| This past year
I have had to say goodbye to a lot of people who have meant a lot
to me in one form or another. They have influenced the way I think,
the way I look at life, how I handle the day to day struggles that
come along, and the ways I treat others.
First, my friends of over 20 years:
Doug: Cancer
Joel: Heart attack
Joey: Heart attack
Ralph: Cancer
Thank you for the time you all spent showing me how to appreciate
the arts, dance, music and theater.
My Students:
Ashley G. - Fire
Ashley F. - Car accident
Christopher - Drive by shooting
Thank you for the hugs, the smiles, and your zest for life that
was cut so short.
My Grandfather.
Thank you for my love of all things outdoors.
My Grandmother (a dedicated teacher for over 35
years). - Thank you for being the one who helped support us growing
up through your love and dedication to family. Thank you for being
the biggest influence on my decision to be a teacher.
My Father - Thank you for my love of sports.
Thank you for being you.
As I write this my mother has been in and out of the hospital for
the past month. She went in with an aortic aneurism. When they were
inserting the graft they tore through the Iliac artery. She almost
died on the table, and they had to perform CPR where they broke
all of the ribs connected to her sternum. She lost over 3 pints
of blood and they had to add another graft. Because of the loss
of blood she developed some kidney problems that put her back in
the hospital. She came back home Easter Saturday, and now I am allowed
the privilege of taking care of the woman who took care of me for
all of those years and gave me life.
I am not writing this to have anyone feel sorry for me. Everyone
who lives long enough will go through this. It's just a comment
to each of you to honor the ones who are important in your life,
treat them as though you might never see them again, and live your
life to the fullest.
Readers, try to remember also that all of the editorial staff
of PELINKS4U are people who volunteer their knowledge and expertise,
and might have their own trials and tribulations in their own lives.
I would like to thank Steve, Terri, and Angela for their patience
and understanding.
John Williams
Elementary Section Editor
|
| FOR
MY FRIENDS:
Welcome
to the NFL (Dance) - grade 3-8
YMCA
Marching/Dance Lesson - grade K-2
FOR MY STUDENTS:
Ashley G. - Jump
Rope Trade Off
Ashley F. - Alphabet
Soup
Christopher - Creative
Balance
FOR MY GRANDFATHER
Orienteering
Scavenger Hunt -The students will take a reading with a compass
and use the compass to reach multiple checkpoints.
Turkey
Hunt - Students roll a ball at a stationary target and protect
their turkey from getting hit with a ball.
FOR MY G'MOTHER
Manners
-To teach students a variety of manners, help students become aware
of their behaviors and choices, and to provide a positive place
for the students to think about their choices.
S.T.A.R.S.
Program - To enable students to focus as a class on those qualities
that are demonstrated by successful learners.
FOR MY FATHER
Football
Frenzy - To have students practice throwing and catching a football
in a dynamic setting.
Football
Bingo - To help develop the football skills of passing, hiking,
catching, and dodging.
FOR ME - On a lighter
side.
My partner in crime, Lee, who teaches
with me a half day 5 days per week, decided I needed to do something
to relax myself and take my mind off of things. Golf. Are you kidding
me? I was a wrestler and football player. He reminded me I was a
little old and battered to be doing that anymore, and needed something
to take me through my retirement years. So, I decided to step way
outside of my comfort zone.
Golf - the hardest sport I have ever
taken up. Most sports have come pretty easy for me, but not this
one. It's aggravating, frustrating, and a great stress inducer.
But, it can also be a stress reliever, and provides a time to clear
your mind when it's just you, a golf ball, and a practice field.
As I began practicing we both decided
to let the students start learning to play. The children love it.
I picked up clubs and putters from Goodwill, the Salvation Army,
and Habitat for Humanity for a dollar each. Balls were given to
me for free.
At the top of the next column you will find some
lessons for you and your students.
|
|
 |
|
My county administration has recently informed us that all
of our schools have to take down all of our climbing ropes.
I believe this is due to a liability or pending lawsuit.
What can be done about this? Please post in the forum. |
|
| Lessons For Me (continued) |
| GOLF
LESSON ONE - John Williams
Grade Level: 2nd - up
Objective: Hand/eye coordination, Striking
skills, Accuracy
Equipment:
Setup:
Arrange all of the hoops about 10 yards apart. Place a club, a
cone, and a corresponding colored ball approximately 10 yards
from the hoops. Divide students into groups of 3, 4, or 5, depending
on the size of your class. One student will be at the club and
ball. The others will be on the other side of the hoop lined up
facing the hitter. The first person in line will be the one to
retreive the hit ball.
Activity:
On your signal all hitters will pick up their clubs and address
the ball.
On your next signal
they will swing and strike the ball, attempting to get the ball
in, or as close to the hoop as possible. The students are trying
for accuracy not distance. The hitter will lay down the club and
go to the back of the line at the hoop. The retriever will get
the ball and return it to the cone and wait for directions.
Repeat several times.
When students get
the swing of things (pun intended) they may start going on their
own.
Monitor the class correcting safety concerns, stance, and grip.
note:
The 10 yard setup is a starting point. The hoops may be moved
a few steps further back for groups showing good hitting skills
and accuracy. Groups having trouble may have their hoops moved
a few steps closer.
