Summer 2006 - The member magazine of the Elementary Teachers

There are not a lot of children complaining thatthey don’t know what to do any more. Boys andgirls play together.bullying programs, and a variety of health and safety lessons. But, notes Allin,“everything went pretty smoothly. Staff was receptive to time slots allotted totheir classes for activity periods and worked their schedules around it.”Twice a week, on days when there are no regular phys. ed. classes, all threeintermediate classes go outside together for 40 minutes just before the firstnutrition break. (Queen Elizabeth II operates on balanced day).Teachers join in, modelling sportsmanship while helping build schoolspirit. They try to vary activities, keeping at least three choices such as basketball,touch football and dodge ball available at once. Some days, they walk theperimeter of the yard, or follow a route through the neighbourhood.“The fun factor is really important,” comments Grade 8 teacher MattCoatsworth. “One of the favourite games is dodge ball. Students keep scoreby the number of times they hit the teacher with the ball. It adds a specialchallenge to the game.”“Students are more productive in class. We have 40 minutes to do whatwe would otherwise accomplish in 60 minutes. We don’t look at it as missingtime from math, science or French so much as having more efficienttime,” Coatsworth points out.Students themselves have noticed a change. “I used to play a lot of videos,”said Aaron L’Ecuyer, a Grade 8 student leader. “Since I joined teams,I’d rather be outside when it’s warm. In the winter I go to the Y. If I seesomeone standing alone, I try to ask them to join in or encourage them todo something like shoot hoops.”The kids do lots of things that don’t necessarily involve skill or have aconnection to a sport. Supervising teachers must constantly keep moving toavoid bouncing, rolling and flying balls of all sizes, turning ropes, and runningor jumping children playing games like hopscotch, tag and grounder.Principal Deanna Blain says that not all the activity has to be organizedby adults. “Learning how to make their own games is important. We’repainting games like hopscotch and four square on the asphalt. We’re givingbooklets with game suggestions to the staff so they can introduce the gamesto the children.”Grade 6 teacher, Beth Haddock has noticed that “There are not a lotof children complaining that they don’t know what to do any more. Boysand girls play together.” When bad weather prevented Haddock’s class fromgoing outside for their activity break, she introduced a Tae Bo video.No more couch potatoesFor this activity students find their own spacebetween desks in the classroom. The only ruleseems to be not to knock over any plants asthey work up a sweat following their videoleader. “Students are more attentive after activity.They’re ready to settle and do some work at theirbooks,” observes Haddock.“I think the activity makes us want to go outsideand do more stuff like walk. After school I’drather shoot hoops with friends than stay inside,”notes Mathew Willder, who is in Haddock’sclass.Primary division classes each use an emptyclassroom on indoor activity days to work outwith two,10-minute Fit Kids video clips. Followinginstructions on the exercise video tapes notonly provides physical activity, but also helpsdevelop listening skills needed for EQAO testing.“We don’t look at the exercise requirement asan inconvenience, but as a benefit to the wholeday,” remarks Grade 3 teacher, Sharron Myers.Avery Case, one of her students, says he likesgetting energized! “Sitting is hard work. Kidsneed to wiggle. I don’t like being called a couchpotato.” Fellow student Alyssa Withington adds:“When I play school, I’m the gym teacher and wedo exercises that build muscles and get ready todo sports. I like to skip, ride my bike, climb onthe monkey bars and play grounder.”Kindergarten students get 10 minutes of exercisedaily wherever it fits into their flexible schedule.Here, the biggest problem is controllingthe excitement factor. According to JK teacher,Kristin Vandersluis, “It’s easier to handle whenthere’s an EA in the room.”Dave Allin observes that there are “two kids inparticular with remarkable changes in body sizefrom last year to this. Maybe it’s just that they’regrowing, but there is positive change. The kidsseem more in tune with their bodies and understandthat change is possible.”“It would be interesting to look at data onoffice visits,” comments Vice Principal, ByronHodgson. “I suspect there are fewer issues on theyard, partly because of intramurals.”In the end, administrators won’t need statisticsto judge the success of the program. All they’llhave to do is listen to students at play in the yard:“Five potato, six potato, COUCH POTATO NOMORE!”20 etfo voice SUMMER 2006