Get Your Blog in Shape

Chick-fil-A Horary!

Based on the way things are going, I would have to say that JHH loves Chick-fil-A!  The huge number of students, faculty members and their families that are showing up to save those cows on our Spirit Nights has been amazing.  You have all helped raise a lot of money for the school and made some teachers REALLY happy!  I know that Ms. Rikard, Mrs. Dugas, Mrs. Poe and Mrs. Lincoln have and will enjoy spending the $50 in prize money they won on some wonderful stuff for their classrooms.  I bet the boys and girls in those classes also enjoyed their free meal. 

I can’t wait until December 12^th for our next Spirit Night a Chick-fil-A.  The suspense of waiting to hear which class wins the contest each month is almost more than I can take! 

Which class do you think will win the December contest and get the free meal plus $50 for their teacher?  If you were the winning teacher, what would you buy for your class or classroom with the money?  Come up with some great ideas.  It might be something wonderful for your classroom that your teacher didn't consider.  So put those thinking caps on!  And remember, I’ll see you at Chick-fil-A on December 12^th.

Great "Time" For Fitness

Ms. Scott thought that I might be interested in an article in the November 11th edition of Time For Kids.  And boy was she correct! 

The cover story Gym Class Gets Smart - "Reading, Writing, Rock Climbing" made me think a lot about the things that we do in PE class.  It made me realize that we are already "smart" and that there are some other things we can get to help us be even "smarter" in our choice of exercises.  In the story the writer spoke of the "new P.E." in which students are participating in activities that they will enjoy doing forever in an effort to impact and improve their health over their lifetime.  That is an awesome idea because if you are active and physically fit at a young age you are more likely to continue that trend into adulthood.      

The article also included many great pictures of boys & girls exercising in a variety of different ways.  Some were on stationary bikes.  Just like we have!  They also had some unusual ways of getting exercising like rock climbing, roller blading and a dance video game.

 

I have lots of ideas for new equipment that I hope to get for us.  What about you?  Can you think of some new equipment that would be fun for us to use for exercise?  Did the article have any ideas that you would be interested in trying?    

Too Much Pressure

I've always loved playing sports, but sometimes I felt as if I were going to explode from all of the pressure.  It might have been pressure from my parents or coaches to do better, practice more or try harder.  Other times it was pressure from my teammates or myself to get the game winning hit or make one more free throw.  The pressure to perform well and win can take the fun out of the games we play.

It seems that today the pressure in competition has increased.  Athletes are making millions of dollars playing games.  Parents, coaches, players and fans are being stirred into a frenzy that has resulted in violence during little league ball games.  Everyone is hoping that their child will be the next superstar.  Our society is taking the fun out of sports by emphasizing winning over the many other benefits offered by organized sports.

I stumbled across this great article on pressure at KidsHealth.  It offers an explanation of pressure and provides some great ideas for trying to ease the pressure you might be experiencing before that big game (or test).  These days when I am playing golf and start to experience that unsettling feeling of pressure, I usually hit the ball terribly in the most ridiculous places.  Like the time in that last picture where the ball landed in a bunker (not good!) and my feet were swallowed up by the sand.  I actually made a decent shot from the bunker because to ease the pressure I felt I laughed about my situation - I was in the bunker, my feet were buried and my shoes were full of sand!   

Have you ever experienced pressure like mentioned in the article in sports or in school?  If so, what did you do to help ease that feeling?   

The Great Skittle Experiment

The Great Skittle Experiment was so exciting!  It was a fun way to teach the boys & girls at JHH about the energy (fuel) or calories that we get from the food we eat.  I know there were some disappointed faces in class when after all that walking you only got one Skittle!  Some food, especially candy, is packed with calories!  Think about that before you eat all of that Halloween candy!

The most important lesson from that day was to balance what you eat with what you do!  Always remember that physical activity or exercise should be an important part of your day.  Even if it means you are “just playing on the playground”!