Grades 3-6 have been working hard on improving their volleyball skills and have moved on to game play for this week. For Grades 3-4, we focus on lead up games, taking small steps to the real game rules. For example, today instead of playing with a regular height net, we had thick blue tape along the whole gym floor. The tape separated the gym into two courts. We had two mini volleyball games going on at the same time, so that students could get more touches on the ball. Rather than playing the regular rules of hitting it over before it touches the ground, the students were allowed to let it bounce once, and then continue working as a team to get the ball to the other side of the "net". Without a net height, the students did not have to worry about pushing the ball up high enough, only getting it over to the other team. We will continue changing the rules as the students improve.
I am also introducing Eclipse Ball to the students. Or as the kids call it, the "Beach Ball!" They have loved Eclipse Ball so far. It includes rules like letting the ball bounce 1-2 times, hitting it, heading it, or kicking it, no boundaries, and a whole lot of fun. This is a great game to throw into a volleyball unit because you still have to figure out how to work as a team to accomplish the goal of getting the ball over the net.
After 2 snow days this week, Christmas Break is coming quickly! Remind your students to get involved in Fuel Up to Play 60 online over break. :)
That's all for now!
FUP60!
This year's FUP60 Student Team with FSU Basketball Players
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
THANKFUL.
Happy Thanksgiving Break to all!
Happy Thanksgiving Break to all!
I am very thankful to be at CCA and have the opportunity to teach and learn from all of my students!
I hope you had a restful, relaxing, and FUN time with family and friends.
I hope you had a restful, relaxing, and FUN time with family and friends.
Did you know?
-FUEL UP TO PLAY 60 is having its first "Fuel Council" meeting on Friday, December 3. This group of 15 5th and 6th grade students will meet with Bridget Thompson & me every Friday to get our school excited about physical activity and healthy eating!
-EXTRA CREDIT in P.E.? That's right. If at any point your child would like to gain extra credit, all they have to do is pick up a Physical Activity Log located on my music cart and complete 30 minutes/day of physical activity, recording each activity and getting a parent signature. It's that simple!
-I will be incorporating a FITNESS CIRCUIT for grades 2-6 at the beginning of each class period. This will involve shuttle run, jump rope, line jumps, crab walk, jumping jacks, sit ups, and aerobic steps. The students will be able to challenge themselves with different level completions that include: FIT, STRONG, PRO, or CHAMP. Very excited to get this started!
-VOLLEYBALL UNIT starts next week! Since my background is in volleyball, I am VERY excited to introduce my students to volleyball in a new way that is simpler for their developmental level and a whole lot of FUN. Ever heard of Eclipse Ball? It will be incorporated into our unit this year!
I'll leave you with these:
A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.
-Joe DiMaggio
You play the way you practice.
-Pop Warner
-Joe DiMaggio
You play the way you practice.
-Pop Warner
A true champion knows how to overcome doubts
and manage those doubts and turn them into motivation.
-Misty Hyman
and manage those doubts and turn them into motivation.
-Misty Hyman
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Exciting News in November
CROSSROADS CHARTER ACADEMY RECEIVES FUNDING FOR WELLNESS PROGRAM
$1,600 Awarded by United Dairy Industry of Michigan for Fuel Up to Play 60
Big Rapids, Michigan – Crossroads Charter Academy has been chosen to receive $1,600 to support its Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative, the United Dairy Industry of Michigan announced today. Crossroads Charter Academy was selected from among hundreds of schools across the country that applied for funding to help them jumpstart and sustain healthy nutrition and physical activity improvements. This nationwide funding program offers schools up to $3,000 to help them increase awareness of and access to nutrient-rich foods and physical activity opportunities for students. Funding for this competitive program is provided by United Dairy Industry of Michigan and America’s dairy farmers.Funds for Fuel Up to Play 60 provides support for a variety of activities and tools, such as foodservice materials and equipment, nutrition and physical education materials, student and staff incentives, staff development and overall Fuel Up to Play 60 implementation.
