CURLING!

HAPPY WINTER OLYMPICS!  I seem to be on a little roll all of the sudden in 2014 with finding new sports to play.  Last night I learned the olympic sport of Curling.  By now, everyone should know something about this sport but if not.....here goes.  A sport that was created in the 1500's in Scotland, actually came to the U.S. near New York first and then ended up huge in Canada.  Not a high endurance game but definitely one of great skill.  I am practicing here with two curling rocks but during a game you will "throw" (roll) one at a time over 145 feet across the ice while your teammates "sweep" the ice to create a smooth surface for continued motion.  If you can land it in the target (I'm in one on my side), then you have a chance of scoring.....think bocce ball on ice??

Anyway THANKS again to EXTREME ICE for their classes on Curling!

Pickleball

Thanks to NANO Sports in Matthews, I have been able to try a new sport that I haven't played since learning about it in college.  This is an indoor version of tennis played with a small wiffle ball and a paddle.  You can play singles or doubles.  It is an easier version of tennis but is still challenging and can give you a pretty good workout.  A lot of people say it is becoming popular in the retirement community but I'm here to tell you that I played against someone close to my age and got beat consistently today, especially on backhand!  Thanks Nano!!

POLAR PLUNGE....well kind of!

Well after convincing my friend's dad to open his pool on New Year's Day, we embarked on our first ever Polar Plunge, in the pool that is.  Most people do this in open water but this was a good start.  The water temp was at a cool 50 degrees but it felt like freezing to me.  As soon as I hit the water, I lost my breath and had to push on through.  The rule was that we had to swim down and back in the pool.  I was cold for days!!

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.