Native American Unit

We will be wrapping up our Native American Unit next week with the first grade classes. During this unit, students worked on attributes such as agility, co-ordination, balance and speed. The activities and games that were played illustrated how Native Americans got their food. Obstacle courses were set up using hurdles, hoops, cones, and mats to resemble hills, rivers, trees, and rocks. Students carried foam noodles through the course crawling and jumping under/over the obstacles.
Students also worked on throwing for accuracy towards a moving target and were taught to step forward towards their target with their opposite foot of their throwing hand. Students worked together in groups and tried to throw their noodle through a rolling hula hoop. Students practiced important concepts like teamwork and helping others. The unit was very exciting and students had lots of fun participating in the games and activities while learning cross cultural ideas

1st Term Grades and P.E

We have completed our grading for the first term and although hard at times to give the grades we do, we feel it important to grade the children according to what we feel they earned within the context of other children's capabilities at each grade level. We looked at skill levels, attitudes, effort, cooperation with others and class behaviors within each grade. We have talked with the children in general and sometimes specifically about their need to work with others, and/or try to perform always at their personal best, but sometimes words don't seem to convey the personal effort required and that children find it hard to do things which are not easy to do at times.
We talk about grading with the children throughout the year and they are aware that if they talked too much and/or had to sit out a game or fooled around with friends or did not try their hardest or did not play games according to the rules that their grades would be lower because of these issues.
We enjoy all of the children and hope that by trying to convey the value of their need to work hard and that to persevere when things are not always easy, that these life long skills are valuable and important to learn and will help them throughtout their lives and eventually, be much more important to learn than looking just at a grade.
We are always happy to talk with you and you are always invited to sit in on any class to see all of the important learning concepts, skills and sportsmanship issues that we try to incorporate in every class we teach.
Best wishes and hope that you talk with your children about their effort to do their very best at everything they try! It's not just be being the best althlete that is important and graded, its more about a child's effort to do their very best regardless of the task before them.