Crossroads Charter Academy is creating a "Fuel Up To Play 60" Council that will meet 2-3 times monthly with their Program Advisor and brainstorm, develop, and implement "plays" each month that will help get all other students excited and motivated about physical activity and healthy eating. The elementary school will use the funds to improve the playground and mileage club already started. The elementary also plans on improving student awareness on food options, including the healthy choice of the day, as well as providing more health information regarding what kids should be eating through the use of kid-friendly health and nutrition posters in the cafeteria. Students will help in the process by discussing how to make playground improvements, how to get students excited about healthy choice food options, and create easier opportunities for students to participate in activity during and after school. The elementary will continue their Mileage Club, in which students have the option before, during, or after school to run miles around the playground track and receive monthly awards and recognition for their accomplishments.
More than 60,000 schools across the United States are participating in Fuel Up to Play 60. Launched by National Dairy Council, local Dairy Councils and National Football League (NFL), in collaboration with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the program encourages youth to consume nutrient-rich foods and achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Multiple health organizations and several major corporations are also supporting Fuel Up to Play 60, now in its second year.
“Fuel Up to Play 60 has really taken off in Michigan. Wellness champions and students in more than 3,000 Michigan schools have embraced the program, and these funds will help many of the participating schools to do even more,” said Sharon Toth, Director of School Nutrition Programs.
Schools, parents and students can learn more about Fuel Up to Play 60 at FuelUpToPlay60.com.
Has your child checked out Fuel Up To Play 60? The Kick-off for the program will be a Poster Contest in which students check out the website and create their best poster advertising the program. Three winners will be selected and rewarded for their hard work, and all posters will be hung in the school to get the word out about this awesome new program helping our school!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Week 10!
The football unit has begun! After choosing their own teams for the soccer unit, I decided I would take a turn and assign each student to a team. They will stay in this team for many of the days drills and games. The students chose their own team names, which included: The MI Stripes, The Lions, The Big Dogs, The Winners, The Cougars (LOVE IT!), and even the Coca-Colas. We have been playing games like the Tiger Pull and Mega Punt. We've also been doing pass pattern drills as well as football stations that focus on centering, punting, pass patterns, and catching. I hope the weather will cooperate and we will be able to have class outside on the real football field! (Hard to do with 5-6 grades right in the morning... very slippery!)
K-2 is getting much better at hand dribbling. Tomorrow we will use the dribbling balls in a different way called, "Dribble Fitness" and the students will learn how they can exercise with a ball they normally dribble with.
Have you asked your child if they are participating in the Mileage Club during recess? If not, please do! The school wide Mileage Club has grown with much more students participating and many of the students making their monthly mileage goal. K-1 Grades aim to run 6 miles a month. 2-3 Grades aim to run 8 miles a month. 4-6 Grades aim to run 10 miles every month! Can you believe that Ms. Sinicropi's class had a combined total of 86 miles for the month of October? And guess what grade they are . . .Kindergarten! Each student that makes their monthly goal gets fun feet tokens, a certificate, and a water bottle! The winning classes get a mileage party day with their class, a free out-of-uniform day, and dress up their teacher in a silly hat. :)
Keep it up, COUGARS!
K-2 is getting much better at hand dribbling. Tomorrow we will use the dribbling balls in a different way called, "Dribble Fitness" and the students will learn how they can exercise with a ball they normally dribble with.
Have you asked your child if they are participating in the Mileage Club during recess? If not, please do! The school wide Mileage Club has grown with much more students participating and many of the students making their monthly mileage goal. K-1 Grades aim to run 6 miles a month. 2-3 Grades aim to run 8 miles a month. 4-6 Grades aim to run 10 miles every month! Can you believe that Ms. Sinicropi's class had a combined total of 86 miles for the month of October? And guess what grade they are . . .Kindergarten! Each student that makes their monthly goal gets fun feet tokens, a certificate, and a water bottle! The winning classes get a mileage party day with their class, a free out-of-uniform day, and dress up their teacher in a silly hat. :)
Keep it up, COUGARS!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Tennis Unit with Tennis Pros!
