St Mary's SuperHeroes to the Rescue

This week was our final experience at St Mary's. I was glad that for the last week I got to work with the Pre-K students as I had the best experience working with them during the Dinosaur Train lab. I found out when I got there that my lab group, Three's Company, would be split up this week. Dan and Holly stayed inside with one group, as I went outside with the other group. I had a great experience with the students, and I wasn't even leading any activities. The Pre-K students just wanted to run around, and play some of their games. It was a good experience and change because I got to learn even more what the students liked and disliked. I feel that the Superman shirt helped this week, as it hooked the students into participating.

We then went inside. I got the privelage again to read to the students. The book was called "Super Guinea Pig to the Rescue." The students were hooked, as many of them were interested in the story. I knew this especially because students were complaining that they couldn't see the pictures. While it's never good to hear students complaining, it felt good to know that they were interested in what I was reading. It's always nice to read to the students, as it's a change in a different environment. We're usually leading psychomotor activities that require a lot of physical work, but it's also nice to be in a classroom setting reading to students.

After I read to the students, I led the students through an obstacle course. It went alright, as the students were involved in the beginning of the course. A few older students came over as well, but I did two things wrong with this activity. One, it was too long for most of the students. The students were bored with the activity after a while, as I put too many items for the students to put in the hoop. The other thing that I did wrong was the way I presented the directions to the game. I wasn't clear enough, as I wanted the game to start due to time restraints. I should've slowed down with the instructions this week, and shortened the game. I felt the activity was good, but it could've been great.

I am glad that I got to do this experience down at St Mary's. I learned a lot about myself, and I got to gain experience with the students. I have seen myself progress from when I first walked in there, and I learned better ways to teach to children. This is important when I go out there in the future, gaining more experience, as I progress in my classes here. I feel that my job at the summer camp will be a lot better as well this summer, since I've learned better ways to present games to students. All I can do is to keep learning, and that's what I did every time I walked into St Mary's.

Comfort over Everything Else

In this video attached, I watched a short experiment conducted by Harry Harlow. In this experiment, he was trying to prove that infants, if given a choice would choose comfort over any other variable. The way he proved his thesis was through a lab monkey, which was given two separate choices for "mothers." The first mother had a bottle attached to it, but was made out of wire. The second mother was made of cloth, and was more comforting. The monkey was released from it's cage, and immediately went to the wire mother for food. Harlow said it best "he has to eat to survive." However, after a few seconds, he went to the cloth mother. The monkey would go to eat once more to fulfill it's apetite, but would ultimately stay with the cloth mother. Once and for all proving Harlow's thesis that when given a choice, an infant will choose comfort over any other variable.

I learned from this experiment. I always knew that infants would choose comfort, but I also thought that food would be near that level. However, as Harlow proved, a baby when put in an uncomfortable situation like the monkey was with the wire, would only eat the bare minimum to substain it's desire for food. I would assume that most infants would drink from a bottle until it was out, or they were completely full before going back for comfort. Infants do become attached to the love and comfort they receieve from their mother. It's important that they receive this growing up in their early years. However, as Physical Education teachers, we have to be prepared for students who come from broken homes, or have situations where they're moved around in foster care that don't receive a lot of love or attention. This will occur, and we have to make school enjoyable for them so they have something to look forward to.

Reach for the Sky

This week was our sixth lab at St Mary's Elementary school, with the theme this week as Toy Story. Our focus was on dribbling and kicking this week. I felt this lab went pretty well given the circumstances. When we got to the school, we found out that we would be running our activities outside for the day. I was prepared for this since we knew that Monday's lab was also outside. My game, Zone B, is an activity that can be played either inside or outside.

One thing that I didn't do correctly at first this week was explaining the rules to the game. The students were scoring easily, and were getting frustrated. I stopped the activity to go over the rules again, so the students wouldn't be as frustrated. Although it slowed the activity down, it actually made the game better. The students weren't scoring as much, and the game became more challenging. This is a part of PE, adapting games to either make them more challenging or easier. I knew the game was a success, because one of the students didn't want to participate in the beginning, but was very involved in the game as it progressed.

