Lab 6: Star Wars!

Lab 6 Write-up

This week in lab we had a "Star Wars" theme and we incorporated a lot of parachute games during the time we were there. There were no movements to track but instead we just had fun on our last day in St. Mary's. We were in the "floater groups".

St. Mary's Elementary Animoto Video

St. Mary's Elementary!

Above is the picture collage video that I made showing an inside look at our Motor Development lab at St. Mary's Elementary School.

Lab 5: Easter!

This weeks lab was an Easter theme because Easter was this past Sunday. It was a great, high energy, day. All of the kids were hyped up after just getting back to school. Most of the people from Cortland that were there also had an awesome attitude which really translated in the games. Probably with the addition of more experience, they seemed more confident in their own ability to capture childrens attention and maintain it. This week we looked at the motor movements: stationary ball bounce (dribbling) and the kick. The two children that we chose to look at were at very different levels of skill. The girl easily got bored with the basketball dribbling and quickly resorted to either carrying the basketball or using two hands to bounce it. The boy, however, was very skilled and advanced at the basketball dribbling and kicking. This week we were in the "special projects" group and just floated around helping people out where we could. It was pretty laid back.

Lab 4 Write-Up

Chapter 5: Prenatal Factors Affecting Development

CHAPTER 5 COMMERCIAL

This is my group, the Hopscotch Heroes, Motor Development video. It uses the antics of the Royal Baby Group and Bill Fuccillo to teach about the ways in which you can harm and help your baby during intrauterine development. This was filmed at SUNY Cortland with Dan, as Billy Fuccillo, Mike and the "Razzle Dazzle Guy," and Ian, Nick and myself as customers. With help from Dan, I edited the video make it run more smoothly, adding in some extras to make it more fun. Enjoy!

Tough Mudder: Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet

This weekend I participated in an event called the "Tough Mudder." It is a 7-12 mile obstacle course that was designed by British Special forces to test strength, stamina, mental toughness and camaraderie. It took place in Pennsylvania on Saturday and it was one of the most amazing experiences. I did it with 12 other buys from my swim team. I was the only girl and initially it was very frightening with the looming fact that I was going to probably slow them down. Very soon into the challenge I realized that I could really do this and that I was running with 12 guys that I knew I could count on and trust to help me throughout the whole race. The Tough Mudder Pledge is the one thing that really struck me about the whole event. It goes: As a Tough Mudder I pledge that I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge. I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time. I do not whine-Kids whine. I help my fellow Mudders complete the course. I overcome all fear. Tough Mudder Video

That pledge really stuck with me throughout the whole "mudder." It was every emotion rolled into one. It was amazing, horrible, exciting, scary, fun and painful. The other people that were participating were fantastic. A lot of the obstacles required help from the people around you and they were always willing to assist. The teamwork and camaraderie was astounding. It really was an amazing experience and I would most definitely do it again. 

Check out the Tough Mudder Website

Dinosaur Train!

This week at St. Mary's we did a lab  with a "Dinosaur Train" theme. The locomotor skills that we were to be looking for were throwing and catching. We had some trouble in the beginning because the children we chose to observe left. Most of the children had a problem throwing with the opposite foot. We were in the Pre-K this week and it was a nice change from being with the older kids all the time. I went with my group member Nick into the one classroom and we read them a story about how large Dinosaurs were and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I had some trouble keeping the children's attention. We then went into the gymnasium to start playing games. I played my game first and it was Dinosaur egg tag. The kids had to run around and if they got tagged they had to get down on the ground in an egg shape.  The children seemed to enjoy it. Another good one in our group was a game where the kids had to throw balls over a mat. It helped them practice overhand throws and it was a nice challenge for them. Overall it was a successful lab.