Grades 3-6 just wrapped up their two week Tennis unit. They had a blast learning all about the game of tennis. The forehand, backhand, bouncing versus swinging, working in doubles, and playing fun games like relay races, champions and challengers, and king/queen of the court. We were fortunate enough to have Ferris State University students in the Tennis Program help coach each day for the two week unit. There were usually 2 different coaches for each class. The students had a great time learning from different Ferris students as well as having a role model to look up to. Maybe someday these CCA students will also be in the Ferris Tennis program!
Many of the students were recognized for ending in the Champion Court at the end of each class period. They recieved a Certificate for their achievement as well as a fun candy treat. :) All the students did great! The game of tennis really tested our ability to work together and remain honest- since in the game of tennis, many times you are responsible for making important boundary calls.
Grades K-2 have ended their throwing unit and are moving on to hand dribbling. It is very important to teach these grade levels the basics, so that once they reach 3rd grade they feel confident in their basic motor skills and can learn to work in cooperative team settings, where we learn the rules to new and fun games. They've also been participating in fun aerobic activities like Turtle Tag and Shipwreck. Ask your child about Shipwreck and see if they can teach you the game- it was definitely a class favorite!
And of course, we have continued the SWEAT FRIDAY event, a tradition for classes that are doing well throughout the week. This is an activity where there are 8-10 stations set up around the gym that may include: Tumbling, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Stretching, Tennis, Hula Hoops, Jump Rope, Scooper Catch, Frisbee, Bean Bag Toss, etc. Students in groups of 3-4 start at one station and spend 3 minutes at each activity. We all rotate together until each station is hit. The point is to SWEAT, so students know the expectation is to work hard!!
This week marks the beginning of Flag Football for grades 3-6. I'm excited to see how much we can improve as a whole, and am very excited to see some students who are exceptionally good at the game of football become a positive "coach" to their classmates, helping each and every student improve so that they can gain confidence in this fun game!
Many of the students were recognized for ending in the Champion Court at the end of each class period. They recieved a Certificate for their achievement as well as a fun candy treat. :) All the students did great! The game of tennis really tested our ability to work together and remain honest- since in the game of tennis, many times you are responsible for making important boundary calls.
Grades K-2 have ended their throwing unit and are moving on to hand dribbling. It is very important to teach these grade levels the basics, so that once they reach 3rd grade they feel confident in their basic motor skills and can learn to work in cooperative team settings, where we learn the rules to new and fun games. They've also been participating in fun aerobic activities like Turtle Tag and Shipwreck. Ask your child about Shipwreck and see if they can teach you the game- it was definitely a class favorite!
And of course, we have continued the SWEAT FRIDAY event, a tradition for classes that are doing well throughout the week. This is an activity where there are 8-10 stations set up around the gym that may include: Tumbling, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Stretching, Tennis, Hula Hoops, Jump Rope, Scooper Catch, Frisbee, Bean Bag Toss, etc. Students in groups of 3-4 start at one station and spend 3 minutes at each activity. We all rotate together until each station is hit. The point is to SWEAT, so students know the expectation is to work hard!!
This week marks the beginning of Flag Football for grades 3-6. I'm excited to see how much we can improve as a whole, and am very excited to see some students who are exceptionally good at the game of football become a positive "coach" to their classmates, helping each and every student improve so that they can gain confidence in this fun game!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Already Week Seven
What a quick seven weeks it has been! I can't believe how fast the time is flying by. The sixth graders have already completed the Soccer World Cup Tournament (with France, Brazil, Mexico, Ireland, USA, Germany, and Japan competing..) and we have started our 2 week Tennis unit for grades 3-6. All of the students are very excited to have the opportunity to interact and learn from Ferris State Students who are in the Tennis Professional Program. We usually have 2 different coaches for each class and they have committed to coming all of this week and next week. It's been a lot of fun. This week we are focusing on tennis skills while next week we will be focusing on game play. I'm happy the students get a chance to try an unfamiliar sport. It most definitely has tested our characteristics of perseverance and commitment!