ALPHABET GOLF- John Williams
Grade Level:
2nd - up
Objectives:
Putting skills, judging distance, hitting a target, letter recognition,
sequencing
Equipment:
 |
10
to 15 Putters
|
|
10
to 15 Yarn balls or other |
|
soft
balls |
|
Poly
spots |
|
Alphabet
squares |
Setup:
Scatter all 26 letter squares around the area you work in. Place
a poly spot at random distances from the letters. Pair up students
with one putter and one ball to share between them.
Game: Have
each of the students place their ball on the poly spot near one
of the letters. They will take turns putting the ball. On your
signal, the students will putt their ball towards the next letter.
They are trying to land their ball in the next letter in as few
hits as possible. When they land the ball inside of the letter,
they will then place their ball on the next poly spot inline with
the next letter of the alphabet. Repeat.
A COUPLE MORE
LESSONS:
Mini-Golf
- To introduce putting techniques and strategies to students
in a golf unit.
Mini
Golf (2)- To practice putting a golf ball (see also cues
for swinging the club).
So, take a chance
with your students, whether it is dance, gymnastics, golf, or
whatever, and step outside of your comfort zone. Life is short.
Enjoy it and try new things.
|
Indoor
Miniature Golf - Kids have fun creating their own indoor miniature
golf course with this activity. If miniature golf is a favorite
Saturday afternoon activity, don't wait for a sunny day. You can
turn your basement into a golf course.
Miniature
Golf - An activity to be used with a golf unit or just for a
fun game for the kids to play.
Kick
Ball-Baseball - This game is suitable for ages 4 and up. Game
can be played with any age group with skill enough to perform act
of kicking a ball.
Volleytennis
- This game is played with modified rules of volleyball.
Tumbleweed
Round-Up - Cardio endurance, balance, coordination, agility,
speed, accuracy
Elbow
Tag - Another fun tag game.
Tag
OK, The International Tag Game - This really looks like a fun
version of tag. You wouldn't be running after, and tagging people
in other countries, but you could modify this to be great fun for
your classroom.
Octopus
Tag - Another fun tag game.
|
|
|
| Musical
Line Movements - This activity helps challenge students to
travel on lines using different loco motor skills. In this exercise
kids find a spot on any line on the gym floor. Allow a reasonable
amount of time, then instruct them to "freeze." Start
the music. The children walk forward, following lines on the floor.
Stop the music. The children freeze like statues. Comment on the
"great statues" as they freeze without moving. You will
also find variations
to this activity.
Jump
the River - The purpose of this activity is to give kids the
opportunity to practice the skills of jumping and landing, while
emphasizing swinging the arms when jumping, and landing in a balanced
position without falling.
Name
of Activity: First Attempts at Jumping Rope - To provide children
with simple directions, and assist them in learning how to turn
and jump over a jump rope.
|
Soccer
Drills/Activities - This page contains a tall list of really
good links to drills and games, that focus on passing, dribbling,
shooting, and defending. You'll also find lots of other great
information and tips by checking out the rest of this site.
Soccer Drills/Games List
|
Line
Soccer - positional sense, passing, shielding, creating
space |
|
'ANIMALS'
- Fun game for ball control.
|
|
Statue,
Chicken, Superhero - dribbling, ball control |
|
Habits
of looking down while dribbling - fix habits of looking
down on the ball when dribbling, and also improves ball control
for high level players as well. |
|
Pig
in the middle - Passing accuracy and possession |
|
Moving
Triangle - Passing, Receiving, Movement on ball, movement
off ball, communication |
|
Target
Keep Away Ages - Good possession game with target players |
|
Zone
penetrating game - to create chances, accuracy in passing
and teach teams to penetrate & get behind an opponents
defense |
|
Boxes
- To teach younger players to hold positions, keep spacing,
and to pass - i.e. to squash the bee-hive! Also good for getting
a ball-hog to play nice with others! |
|
Add
up the Passes - Stresses passing while attacking. |
|
Short-Long
- Works on short and long passing for accuracy.
|
|
Possession
and Penetration Game - Possession and penetration passing
game to teach patience and when to do the killer pass. |
|
Bullrush
Variations - Dribbling, Control, Shielding, Defending,
Tackling, including goalkeeper and general fitness. |
|
3
team warm-up 5v5v5 - Warm-up, team work, controlling,
possession, passing |
|
Overlaps
Plus - Overlapping, Passing, Conditioning, Movement
|
|
Quad
Tri - Drill emphasizes coming back to ball, receiving
skills, and moving without the ball |
|
Conditioning
with Practical Application - Conditioning, Passing, Controlling
|
|
Attack
- Ball movement, shooting/scoring, defensive rotation |
Crab
Soccer - Objective: To outscore the opposing team
|
Kid's
Valley Garden - Welcome to the Kids' Valley Garden, a gardening
resource for kids that's been around since Santa was a baby. What
are you waiting for? Grab a shovel and start digging!
Kids'
Gardening - This is a page that you will just need to look
over. It contains a good list of links to all kinds of information
that will be useful in regard to kids' gardening. Good list! Check
it out!
Kids
and Gardening - A great place to grow! Getting the youngest
generation interested in gardening can be as simple as giving
them some quick sprouting seeds and a small patch of ground to
work with. Here are some simple suggestions to aid in children's
gardening endeavors.
3
Fun Projects: Has videos and instructions.
How to Build a Toad Pond
Creating a Kid's Garden
Creating a Butterfly/Hummingbird Garden
My
First Garden - A guide to the world of fun and clever gardening.
Also included is a teachers guide. Great site!
|
|
