Mr Kieronski’s Springman Physical Education Page

Thanks to wonderful support from our administration, we were able to bring Dance Dance Revolution to our students this week.  Every student was able to experience and groove to various songs and difficulty levels while increasing their heart rates.  It was, to say the least, F-U-N!  It is truly a sign of progress when video games can be incorporated into the physical education discipline.  Here a few pics and one video to show you the action.

                    DDR 1                              DDR 2                             DDR 3         

DDR Video

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Every year, we establish a greater respect for differences amongst cultures by exposing our students to games from around the world.  Even though the students are used to our traditional American sports such as baseball and football, they should know there is a whole other world of games that people from other countries cherish.  Our first week, we played games that involved an inside court such as Tchoukball (Switzerland), Sumo wrestling (Japan) and Broomball (Canada).  We modified some rules to keep it simple.  Prior to playing the games, each game’s history and customs was described to the students.  Take a look at the three featured games.

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Rube Goldberg was a famous American cartoonist who drew intricate, complicated inventions that performed a simple task such as cracking an egg open. Well……our 6th graders took our bowling unit into a whole new direction. The task was to knock down at least one pin. The process was up to them. They could use mats, tires, cones, noodles, bins, boxes, scooters and anything they could think of to pay homage to Rube Goldberg and his idea of convoluting ideas. Take a look at some of the bowling inventions our 6th graders created!!! Rube, no need to turn over in your grave.

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On belay? Ready to Climb! The students got their first chance of the year to climb the different routes on the rock wall. Each student climbed at least once getting at least 5 feet off the ground. Rock climbing gives the kids an opportunity to build trust in their own abilities, build trust between teacher and student, improve muscular endurance and strength and just plain taking a risk!

Here are a few rock climbing related links!

Rock Climbing.com

Vertical Endeavors 

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Once a month on Workout Wednesday, our students get out of the gymnasium and go to the wildcat commons where they perform yoga poses. The students learn simple to complex poses. Each of the poses maintains or improves one or more of the following: balance, muscular endurance, strength, flexibility, massaging of joints and muscle tone. At the end of each session, the students are lead through a guided relaxation exercise where they rest, relax and let the mind wander where it may. This exercise also improves focus and concentration. Some of the poses the students have practiced and become familiar with are tree, warrior I, II, and III, plank, boat, cat, mountain, triangle, slide, upward facing dog, downward facing dog, child and superman pose. Take a look at some of our 7th graders as they perform a few.

Here is a link that describes the myriad benefits of yoga.

Benefits of Yoga

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Bicep Curls   BOSU Ab Curls   Medicine Ball Exchange

Wall Squats   Plank Pose   Wrist Rolls    Forward Leg Lunge

This week our students took part in their first exposure to resistance training for this year. Resistance training is a remarkable way for youngsters to improve sports performance, maintain and improve overall health and increase confidence. We focused on form control, safe weights and the basics of sets and reps for their age group. The exercises offered during this total body circuit were as follows: wrist rolls, biceps curls, leg lunge, wall squats, plank pose, triangle medicine ball exchange, agility ladder, and standing calf raises. See how the kids performed in the picture links above and click on the links below to learn more about strength training for adolescents.

American Academy of Pediatrics Report

Teen Strength Training

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Throughout the year, each grade will be utilizing different exercise instruments. 6th graders will be using instapulse monitors (center of picture) during exercise, which tells the student an approximate amount of heart beats per minute. They also learn how to find and track their pulse through touching their wrist and under their chin. The 7th graders will be using pedometers (bottom of picture), which measure the amount of activity steps a student takes during the course of an activity. It is an effective way to quantify their achievement and allow the kids to have a concept of how much they worked. Each 8th grader will wear and use a heart monitor (top of picture), which transfers heart rate data to a watch that tracks their heart rate during exercise. It shows the students how long their heart rate stayed in, above and below their specific target heart rate zone. It also shows their average heart rate. Heart rate monitors are the most effective instrument to assist in the improvement of a student’s cardiovascular endurance.

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Do you remember calling out “bus stop” or “popcorn” or “chicken feet”? These aren’t just everday things in the real world but also Four Square calls. We spent the week learning the basics of the game and then adding the special calls such as fire alarm, four corners, body language, categories and tips to name a few. This is a great game to test the sportsmanship and honesty of the students because nobody likes to get out and in Four Square everyone will always be out eventually. Also, Four Square has never been just a kid’s game. It is one of those games that you can enjoy for the rest of your life. Click the link below and see what some adults are doing with the game.

www.squarefour.org 

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Were the students ready for some football? Most definitely. The students showed a wonderful aptitude towards learning the basics of the game which included the concept of line of scrimmage, passing and catching. An overwhelming percentage of students (6th, 7th and 8th) learned and achieved throwing a consistent spiral. This is another one of those great physical achievements. The excitement and surprise of some of the students who never knew how to throw a spiral and then seeing the results of performing the right steps was enjoyable. Punting and kicking was also learned and practiced for game purposes. The action was intense!

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Being able to throw and catch a frisbee effectively is a lifetime physical skill that allows kids and adults alike to enjoy a beautiful day. All you need is a frisbee, a buddy and an open space. We worked on flicking the wrist, finger position and the turn of the hips. Eventually, we utilized our skills in a few ultimate frisbee games. Ultimate has gained popularity because of its simple rules and non-stop action. Check out some pictures!

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