While grades 3-6 work on tennis in the mornings, K-2 grades have been practicing throwing and catching in the afternoon. Whether we practice underhand, overhand, T-L-Step-Throw, Target/Accuracy Practice, or play Clean Your Room, or even Oscar's Garbage Can, the kids are continuously improving on an important skill in many sports that is often overlooked!
This has been a very eventful week with Parent Teacher Conferences and Walk At School Day. Thanks for all the students, parents, and staff who came Wednesday morning to walk the playground track, sign the poster, and eat a healthy breakfast, to show their support for National Walk Month, and one of the easiest ways to increase physical activity! Hope you had fun!
While grades 3-6 work on tennis in the mornings, K-2 grades have been practicing throwing and catching in the afternoon. Whether we practice underhand, overhand, T-L-Step-Throw, Target/Accuracy Practice, or play Clean Your Room, or even Oscar's Garbage Can, the kids are continuously improving on an important skill in many sports that is often overlooked!
This has been a very eventful week with Parent Teacher Conferences and Walk At School Day. Thanks for all the students, parents, and staff who came Wednesday morning to walk the playground track, sign the poster, and eat a healthy breakfast, to show their support for National Walk Month, and one of the easiest ways to increase physical activity! Hope you had fun!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Getting Things Rolling
This week we were busy completing our fitness testing of:
1) 10 Minute Run 2) Sit ups 3) Push ups 4) Sit and Reach
The students did very well respecting their classmates during all of these tests. They were able to choose their partners, and followed the instructions of privately writing down numbers rather than announcing them or comparing with others.
It's so important for my students to feel comfortable to try their hardest and know that their best is all I ask for. I will be comparing their Fall 2010 tests with the Spring 2011 tests we will complete at the end of the year. I want to see individual improvement, and will grade each student on their own progress. I emphasized this point to all of my students.
We all start and end at different levels, and I want my students to see their personal improvements throughout the entire year.
We will be starting our Soccer unit this week. For each unit, I like to focus on individual skills separately first. Then, I gradually add more responsibility through combined skills and rules, which progress into "Lead Up" games, games that deal with smaller groups or varied rules of the original game. Finally, I end with the actual sport game, and by this point the students have gained confidence in all of the many different parts of the game.
As we make our way throughout each unit, I pick 2-3 rules to discuss each class period. At the end of the unit, the students receive a short summary review of the rules and have a unit quiz which will be graded and counted toward their final assessment.
I hope everyone is having a great start to the school year!
Mrs. Verkaik
1) 10 Minute Run 2) Sit ups 3) Push ups 4) Sit and Reach
The students did very well respecting their classmates during all of these tests. They were able to choose their partners, and followed the instructions of privately writing down numbers rather than announcing them or comparing with others.
It's so important for my students to feel comfortable to try their hardest and know that their best is all I ask for. I will be comparing their Fall 2010 tests with the Spring 2011 tests we will complete at the end of the year. I want to see individual improvement, and will grade each student on their own progress. I emphasized this point to all of my students.
We all start and end at different levels, and I want my students to see their personal improvements throughout the entire year.
We will be starting our Soccer unit this week. For each unit, I like to focus on individual skills separately first. Then, I gradually add more responsibility through combined skills and rules, which progress into "Lead Up" games, games that deal with smaller groups or varied rules of the original game. Finally, I end with the actual sport game, and by this point the students have gained confidence in all of the many different parts of the game.
