Backyard Game Night @ Ezra Baker Elementary School

Friday night, June 1, 2012, we had our first Backyard Game Night for the families of children who attend our school. We had 10 stations plus a Country line dance event going on all at the same time for families to choose from to participate. The stations were all arranged to be self directed and families could move about at will to play at any station and even adapt the station to meet their interest. Over 100 people attended and the event felt like an an old neighborhood party in which children played and families got to talk amongst friends and make new friendships. It was purposefully designed so that children and parents could move about freely and socially interact. It was truely a fun night in which many children and friends all enjoyed one another!

Jump Rope For Heart Totals-2012

Thanks to all of the children and families of the Ezra Baker School community, we raised $3200 this year for the American Heart Association!!! The Jump Rope For Heart week at our school consisted of each class participating during their normal gym class. The gym was set up with 12 fun stations all with a different focus of jumping or movement and the children would rotate stations. The children received their gifts this week from the AHA for their hard work in fundraising. Lindsay Peitro, who is the AHA representative for our geographical area also had a special plaque created to acknowledge all of the family members honored that the children Jumped for during this event. The plaque now is on the wall of our gym for all to see and it is quite heartwarming for the families to see their loved family member listed on the plaque and on our school gym wall. Thanks to all who participated and who helped to make this such a special event.

Jump Rope For Heart

We have 14 stations to celebrate Jump Rope For Heart week at the Baker School. Each physical edcuation class participates in 7 stations per gym class and each station offers a challenge and is FUN! Here are some pictues of our stations and we will add up our totals next week!!!

Basketball Unit

We just completed our basketball unit. Students were introduced to many basic skills such as dribbling while in place and moving in different directions and pathways. Students learned how to hold the basketball with the appropriate grip when shooting baskets along with the proper force needed to reach the basket from different distances. Passing was another skill students worked on. They practiced the chest pass and bounce pass both individually against a wall and with a partner. These skills were then utilized in games such as dribble tag, shooters and timers, snatch dribble shoot, etc. Students were encouraged to practice these skills outside of class as well, as the more we practice the better we become. We concluded our unit with a quick assessment to measure student learning.

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.

Fall Theme Stations!

Here are some of our 12 stations, all stressing various body skills, ie jumping, throwing, balance, upper and lower body coordination and strength, group cooperation and just allot of fun and excitement! The children learn to transition as they rotate stations, re-set their stations and work cooperatively to control their excitement.


The Bat Cave



The Witches Broom Ride


Spiders Web

Jumping spiders


Pumpkin bowling



Rattle those bones