Lab #4 Write-up 

CAST: Cortland Adaptive Swim Team



        CAST the the Cortland Adaptive Swim Team. It is located on the SUNY cortland Campus and is a

cross disability competitive swim team that trains and competes year round. The swim team is for swimmers with a disability; CAST teaches individuals with disabilities how to be safe in and around water with a future goal of becoming a competitive swimmer.      CAST is affiliated with USA Swimming and has a 1:1 coach to athlete ratio. Instructors are SUNY Cortland students with Adapted Physical Education, Special Education, or competitive swimming experience. I have personally worked with most of the swimmers on the team. We have all different levels of swimmers, some just "learn to swim" and some on the competitive level. At the moment we are testing out a diving program with two of our girls. I am mostly in the water with the kids, writing practices and swimming along with them. It is all about being comfortable and safe around the water. Improvement is the number one goal. Check out our Facebook page!

Swim Lessons at Holsten Pool

The past two weekends I have been teaching swim lessons to the kids around Cortland County at the pool on campus. The first day it was really difficult because only three instructors showed up. There was some miscommunication with the times. There were only two groups and I took the upper level group. It was really difficult because they were all in different skill levels. It is always difficult because the upper level swimmers get bored because they already know how to do the skills that I have to teach to the lower levels. This weekend was better because we had more instructors and were able to split the children up more appropriately. Today I only had one swimmer around level 3, I am having a lot of difficulty getting her to improve her kicking but I am constantly trying different methods to make it easier. What I love about little swimmers is that they never give up!

Cortland Adapted Swim Team

This past semester I have been participating in CAST, the Cortland Adapted Swim Team. CAST is a cross disability competitive swim team that trains and competes all year long. For more information, their Facebook page is Cortland Adapted Swim Team. A lot of the instructors there are on the swim team here but there are also a large number of people in physical education and even some with a concentration in adapted P.E. Today, I got in the water with three girls all about 10 years old. They are all very good swimmers and I was able to work with one of them with her breaststroke. This is the second time I have been able to work with her and I really like it.

This week was Western Week! It was actually a lot of fun dressing up in western clothes and the kids seemed very excited about it.  My game was called "Desperado's Loot" and it was an adaptation from a game called "smoag's treasure." The kids were split up into groups and one person was designated to be the desperado and their "loot" was a bandana that they stood over. The other students had to try and steal it without getting caught. The kids seemed to really get into it. I had a lot of fun and it seemed to be easier to get the children's attention throughout the few hours that we were there. More information on the specific locomotor movements is located in my Lab 3 Write-up.

Spring Break

This spring break I flew to Greenville, North Carolina to visit my brother. He coaches a competitive club swim team down there and he invited me to sit in on a few of the practices. These kids are all under the age of 18 and a lot of them travel as much as 45 minutes to get to practice. They are truly amazing. After watching a few of their practices I could see how hard they all worked every day. Being a swimmer myself it was hard to believe the type of practices that they do every day and how intense the head coach was shocked me. Their dedication was unwavering and I was extremely impressed with the whole club team.

Chapter 2 Powerpoint

Lab #2 Cartoon lab

This weeks lab was actually a lot of fun. My group, the "Hopscotch Heroes," dressed up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by wearing headbands and incorporated TMNT into our games. My game was called "Pizza Shop" and it fit in because the Turtles love pizza! It was similar to a sharks and minos type game and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. Our first game was a partner tag game and it was pretty crazy because all of the kids were really riled up but our group held it together and did not let it discourage us. It was a very successful lab, overall. Lab#2 write-up

Pre Lab #3

The lab theme for the 3rd lab was "western." We played some very interesting games this week. I actually really enjoyed playing the games that the other people came up with. I did not get to practice mine but hopefully I will be able to run through it with my suite mates or the other members of my group. 

Pre Lab #2

I got to try out my game at pre lab and it was very nice to see how it would work in a real life setting. I know now that i will have to tweak it so that it will be easier to understand. It is called "Pizza Shop" and our group is dressing up as the teenage mutant ninja turtles. Those guys love pizza so I will tell the story of them liking pizza.

