushed a Costco cart – admiring not only its dimensions but how gracefully and quietly it moved across the floor or
…exhaust my family by constantly explaining the wheel to cart ratio or other riveting features as we push through Trader Joe’s or Home Depot.
Why the obsession?
I began working at my current school in Atlanta back in 2007. Unlike my previous schools where I taught in the “cafegymatorium”, this one had a spacious, beautiful gymnasium and a breathtaking playground. The only minor issue was logistics. The gymnasium was located at one end of the school and the playground on the other. Not many people would care about this commute unless you are a PE teacher. Seeing as we are a traveling classroom, we need to move our equipment from the gym to the field on many occasions.
We had the standard blue ball cages with casters to roll to and from the field. However, the terrain was simply too rugged for the cages, which are intended for indoor use only. In no time the wheels would bend or completely fall off.
BTW quick hack – If ball cage wheels do stop working, remove them completely and attach scooter boards to the bottom of the cages – see below.
We DID have one smaller, yet extremely durable 4-wheeled beast that was our go-to mode for transporting equipment! Its steel construction and firm rubber tires secured with heavy-duty bolts made it seemingly indestructible. My teammates and I often brag that it could easily survive being thrown off a cliff. It’s bombproof!
The GREEN BROTHERS NURSERY Shopping Cart! What it lacks in stature it makes up in sheer toughness. Although we’re not sure exactly how long it’s been at our school, we know it’s been carrying PE equipment for more than 27 years. This combined with its service hours at Green Brothers Nursery is all the proof one needs to understand that its a work-horse, a tank. Never, NEVER has anything ever broken or needed repair on this classic.
For years, my team and I fantasized about acquiring another cart, maybe a little bigger. Then one spring afternoon, my colleague and I made a Home Depot run to pick up some storage bins to organize our equipment room. As we pulled into the parking lot we both saw what seemed like hundreds of carts. Both cart corrals were filled as well as the entry-way to the store. Along the side of the building, there were no less than 30 carts stacked one inside the next.
“We should ask if they would donate one to our school.”
It never hurts to ask. As my wife always says, “the worse they could say is no.” So I took a page from her playbook and asked the first person I saw wearing a Home Depot vest. I stated my name and the school I was representing followed by this question. “Would you be willing to donate a shopping cart to our PE program?” My intention was to go into a long explanation of specifically why we needed it to defend such a “bold” question. However, before I could say anything else the representative responded,
“How many do you need?”
What, what, WHAT?
Trying to remain calm and composed, my colleague and I looked at each other before sheepishly asking, “Can we have…five?”
After double-checking with a manager, the gentleman returned and said,
“If you have room, pull your car up to one of the cart corrals and take six. Just make sure they’re not the newer ones.”
You always hear about the feeling people get when they first learn they won a lottery jackpot. I think I now know what that feels like. We pulled up my minivan, opened the hatch, and slid six carts, stacked together on their sides (if you have a Toyota Sienna, you can easily fit up to eight carts).
Elated, we closed the hatch, once again thanked our new friend from Home Depot, and continued back to school with the newest members of our PE family.
What’s Next?
My eyes are now set on the ultimate prize. How awesome would it be to have our very own warehouse shopping cart? I’m talking about Costco or Sam’s Club. Bigger, smoother, and made of durable steel and/or plastic, this would be an incredible addition to our cart ensemble!
In all honesty, our carts are used regularly in our program. If we’re not rolling them out to the field, they are storing equipment. When not using them at all, they stack up nicely in a corner of our equipment closet. I highly recommend them to any program. Oh, and the price was right! All you need to do is ask. The worse they could say is no.
For anyone still reading, here’s a little fun I had with our carts.
WELCOME TO THE CART SHOW
I would like to once again thank Home Depot for their generous donation. The carts have truly made our jobs easier. We appreciate all you do for the community.
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3-Ingredient Healthy Snacks – If I can make them, so can you!
Whether you’re at work, school or home, we all need a healthy boost during the day. Here are a few easy-to-make, thrifty and super healthy options to grab and go!
3-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups quick oats
- 2 large bananas (very ripe) mashed with a fork to a liquid-like consistency
- 3/4 cup cranberries or 3/4 cup chocolate chips (lower sugar options are Lily’s Sweet chocolate chips or for a vegan version use dairy-free chips like the Enjoy Life brand).
Optional: nuts, seeds or coconut flakes for added protein
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, add oats to the mashed bananas. Mix well. Add chocolate chips, cranberries or a healthy ingredient of your choice.
- Drop by teaspoonful on the prepared baking sheet. Space them approximately 2 inches apart. Press each cookie down with the back of a spoon and flatten.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly brown.
- Cool prior to eating. Store cookies in the fridge.
3-Ingredient Power Balls
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup dates
- 1 cup nut or seed butter of your choice: *Peanut/Almond Butter/Sunbutter or try the new hazelnut butter at Costco
- 3 Tbs Cocoa
We prefer peanut butter with NO added ingredients. Costco’s Kirkland brand is made with only peanuts and sea salt. Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter is another option made with peanuts and a dash of salt.
INSTRUCTIONS
In a food processor, blend dates first, add nut butter and cocoa. Hold onto your food processor, it may shake a bit. (Optional: We soak our dates in water for 30 minutes to soften. This makes it easier to blend them in the processor).
When well-blended, use a teaspoon and form into balls, roll in cocoa (optional), refrigerate, and enjoy!
As always, please comment on this post and share your favorite healthy snack.
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/justybubpe.
Check out my Facebook group called Keeping Kids in Motion!
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for over 100 useful games for physical education!
February’s HOP, SKIP, and a JUMP into LEAP YEAR!
The year 2020 is a LEAP YEAR! Let’s celebrate by hopping, skipping, and jumping our way through the month. You’ll need to tune-up your fine motor skills in order to cut out 15 different exercises geared to enhance muscle strength and endurance. The majority of the exercises focus on hopping, skipping, and jumping. These exercises are intended to strengthen both upper and lower body muscles along with aerobic endurance. I’ve also included 5 core exercises. “Core exercises train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips, and abdomen to work in harmony. This leads to better balance and stability, whether on the playing field or in daily activities. In fact, most sports and other physical activities depend on stable core muscles.” Therefore, the stronger your core, the stronger you’ll be at hopping, skipping and jumping.
The instructions are simple:
- Cut out each of the 15 activity cards.
- Spread them out face down on any flat surface.
- Randomly select 5-10 Increase the challenge throughout the month by picking 1-2 extra cards to begin each new week.
- Complete the exercise on each selected card.
- Write your initials on the calendar each day you exercise.
- At the end of the month, fill out the information on the bottom of the calendar, then return it to your physical education teacher.
FYI – I’ve also laminated these activity cards and used them as an instant activity for my PE classes. I spread out several sets around the gym. Students pick up a card and complete the exercise. They continue this process for three minutes.
Click FEBRUARY FITNESS CHALLENGE for an editable version of the Hop, Skip, and Jump into LEAP YEAR fitness challenge.
Click FEBRUARY FITNESS CHALLENGE PDF for a PDF version of the Hop, Skip, and Jump into LEAP YEAR fitness challenge.
Click February Certificate 2020 PDF for a copy of the Hop, Skip, and Jump into LEAP YEAR fitness challenge certificate.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Why Your Core Muscles Matter.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2 Aug. 2017, http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/core-exercises/art-20044751.
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/justybubpe.
Check out my Facebook group called Keeping Kids in Motion!
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for over 100 useful games for physical education!
