CONFERENCE/WORKSHOP CALENDAR

As I prepare to travel to my first National AAHPERD conference in Cincinnati Ohio, it gives me time to reflect on my growth as a member in the profession of physical education. It has taken many years of teaching for me to realize how attendance at physical education conferences has impacted my life. What began as a "fear of first graders," (with a transfer from high school to elementary), has turned into a joy of teaching elementary- thanks to the valuable networking and resources available at the state and local conferences I attended. Support your local, state, district and national association. You owe it to yourself and those you teach. You won't be disappointed. Paula Summit Elementary PE Section Editor

Kids 'N Fitness Get ready...Get set...Go! Join students across the country as they get in shape during this nationwide free online event! This spring event promises to get kids exercising their minds and bodies, with two online and offline projects. The project is multidisciplinary and meets health, physical education, math, science, and language arts standards. There's something for everyone! Join the fun and win great prizes! Daily Minimum Standards of Exercise Through Play It is the aim of this project to educate parents and teachers to the importance of exercise, and that daily exercise must begin at an early age. Children form their attitudes toward lifelong activities early in life. It is believed if children are provided a daily exercise program in a fun, non-competitive format, they will develop a positive attitude toward exercise as a daily activity and this will follow them throughout their lives.

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Dance & Rhythms

Line Dance is Fun This site offers Socials, Events, Lessons, and about every type of dance style you can think of. Country Western Dances Have you ever wondered how "they" know the line dances, and are you interested in learning and starting some of your own? Learning some of the line dance steps may create a fun and enjoyable physical education activity for your class! The Cha Cha Slide The "Cha Cha Slide" offers enjoyable and varied routines that include hops and twists. Dancing for Busy People Information on 25 basic dance movements is provided, including an explanation of the movement and timing, styling, and tips for teaching. In addition, there are pages of information on how to perform various kinds of dances including square dances, quadrilles, contra dances, no partner (line) dances, round dance mixers, Sicilian circles, trios, and mescolanzas. Active Videos A great selection of exercise and dance videos for kids! Check out the Line Dance Archives

U.S. Olympic Team The Olympic Team is preparing for the Salt Lake 2002 games. Track the progress of the preparations. Some of the information on this site includes Chris Waddell's Monthly diary (Paralympian).

Co-nexercise How fit are your students? How much can they exercise in one week? During Co-nexercise Week, April 25 - May 2, students track the amount of time they exercise and compete virtually with other classrooms across the country. The names of all teachers who submit data will be entered in a raffle, and the lucky winners will receive a digital camera, a $500 gift certificate for sports equipment, or Kids 'N Fitness sports gear. Clip Art Hoxie School Image Gallery - Who doesn't need more clip art resources? Worksheet Generator Create customized worksheets in less than 5 minutes! Choose from several vocabulary and math worksheet templates in the "Create a Worksheet" area. Orienteering This unit plan for orienteering is intended to be a cooperative learning unit for physical education, math and social studies. It is designed for use at the high school level. With some modification, it would also be appropriate for younger students.

Instant Activities Get your PE classes off to a vigorous start! Read Write and Play Integrate writing, reading, and movement skills - and allow older students to tutor younger students.

Kids Health Resources

KidsHealth.org Learning about your health is fun! Play games, watch animations, read interesting articles and answers to kids' questions. Topics include feelings, common illnesses and injuries, health, basic anatomy, growing up, and more. The Human Body Adventure Go on a journey through the human body's systems using an imaginary micro-camera. This site features lots of facts, explanations, and illustrations. When you've done the tour, test yourself with the quizzes. Created by a 7th grade life sciences teacher. Jump Into a Health Body Jump rope is good exercise. Test yourself with quizzes and a word search. This site is a 1999 ThinkQuest Junior contest winner created by students. Yuckiest Site on the Internet - Your Gross and Cool Body "Why do we have zits, funnybones, dandruff, and sweat, belch, and snore? Find out more than you ever wanted to know about gross body functions at the Yuckiest Site on the Internet." The Asthma Wizard "Join the Asthma Wizard to learn about asthma, symptoms, what makes it worse, and other important topics. You'll also find activities, such as a word search, a matching game, and a helpful checklist. This site, designed for children ages 4 to 12, has large text, illustrations and animations throughout."

Travel Buddies Traveling Buddies is a fun and easy collaborative project that your classroom, and even your whole school can participate in. Traveling Buddies are stuffed animals that are mailed to participating schools. While this animal is visiting that school, the host school for the project and the participating school communicate between each other. This article will give you ideas on what kind of travel buddy you could use to represent your school, activities that you can do with participating schools, how to post your announcement for this project, a suggested itinerary, and ways that you can creatively share information. Travel Buddies ChatBoard After learning what the Traveling Buddies project is all about, check out the Traveling Buddies Chatboard, your direct connection to the thousands of classrooms that participate in these projects. Make your students' time with you memorable - join in and participate to the fullest!

Recycle & Save

Funding Factory Collect empty laser and inkjet printer cartridges from your community and earn technology items for your school through the highly-acclaimed "Education Technology Conservation Exchange Program."

Contribute YOUR Ideas

If you have ideas, comments, letters to share, or questions about particular topics, please email one of the following Elementary PE Section Editors:

	Gerry Cernicky
	Paula Summit
	Tom Winiecki
	Marina Bonello

Lesson Plan

Pumpkin Head and Yellow Belly A fun physical education activity. The scenario is... "You are citizens of Little Town, and Pumpkin Head and Yellow Belly terrorize your town every night by flying over and scaring all the children. Check out this site to find out how the town gets saved!