As we make our way throughout each unit, I pick 2-3 rules to discuss each class period. At the end of the unit, the students receive a short summary review of the rules and have a unit quiz which will be graded and counted toward their final assessment.
I hope everyone is having a great start to the school year!
Mrs. Verkaik
Sunday, September 12, 2010
First Week Wrap Up
I can't believe the first week is already done! What a whirlwind of fun- with the students, the staff, the parents, and the physical activity!
This week I was able to meet with each student twice, and am slowly getting used to the "color codes" the school uses (such a neat idea!) I either have my "Reds and Yellows" or "Blues and Greens" all day. I think it's a great opportunity for the students to be able to mix it up with different peers during their specials times in Art, Music, or PE (something I never got to do!).
This year's PE Theme is "TEAMWORK." No matter what activity or game we work on, we must realize we all have different talents and need each other to get the job done and be the most successful. To many classes I introduced the acronym TEAM= Together Everyone Achieves More. The kids loved it!
The first day with each class we went over the Expectations:
1. Respect the teacher, your classmates, yourself, and the equipment.
2. Never say you can't. Never quit. (Unless, as one student pointed out, you say, "I can't YET...")
3. Only do to others what you would want done to you.
4. Always try your hardest.
5. Kind words only. (As another student pointed out, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all!"
We also went over the importance of CHAMP in PE class:
C (Conversation) = No talking during instruction; positive words only during activities
H (Help) = Raise your hand if you need help during instruction, or come find me during an activity.
A (Activity) = No activity during instruction; lots of activity during activities but practicing self control
M (Movement) = No movement during instruction; move with self control during game play
P (Participation) =Answer questions I raise so that I can know what you have learned; LOTS of participation and full effort during activities
I also introduced "DOUBLE FAULT" to the students. I explained that in Tennis, a sport I like to play, a server gets 2 tries at serving. The first missed serve is called a "Fault". The server gets one more chance to serve it in. After a second missed serve, does the server get to keep the ball? No. He/She must give it to the opposing player. In PE class, this is the way I manage/discipline my students. When there is a problem, I will let the student know that was their "First Fault." After a Double Fault (second problem), I will ask the student to have a seat on the bleachers until we can talk one on one. If we cannot then fix the problem, I will involve the parents or administration.
The second day involved a lot more FUN... and activity!
The students were introduced to the quote:
Coming together is the beginning
Keeping together is progress
Working together is SUCCESS.
Many students volunteered to explain this quote to the rest of the class, emphasizing that success does not always come right at the beginning, but that doesn't mean you should give up.
We then went on to many fun Teambuilding Activities. Ask your child what he/she played... some of the games included:
Loop the Hoop: holding hands and working a hula hoop all the way down a line of linked students
Crazy Eight: working in a circle and throwing certain ball patterns with eight different balls
Ants in a Line: what's easier? getting all the balls down alone or as a team?
Line or Wall Sit Relays: whether you had to jump, hop, sprint, crabwalk, bear crawl, or something else!
So many fun activities that focused on teamwork helped me to see which classes feel comfortable with one another and can work in a positive environment. This will help both the students and myself as we begin our different sports units in the coming weeks.
That's all for now!
Mrs. Verkaik
This week I was able to meet with each student twice, and am slowly getting used to the "color codes" the school uses (such a neat idea!) I either have my "Reds and Yellows" or "Blues and Greens" all day. I think it's a great opportunity for the students to be able to mix it up with different peers during their specials times in Art, Music, or PE (something I never got to do!).
This year's PE Theme is "TEAMWORK." No matter what activity or game we work on, we must realize we all have different talents and need each other to get the job done and be the most successful. To many classes I introduced the acronym TEAM= Together Everyone Achieves More. The kids loved it!