This lab didn't start off the greatest, but it ended well. All I can do is learn from my mistakes. This week, the way I explained the instructions wasn't as good as it could of been. However, this will ensure that the next time I explain the rules that it will be better. I don't want to be in a situation again where I have to stop the activity to mention the rules. I dressed up as Woody this week, since the theme was Toy Story. I felt dressing up helped the activity go along a lot better, since it helps get students interested. A lot of students were talking to me while we were just waiting in the hallway.

At St Mary's we look at student's progression involving different motor skills. However, I feel that I've progressed at a student learning to become a Physical Education teacher since the first lab. The first game that I presented wasn't very good at all. It had to do with the way I was presenting the games, and not showing a lot of excitement. However, as I've gotten used to the school, and received different amounts of advice, I've learned to become a better instructor for the students at St Mary's. It's important to listen to the advice given to you, and to learn from your mistakes. You'll have a better end result.

Bunny's Hopping at St Mary's

Today was our fourth lab at St Mary's. I was a part of the Special Projects group, so I didn't lead in an activity until the very end of the lab. The game I chose was Sneak Attack, and I felt I did a pretty good job leading the activity. I feel that I used a strong hook to attract the students to play the game. I used an example that mentioned how the Easter Bunny has to sneak into all the houses, and how he's very quiet when he does so. This game had a lot of success at the summer camp I worked at, so that's why I decided to use it here. It is a challenging game to learn, so I made sure that I had the other member of my group, as well as the lab assistant for our group help me demonstrate. I felt that the demonstration worked really well. The reason for this is because the students started to play the game during the second demonstration. It's important to demonstrate, so that way the student's see first hand what the activity will be like.

I participated with the student's in the beginning to get them into the game, as well as being the "administrator" type figure for the game. There were a few things I could've worked on. For starters, I think that I shouldn't have done the second demonstration. This is because the children were anxious to play in the game, and just started playing. It's good that they want to participate, but it also showed that I should've just left it at one demonstration. Another thing I could've improved on, as I was told by one of the lab assistants was my voice. Students are always going to be loud, so I have to be even louder when explaining instructions so they can hear me. It's one of the most important factors in Physical Education, having a loud voice so everyone can hear you. Other than that, I felt that the game went really well, and it was the previous experiences at St Mary's that helped me here.

As part of the Special Project's Group, my group had to hang posters with the thank you collages on them. It was a good experience doing an arts and crafts type of program today. One of my weaknesses when I worked at the camp was Arts & Crafts. There was one day where the woman who ran Arts & Crafts wasn't there, so I had to come up with a project. The project I chose wasn't a very good one, as it included campers decorating the rocks, calling them "Pet Rocks." This experience with the collages have given me an idea that I can use in case that situation happens again this summer. I can also use this when I someday become a teacher as well.

It was important that we do these collages for St Mary's school. It's important we show them our appreciation, as they let us gain experience in their school. They don't have to allow us to come to their school, but they give us an opportunity to do so. As students, we at least have to take a little time in our lives to say thank you. We're given an opportunity to learn and gain experience first hand. This is something that you just can't learn in a classroom.

Dinosaurs Rule at St Mary's

This week in lab was the first week that I was able to work with the pre-school students. I have to say that this week was one of my favorite labs thus far. I started off reading to the pre-school students a book "The Land Before Time." At first only two students were listening to me read, but as the story progressed, three more students came over. I had to make sure that I acted like the book I was reading was an exciting story. I would try to get the students involved by exaggerating some of the more exciting scenes in the story. The students enjoyed what I had read to them so much, that they asked me to read to them again.

I was then asked to read to both Pre-K classes. Again, I made sure to show enthusiasm while reading the story, as it makes the students pay attention and enjoy the story even more. There was songs in the story, and I would have the students sing the song after I had sang it. I felt that I did a good job this week, as most of the students were paying attention, and seemed to be into the story that I was reading. I feel that the advice that I had received in the previous weeks was a big help this week. The advice to make the children want to be involved in whatever activity you're involved with. If I had just read the book, with the same attitude that I would have if I was reading a chapter in a textbook, they wouldn't have wanted to hear the story.

