Lessons for my Students

There has been a renewed interest in my blog recently since I was nominated a finalist as Teacher of the Year in my school district.  I haven't written very much about the impact of this blog on my students that I teach, but it has been so incredible to share this with them.  Here are some of the lessons and teaching moments that have come up over the last two years in relation to my blog:

-Yes, there are 30 sports.......and MORE!

-If you want to play something, then you need to just ASK the question "Can I Play".  This is a new rule at our recess that students must ask and be allowed to play.

-Cricket is not a bug, at least in the world of sports.  I created a unit of instruction on the sport of Cricket and not only did it teach my students about the sport, but it taught a lot about different countries and multi-cultural exposure.

-I have also taught Lacrosse, Golf, Basketball, Disc Golf, Dance, Modified Rugby, and Ultimate Frisbee since this blog was started.

-One of my students actually took a modified version of my challenge himself....30 sports that he played!  Way to go Scott!

-Students think it is funny that I fell down rollerblading....of course they did.

-I have collaborated with my music teacher this year to bring our students better instruction in DANCE and my students know that I danced as one of my sports, so they REALLY had no excuse!

-We now have disc golf goals and basketball goals installed at our school.  Thanks PTA!

-Sports are fun but so is PLAY.  Don't forget about the VALUE in just creative play that children can do in their backyard.  This is one of the reasons we have a new creative play area at my school!

Great View!

Come on warm weather!  A little chilly out on Lake Norman today.

Caribbean Paddleboarding

Look what I did last week to break up the winter blues!

BROOMBALL

Well due to work and family obligations, I did not complete a challenge last summer but.....I have found a new sport and just had to try it out.

Thanks to Extreme Ice Center again in Indian Trail, I was able to feel like a real ice hockey player.  As you know, I looked pretty awkward on ice skates during my original challenge but I have discovered the game of Broomball!  In this game, I wore specialized rubber shoes that help to stay up and running on the ice.  We play with a 7' rubber ball and use sticks that have something like a plastic web on the end of them.  The game is similar to ice hockey but played without skates and with a ball.  This is certainly a new and exciting game to play and is definitely a GREAT alternative for someone like me who cannot skate well.  Thanks to Mondo at Extreme Ice for hooking me up with this sport.  I ended up playing pickup for a few weeks at the center.