First term report cards!

In the month of November students received their first report card reflecting their work effort, skill ability and behavior assessments by the P.E. staff. It is important and necessary that each parent sit down with their child to review not only the grade but also the teacher’s comments to better understand any issues that might have affected their grades. A specific grade should not be the sole criteria as to how your child is doing but rather, understanding the written comments and direction of the students grades from term to term. The student’s progress and growth are important considerations when trying to help each student reach their maximum potential. Are they making improvements in the areas that have been identified is our focus as an ongoing process.

This past month the children have been playing games outside as the weather has been so nice. We have played Treasure Island in which the children develop their running endurance and practice their dodging and avoidance skills and team play as their teams attempt to capture treasures while being protected by pirates, a fun cooperation and fitness game. We also have been working with the children to develop their coordination skills using hula hoops, jump ropes and ball dribbling skills. The activities are geared towards a developmental sequence of skill progression and development based on their individual successes. The children can learn at their own pace while learning an important value, that comes with effort and practice as they can learn new skills and to neverto give up trying. During this past week we have also played games with a Thanksgiving theme which the children just love as they act out their roles as "turkeys", Gobble Gobble!

Children are continuing to practice sportsmanship, respectful behavior and a sense of fair play within a game structure.

Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope that you can enjoy this special time for families to come together!

"The Way of Boys" by Dr. Anthony Rao, child psychologist

The need for physical education, within the public school setting, is often related to keeping children healthy as it relates to the problem of childhood obesity. But, as more is learned, books like this one reveal another important contribution by physical education in helping our children to mentally cope with the rigors of lengthier classes and increased academic demands.

This book looks like a must read for all of us who have noticed an increase in ADHD diagnosis.

Quote:
"Rao's troubled by a 4,000 percent increase in ADHD diagnoses over the past 10 years. He also cites a 600 percent increase in prescribing antipsychotic drugs to children, mostly boys, he said.
What's happening? Rao thinks it boils down to school. Kids, he said, are asked to sit longer, indoors, in language intensive environments.

For boys, that can be a recipe for frustration.
“And when they’re frustrated they begin to act out. We label it a disorder,” Rao said. “But the newest area of exciting research is, when putting kids – and this is mostly boys – outdoors for longer periods of time, giving them vigorous exercise, a lot of the symptoms of ADHD seem to go away."

Just being aware that this is a possibility is an important consideration to understanding our children and the "nature of boys" before being so quick to "label" our children as ADHD.