The first day with each class we went over the Expectations:
1. Respect the teacher, your classmates, yourself, and the equipment.
2. Never say you can't. Never quit. (Unless, as one student pointed out, you say, "I can't YET...")
3. Only do to others what you would want done to you.
4. Always try your hardest.
5. Kind words only. (As another student pointed out, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all!"
We also went over the importance of CHAMP in PE class:
C (Conversation) = No talking during instruction; positive words only during activities
H (Help) = Raise your hand if you need help during instruction, or come find me during an activity.
A (Activity) = No activity during instruction; lots of activity during activities but practicing self control
M (Movement) = No movement during instruction; move with self control during game play
P (Participation) =Answer questions I raise so that I can know what you have learned; LOTS of participation and full effort during activities
I also introduced "DOUBLE FAULT" to the students. I explained that in Tennis, a sport I like to play, a server gets 2 tries at serving. The first missed serve is called a "Fault". The server gets one more chance to serve it in. After a second missed serve, does the server get to keep the ball? No. He/She must give it to the opposing player. In PE class, this is the way I manage/discipline my students. When there is a problem, I will let the student know that was their "First Fault." After a Double Fault (second problem), I will ask the student to have a seat on the bleachers until we can talk one on one. If we cannot then fix the problem, I will involve the parents or administration.
The second day involved a lot more FUN... and activity!
The students were introduced to the quote:
Coming together is the beginning
Keeping together is progress
Working together is SUCCESS.
Many students volunteered to explain this quote to the rest of the class, emphasizing that success does not always come right at the beginning, but that doesn't mean you should give up.
We then went on to many fun Teambuilding Activities. Ask your child what he/she played... some of the games included:
Loop the Hoop: holding hands and working a hula hoop all the way down a line of linked students
Crazy Eight: working in a circle and throwing certain ball patterns with eight different balls
Ants in a Line: what's easier? getting all the balls down alone or as a team?
Line or Wall Sit Relays: whether you had to jump, hop, sprint, crabwalk, bear crawl, or something else!
So many fun activities that focused on teamwork helped me to see which classes feel comfortable with one another and can work in a positive environment. This will help both the students and myself as we begin our different sports units in the coming weeks.
That's all for now!
Mrs. Verkaik
Saturday, September 4, 2010
WELCOME BACK!
Hello to all of the CCA Community!
I hope many parents and students find this blog useful as we get started in our brand new 2010-2011 school year. As many of you know, this is my first year teaching at CCA. I am very excited to get started, meet all the students, and find out what we can do in Physical Education this year!
I am a 2010 graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I am very thankful for having the opportunity the first year out of college to have my own body of students and an awesome opportunity to share my passion for physical activity.
My athletic interests include playing and coaching volleyball, running, tennis, and dance. Some other activities I enjoy are music, singing, and reading. I love to spend time with my family and was able to marry my best friend, Cameron, this past July. I enjoy boating and water activities in the summer, and am slowly learning how to love winter activities such as snowboarding or skiing (I'm a California native!)
Why is physical education important? Physical education promotes awareness of many benefits we can have from physical activity. Exercise can prevent diseases such as osteoporosis, diabetes, or heart disease. Exercise can promote brain fitness, better sleep, and reduce anxiety. Exercise can also prevent injury, increasing strength, flexibility, and balance. Best of all, exercise can enhance each individual’s self-esteem both mentally and physically as they gain confidence in many new skills and cooperative games. With this confidence, students dare to take risks, try new things, and find activities they personally enjoy- thus accomplishing my most important goal: lifelong physical activity.
I teach physical education because I want to teach students this necessary confidence they need in order to be active for a lifetime. I want to develop and enhance the personal character traits like perseverance, wonder, respect, and responsibility through physical activity. My philosophy focuses on personal child development and learning new skills. The end goal is to see each individual continually improving, building confidence along the way.
I'm anxious to get to know all of you, parents and students, as we have this fresh start together. I hope to meet many of you as the year gets rolling, and would love to have your feedback on this blog as much as possible. Comments are welcome!!Looking forward to a great year! Go Cougars!
Mrs. Verkaik
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