Liberty Parents, It has been a little over a month since the last post and we have many new things going on in our Wellness 4 Life classes (the one thing that HAS stayed the same is the cold temperature - our winter continues to be SUBfreezing!!!). NEW: We are currently in the third of four lessons building skill and game sense in Floor Hockey. Our primary grade students are learning the sport of floor hockey through MANY repetitions moving the ball with dribbling, passing, and shooting GAMES (as well as beginning game play). Our intermediate grade students are learning Floor Hockey through sport education (skill, strategy, and all facets of game through small-sided game play). As we enter February, we will be changing gears with a Fitness Unit to celebrate National Heart Month (the American Heart Association sponsors many activities this month). We will be learning and moving in ALL facets of health-related fitness (cardio endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility) through the month and will be doing a midyear checkin with the Pacer (which measures our heart and lung endurance). Also, during Heart Month we will have our annual Wellness Night sponsored by the PTA is the evening of February 13th. Mr. Mike Henderson (from the Ohio State University) is currently at Liberty as part of his final Teacher Candidate semester with OSU. He is now teaching all classes (under my supervision and direction) through the middle of February. Mike is a Dublin Scioto Graduate and was an avid baseball player growing up. From Mr. Henderson: "Hello everyone! My name is Mike Henderson and I am a teacher candidate, (student teacher), from The Ohio State University. I have been teaching your children Wellness at Worthington Liberty for the last 3 weeks and will continue to for another 3 weeks. We have been learning a lot of skills and strategies in floor hockey, and our students have taught me so much! I am very fortunate to have Mr. Smith, who is such a tremendous mentor and has given me many tips and tricks along the way. We will continue to play floor hockey until the end of our Championship Week, which begins 1/27 and then we will be moving on to heart health and fitness! It has been INCREDIBLE seeing how well the students use teamwork and give feedback to encourage each other. I have seen some amazing skill development in such a short time! They are an absolute joy to teach and I will miss them when my placement shifts from elementary school to middle school." ONGOING: We continue to build overall fitness EACH class and EACH week through our Dynamic Stretching, our Fitness Stations, our in-class talks on the S.E.E. principle (Sleep the right amount each nigh, Eat power foods, Exercise 60 minutes a day), and with our Noon Options with Coach Stephanie (Woodrow). The picture above is a third grade example of the cool S.E.E. posters the students created in Mrs. Dale's class. We are still looking for a time for our Beat Winter Race at Liberty - the temps have been TOO cold! We may look at a noon option to move in the snow (if temps permit) - stay tuned! AWESOME OPPORTUNITY! (I will be attending this event to get ideas for our students and my family) KICKOFF to learn how to fight childhood obesity: Liberty parents have a wonderful opportunity to hear Dr. Ihuoma Eneli, Director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, of Nationwide Children's Hospital speak during our kickoff for the Active Family Health Challenge. When: Monday, February 3, at 7:00 p.m. Where: The Worthington Parks & Recreation located at 345 East Wilson Bridge Road 43085 Dr. Eneli will speak to parents on the subject of fighting childhood obesity and teaching children a Healthy Lifestyle. Treehouse Update: The treehouse is nearing completion. I had several friends join me over winter break to start the structure and we've used some snow days and weekends to do some more. It's been fun to build and we will unveil it on our Wellness Night! BIKE UPDATE (and lifestyle fitness choices): Several parents have asked, so here goes... Today, I am on the 88th day and 252nd mile (toward my school year goal of 100 days and 400 miles) commuting by BIKE to and home from Liberty. The commute has been a BLAST (even in the Arctic Blast)! I am now becoming an official bike nerd: snowboard helmet and goggles on cold days, Christmas "biking" presents (legwarmer cycling pants, a new chain ring to go faster, a fender, bike cleaner to get the road salt and grime off, an official long sleeve bike jersey, and a bell), many layers, a new pair of road tires (I wish I had my mt bike tires for the snow!), and a really cool new Seagull Messenger Backpack. I have been thinking a lot about fitness through lifestyle choices: walking and biking when I am able (leaving the car at home); walking our dog, Lily, on cold days with my family to get everyone outside and moving; having my children help with driveway snow shoveling; getting a pull-up bar (and big elastic bands to aid in pulling up) and leaving on a door frame to do pull-ups when we walk past the door at home; eating healthier snacks throughout the day - nuts, raisins, etc. and drinking water; eating oatmeal every morning; the list goes on... what I do know is small changes begin to really add up fast and become enjoyable and part of a healthy life. It's also been a saver at the bank with lower cost snacks, 'almost free' tap water, and hopefully, savings in health care as our bodies become stronger to ward off injury and illness. That's all for now. I hope you find ways to ENJOY the cold. My family watched a movie recently, North of the Sun, about 2 Norwegian surfers spending a period of time living and surfing WAY up north. It has reminded us it's a lot colder in other places (and for much longer) and it makes this weather a little easier and in some cases, fun. As always, stay in touch with questions or even just sharing a cool story. I believe you can comment below... Mr. Smith Wellness 4 Life
1 Comment
|
Mr. SmithWellness 4 Life Teacher at Liberty Elementary; Player Development Director with Worthington United Soccer; and dad and husband to an awesome active family. Archives
March 2017
Categories |