It’s almost the holidays, and you’re exhausted. Students are increasingly energetic as winter break draws near. As an elementary physical education teacher, you notice the excitement more than most; it seems no amount of running, jumping, and playing can rid your students of their energy. But finally, when that blessed break arrives, you’ll have time to breathe, regroup, and plan for how to motivate students the second half of the year. Here are seven ways elementary PE teachers can use winter break to prepare for spring semester. Take time for yourself. Teaching elementary physical ..read more

This week’s post is a description of the PE activity “Snowman’s Playground”.  Snowman’s Playground is a fun indoor winter activity (as long as you have a gym or an auditorium).  The activity practices locomotor skills while helping students become familiar with proper winter attire. Items Needed The equipment needed for this activity are hats, snowmen faces, jackets, scarves, boots, orange road cones and wristbands. Snowmen faces can be made out of white paper plates with smiley faces drawn on them. Description Explain to your students that they will be performing certain s ..read more

I have received requests from fellow physical educators regarding PE activities that can be performed in a small space – such as a classroom setting.  Some teachers aren’t blessed with a gymnasium and have to hold their classes in classrooms, lunchrooms or any open space they can find.  To assist these teachers, below are activities that would likely work in small spaces.  However, keep in mind that every classroom or small space is different and you will have to experiment to see what works best for you.   Roll The Dice   For this activity, you will need clear pocket ..read more

Many students love physical education. It’s often their favorite part of the week. Butthere are always a handful of students in every PE class who dread physical activity. Perhaps you have one (or many) of these unmotivated students, and you’re trying to find new ways to get them excited, engaged, and active. Kids are spending more time indoors in front of electronics and less time engaged in physical activity. American kids face an obesity crisis. According to a CDC study released in August 2018, 18.4% of all children 6- to 11-year-olds (20.6% of adolescents) in the U.S. are obese. Getting ki ..read more

This post is for all fellow PE teachers out there.  Since October 31 is right around the corner, I thought I would write a post on fun Halloween games you can use with your PE classes.  In addition to fun halloween games & stations, I have included a halloween powerpoint throwing target as well as link to some great halloween music.  I hope you find them useful! Halloween Stations Below are a few examples of some fun halloween games and station activities. Spider pit – Have students swing on a rope over a pit of spiders (fake of course).  Check out this pack of 72 spid ..read more

Introduction Planning a year of PE curriculum, you know…units/themes/skills – have you done it yet?  If not, here are a few reasons you should: Putting a plan on paper (or on a calendaring app) gives you a roadmap to follow throughout the year; you will be more organized; and lesson planning each week or month will be easier because you will know what skills/concepts are coming up.  KISS “Keep It Super Simple” and don’t get overwhelmed!  When thinking about planning for a whole year, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and intimidated.  To make it easy, start planning a ..read more

Introduction Most Physical education departments have some type of running program or unit. This post focuses on using printed barcodes and a free iPhone app as a lap tracker to record laps that students run or walk.  A popular old-school method of tracking the number of laps run by students is to hand out a popsicle stick (or some other item) for each lap completed.  Using this method requires that the number of sticks each student has at the end of class be manually recorded.   The Problem There has to be a better way to record laps than using the old-school popsicle sticks o ..read more

In case you missed it, the 2018 winter olympics are now in full swing.  They started Friday, February 9 in PyeongChang county, South Korea and are scheduled to end Sunday, February 25.  From a teacher’s perspective, this is a great opportunity to introduce your students to the winter olympics and some of the various events. PyeongChang Mascot Animation This is an fun animated video of the PyeongChang mascot showing all the winter olympic sports.  Use it to get your students excited about the winter olympics! Events/Activities Below are some winter olympic physed ideas contribut ..read more

Merry Christmas physed folks!!  Since it is that special time that only comes around once a year , I thought I would give you some fun Christmas activity ideas to use the last few with your classes. Music Christmas would not be the same without all of the season’s festive music!  So, below is a 16 song Kidz Bop Christmas playlist that you can play during your classes:  If you aren’t into Kidz Bop, below is a 19 song Spotify physed Christmas playlist with some great songs: Dance Here’s your next Christmas activity idea!  The last days before Christmas break is a great time ..read more

Let’s be honest, it’s tough keeping students motivated at the end of the school year. Students and teachers alike can feel the end of the school year winding down.  It’s during this time of warm weather and longer days of spring that students can become distracted.  So the question arises, how can we keep our students motivated and focused to finish strong in our physed classes, as well as their other classes? Plenty of Time Outside During spring when the weather is nice, students need to be outside during your physical education class.  If you think about it, they are insi ..read more