Keeping Kids in Motion
Building a community where fitness and play are the foundation for all families.
PADDLES IN PE – 4 fun games worth checking out!
Bring on the foam! I love using foam equipment in my PE classes. Foam swim noodles, foam activity pins, coated foam balls, and lately, foam lollipop paddles regularly weave their way throughout my curriculum. For the most part, foam equipment is durable, versatile, and extremely safe, especially for my younger students.
Foam paddles have always been a huge hit with my Pre-K – 3rd-grade classes. Here are four popular games we like to play.
Lollipop Paddle Golf
Full explanation within the video.
Lollipop Paddle Battle
Full explanation with the video
Paddle to Mozart
This is a fun way to make a cross-curricular connection with your music program. Our first-grade classes were studying famous composers. During PE, I presented a slide with a composer and a brief biography. Then we played a game while listening to the composer. Although this game is called Paddle to Mozart, you can easily plug in any composer, musician, or genre of music that the students are studying in music class.
I like using the paddles to move the ball across the floor encouraging multiple changes in speed and pathway. When Mozart is playing, the students move the ball. When the music stops, they quickly move then stop the ball into an open hoop. We have discussions prior to and after each lesson about sharing space, being polite, and using controlled movements. Finally, with my younger students, I use the same number of hoops as there are students. However, you can use one or two fewer hoops than students to make it more competitive. With this, there needs to be a discussion on resolving potential conflict if two people get to a hoop at the same time.
Home Run Derby
This is a great activity to play to enhance striking skills and moving to the ball. You can play this game without a point system. However, I get more engagement when they can keep score.
Scoring:
-Each player gets three turns to strike before rotating.
-Practice striking like swinging a bat and like practicing a tennis forehand
Points system for defense
– 1 point for fielding the ball cleanly in front of you
– 2 points for catching a fly ball
Points system for batter
– 1 point if the ball rolls past the defender
-2 points if the ball hits the back wall
-No points if the ball is bobbled by the defender.
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HEALTHY HABITS BINGO
If you’re like me, you want to teach your students and your own kids the importance of healthy habits at a young age. Healthy habits are behaviors that are beneficial to one’s physical or mental health, often linked to a high level of discipline and self-control. Therefore, whether it’s brushing teeth, limiting screen time, or playing outside, we want the people we love and care for to regularly take on these actions at a young age so they will eventually turn into habits.
HEALTHY HABITS BINGO will help reinforce conversations you may have already had with your students and loved ones.
Click on any of the pictures for access to the challenge!
What is HEALTHY HABITS BINGO?
HEALTHY HABITS BINGO comes with a BINGO card consisting of 24 different healthy habits. Over a chosen period of time, kids can check off each of the healthy habits as they complete them. I give my students one month to see how many times they can record a BINGO up, down, and diagonally. The ultimate goal is a SUPER BINGO, which is filling in the entire card.
There’s also a blank HEALTHY HABITS BINGO template as seen below. This gives kids a chance to create their own HEALTHY HABITS BINGO card. They can fill the template with their own healthy habits and share it with family and friends.
Click HERE for access to HEALTHY HABITS BINGO
If you enjoyed this post, consider following my blog to receive future posts.
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/justybubpe.
Check out my Facebook group called Keeping Kids in Motion!
Subscribe to the FREE Keeping Kids in Motion Newsletter and get new games and activities in your inbox Monday through Friday!
Check out my TeachersPayTeachers store.
April’s JUMP for JOY – IT’S SPRING! – 30 Days of Jump Rope
I strongly believe that everybody should learn to jump rope. There are countless health benefits and it enhances balance and coordination. Jump rope is an activity for everyone. For beginners, the processing involved in timing the jump and figuring out how to turn the rope is priceless, For more advance jumpers, there are numerous available tricks and challenges to keep the activity fresh. Finally, all you need is a rope, and you don’t necessarily have to purchase one. There are creative ways to create your own rope whether it’s a piece of old clothesline, a bathrobe belt, or a bunch of old shirts braided together. You can also present the following S.T.E.A.M challenge to encourage kids to make their own jump rope using materials around the house.
Click CREATE YOUR OWN JUMP ROPE for a copy of the S.T.E.A.M challenge.
Click the pictures for access to the challenge!
April’s Jump for Joy – It’s Spring!
Click April’s Jump for Joy – It’s Spring! for access to the challenge!
What are the JUMP for JOY – It’s SPRING! goals?
This challenge has multiple goals. The first is to improve cardiovascular endurance. Secondly, jumping rope improves dynamic balance and coordination, reflexes, bone density, and muscular endurance.
Choose a level that’s comfortable yet challenging for you:
Level 1 – Perform the number of jumps listed each day followed by the 1-minute speed rope challenge.
Level 2 – Double the number of jumps listed each day followed by the 1-minute speed rope challenge.
Level 3 – Triple the number of jumps listed each day followed by the 1-minute speed rope challenge.
The 1-minute Speed Rope Challenge
Count how many times you can successfully jump your rope in one minute. Jumps do not need to be consecutive. Calculate your daily total on the calendar.
What if I don’t have a jump rope?
No problem at all! Simply perform the challenge by jumping with an invisible rope. Pretend to turn the rope as you jump.
What if I can’t jump rope?
Each of us is at a different level when it comes to jumping rope. Try to perform the minimum number of jumps each day with the rope. For the 1-minute challenge, stretch the rope out on the ground. Count how many times you can jump back and forth over the rope in one minute.
Complete the Jump for Joy – It’s Spring! fitness challenge for 30 days. Track your improvement.
Don’t forget the April’s Jump for Joy – It’s Spring! participation certificate! I fill one out for each student who returns a challenge at the end of the month!
If you enjoyed this post, consider following my blog to receive future posts.
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/justybubpe.
Check out my Facebook group called Keeping Kids in Motion!