First motor development lab at St. Mary's

Going into the first lab at first lab at St. Mary's I was pretty scared. I didn't really know the other members of my group but it was a great experience. We first all met up in the large gym and watched the one group teach their games. I noticed that I actually knew a few of the kids and some girls came up to me and told me my hair was awesome(it is pink and purple). We then went down stairs and met up with the kids that we would be spending time with. I talked to a few of the older girls and then went to color with two young girls. I tried to make conversation with them; asking what they have been doing in school etc. They were very talkative. We went upstairs and played a few games. The kids were pretty attentive for the most part. I did not play by game. We played with them for a while and then all of the groups came in. We then played a group game and did a cheer. It was not as bad as i expected. I was quite nervous but it worked out very nicely. Lab Write-up

First Pre Lab

      Today was the first "pre lab." It was basically an introduction to what we will be doing in the future. I was kind of nervous at first because it would be my first time with the Monday group (I went to the Wednesday lab the previous week). We started playing games right away that the TAs had organized and it was pretty fun. It allowed me to see how things were done and it gave me some ideas for when I will have to teach a game. We were in the gym for about 45 minutes before we went down to a classroom and broke up into groups. It was a little difficult because I didn't know anyone but I was readily accepted into the "Hop Scotch Heroes." We were then instructed on how to write up the lesson plans, how to post blogs, how to work google documents and how St. Mary's worked. It was all very overwhelming. I hope that I will get used to it. My TA, Elena, is very friendly and it will be excellent to have her as a resource. I am excited to get started.

Assignment Number 1

         In the present day United States, childhood obesity is a rising issue. As physical educators, we can no longer the teacher who “throws the ball out,” A new approach must be taken. Having children learn-to-move and learning-through-movement are crucial for their motor development. It can also positively influence a child’s affective and cognitive development. The education must first be based on the individual, and then the age-group. Fundamental skill development in the motor, cognitive, affective domains are very important to becoming physically educated . The motor domain deals with movement (locomotion, manipulation, and stability) and health-related fitness. This domain is directly related to keeping kids fit and healthy. The cognitive domain focuses on concepts and improves the mind through movement. Lastly, the affective domain helps children improve social and self-concept skills. It helps kids work better in groups and get along with peers. Collectively, these three domains are the keystones to our profession as physical educators and the most important factors to keeping students healthy and physically fit.

      The National Association for Sport and Physical education (NASPE) and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAPHERD), both advocate high quality physical education. 

(image from mycollegeoptions.org)

Creating a Blog

   My first reaction to creating a blog was that it was quite overwhelming. I do not consider myself very "savvy" when it come to new technologies and that notion was definitely reinforced when creating this blog. However, I am very willing to learn and I believe that I have now gotten a handle on not only how to find my blog but how to actually post something.
   This break I only had a few days home with my family before I had to go to Florida with my swim team for our training trip. I was in Florida for 10 days and then came back to Cortland for the remainder of break. All I did during the time I was with my team was eat, sleep and swim. With practices twice a day, there was not time for much else.  During the practices, however, I had to constantly maintain a good attitude and push through the tough workouts. This gave me a lot of practice maintaining a good attitude when things could go awry with a lesson. Believe it or not, being in such close quarters with the same people wears some's patience very thin and it is key to keep your cool and maintain the peace between everyone. I was able to work on keeping order between people and getting along with my teammates.
    Our first lab at St. Mary's can not be described with a single word. It was chaotic, nerve wracking, scary, entertaining, and definitely fun. I was quite confident I knew where it was but still had trouble finding it. On first entering the gym, I was a bit overwhelmed by how many children were playing around. A part of me was concerned about the safety of the kids that seemed to be getting too rough. But then I was unsure what type of authority I had or even if they were being too rough. I have been teaching swim lessons over the summer for 4 years so I am better at detecting unsafe situations in the water. We got into groups and was introduced to the different places where we would be. When we got back to the gym it was a little scary having to walk up to kids but once I did, I had a great time. The children were very friendly and willing to talk to us. I am excited for the next time we will get to go there.