The moment I was most proud of was when I got a student to participate in the final activity. This student, L, didn't want to seem to participate at all, but I acted as if I would be upset if she didn't participate. This made her want to participate since I potrayed myself as being upset if she didn't. This was one of the better labs this past week. I felt that the lab preparation was a big help the week before. I was able to obtain advice from Dr. Yang and other lab assistants, which helped out this past week. I didn't do much differently, but I felt a lot more prepared this week. I feel as if now I've gotten used to going over to the school, and feel comfortable around the students. It was great to see the students having a good time, which made me feel good. It's an important factor that the students are having fun. If they aren't, chances are you as an instructor aren't either. Well, the good instructors aren't.

A First Attempt with Prezi

I attempted to put my previous blog into a prezi This is something we learned about on Thursday. This is a great way to put word documents into a visual aid, which makes it more interesting. In any class, visual aids will maintain student's attention.

Childhood Growth and Motor Development

One of the factors that affect childhood growth and motor development is nutrition. With nutrition, it can be many different factors that can lead to poor nutrition. These can be poor dieting choices, which can be childhood obesity. This could be due to parents not having time to prepare nutritious meals, and relying on fast food for their children. Another factor is physical activity. A lack of physical activity is a problem, as it means children aren't getting the adequate amounts of exercise needed. This can lead to obesity and possible decreases in muscle mass. If a child is overly physically active, it can lead to injuries that can be harmful to a child's development. Illness is the third factor. It's been shown that restricted opportunities of movements and movement experiences can interfere with a child's ability performing physical tasks. The last factor is lifestyle. Lifestyle has to do with the other three factors. A child may not have control over what they eat, how much they exercise, or environment factors that can affect their health.

Differentiation is the gradual progression from the movement patterns of infants as they mature to the basic functional movements in children. Integration is the coordinated interaction of opposing muscle and sensory systems. Both are related when an infant is developing skills and movements. These movements are usually hand-eye coordinated, which include both differentiation and integration.

A child in early development is usually energetic, preferring running over walking. Children in this stage are developing different movements, but understanding of certain movements is difficult for some children. At the early stage, children are enhancing their thoughts and ideas verbally. Children learn right from wrong, which during this stage, children begin to mature as they develop a conscience. A child who is in later development has instituted a hand preference. Girls begin to develop physically at a faster rate than boys, and interests become different between genders. Children are more focused at this stage, with a majority focused on their personal interests. Relationships with friends start to increase in the later stage. They want to spend more time with friends, and often engage in activities they don't want others to know about.

Track and Field skills involve all axial movements, along with dynamic basic skills. This is because in track, you have to stretch your body, along with bending the knees, and turning the body in a certain direction. Different locomotor skills include running, which is obviously important, for training and performance reasons. Jumping is important as well for those involved in field events. Different manipulate movement skills include field events such as shot put, javelin, and pole vault.

Gallahue's hour glass model describes four different phases. The first phase is the reflexive movement phase, which has the information encoding stage. This goes from when the child is in the uterus until about four months of age. The next stage is the information decoding stage which goes from four months to one year. The second phase is the rudimentary movement phase, which has two stages. The first being the reflex inhibition stage which goes from birth to one year, and the second being the pre-control stage. This goes from age one to two. The third phase is the fundamental movement phase, which has three stages. The first is the initial stage which goes from age two to three. The second is the elementary stage, going from age four to five. The third being the mature stage, going from age six to seven. The last phase is the specialized movement phase, which also has three stages. The first is the transition stage, which starts at age seven, and goes to age ten. The second is the application stage, going from age eleven to thirteen. The third stage is the lifelong utilization stage, which starts at age fourteen and continues as a child gets older.

The fundamental phase has three different stages which are the initial, elementary, and mature stages respectively. Beginning with the initial stage, children first begin to attempt certain activities, with movements still needing to be developed. The second stage is the elementary stage, which children are able to develop the basic skills needed for most locomotor movements. Some children don't make it past this stage. The mature stage is where someone can efficiently perform certain motor skills, which may be used in a game-like situation.