Decorating The Equipment Closet

Well im not going to lie this was the most boaring of all the St. Mary's labs. I learned that a closet that looks like it is organzied can be organized even better. Dr. Yang is a master of organization. Evey time we thought that we were done and had things set about as good as we possibly could he had a better idea. So we would go with it and i can tell you that, that closet was organized when we left it. It would be funny to peak in the closets today and see how they looked. My guess is that they are a mess again. But hey maybe not. Perhaps we made the pe teachers job alot easier by prioritizing everything and making more room. We tried to keep similar thiings together and tried to put item that were most likely rarely used up high and in spots harder to get to so that the things that were used more often would be more accsesible. Heck we even went so far as to take pictures of the items that went in specific boxes so that Dr. Yang could print them off and we could tape the pictures on the boxes. Now that's some serious organization. Well its a part of the job and doing so made sure we got a all around experience at St. Mary's.

How much is too much

when it was time to go outside with the older age students i got involved in a game of kickball. The first thing that i noticed was that the kids were pitching the ball like garbage. Kids couldnt kick it and they were picking the rolls up and throwing them back to the pitcher as if they were a called ball in a baseball game. I decided that i would take over the duty of pitching in the game. I pitched for both teams and wasnt going to try and make any outs at firs. After letting a short fly ball fall to the ground in front of me the students were pretty upset with me so i decided to catch a few kicks and try to make an equal amount of outs for both teams. The competition between the two teams was fierce. The last out of the game so not a good one and one that made me question what was appropriate for me and what wasnt. As i made the out the boy triped over the ball and fell. I felt awful and for a minute thought that this going to be a big deal and that i bit off more than i could chew. Accidents happen when playing sports and games but it still felt different being so much larger than those students. What happened was the ball was kicked short and rolling towards the third base line. A runner was on second and heading to third. As i fielded the ball the runner was litteraly 4 or 5 feet away from me. I gently passed the ball into the runner. After the ball hit the student it bounced on the pavement and he tripped on the ball and fell hard onto the black top. I felt so bad and i didnt really know what to do. Something so routine and simple became serious.

It's always raining

The majority of my time in lab four was speant in the pre k classroom. When i entered the classroom with the rest of the goonies the students acted as if we never enteres the room. Everyone was occupied whether they were drawing playing with play dough or playing with cars. I walked over to the kids playing with the cars and grabbed a car and began to play. They had a ball playing cars with me. Each was trying to show off their car and driving skills as well as car or truck sounds. What an imagination they have. We built a town with roads bridges and garages out or blocks mostly but anything that we could use. I chose the title its always raining because when we were playing with out cars David took control and kept saying "It's raining". So we had to park our cars in a garage. I think my car never got out of the garage because ever time i tried to pull it out and get back on the road he yelled its raining. SO all the boys and myelf always had to park our cars under cover. After playing cars i went over and worked with some different students while playing with play dough. The highlight of this lab for me was reading the book pinkaliscious. I made sure to put alot of expression into my reading and the kids loved it. It was fun getting animated and hearing everyone laugh.

Football Frenzy at St.Mary's

The goonies and i started out in the cafeteria when things were slow and for the most part boaring. My interaction with the students was limited beacase for the most part everyone was doing something. I found it hard to get involved. However when we went to th gym i sighed for relief. In the gym i did alot of differet activities i did some basketball shooting games with a student, i played some knock out, played football, did some hula hooping and tried to do the thriller dance with the students which was hilarious. the experience was fun and i learned alot this time around. The more efforst i put in to making activities more intersting and fun the better attitude and effort the kids put in. Their needs to be a small twist on things sometimes to keep things intersting. For example while playing football i gathered my team together and drew up and reverse option pass. The play at first glance is complex and hard to successfully complete but thats whatth ekids need is a fun challenge that keeps them active.

Early Morning

What a change in behavior in the St.Mary's students in the morning session compared to the afternoon. The kids were calm sitting still and more polite. In the afternoon it seems like alot of them are just trying to push our buttons and looking for a challenge. In the morning these kids were in the zone and really concentrating on their worksheets. I was in Christophers class and was impressed at how on task the students were. I thought that they would rush throught their worksheets so that they could begin free time as soon as they could but they didn't. When i left at 8:50 many of the kids were still working on their sheets and they were content with that. It brought back memories seeing the worksheets and the tracing of the letters. I had the opportunity to help several of the kids including Liam with their letters or numbers. It always feels good to help and know that the person you're helping appreciates you. The kids were polite and thanked me. I was impressed. At one point i started conversations with the students about what pets they had at home. To my surprise Ileanna had a pet dinosaur that ate worms and rides on her back. I got a kick out of her story and her expression. The kids really enjoyed talking about their pets and really got off task. Their voices got alot louder and the teacher had to raise her voice to quiet them down and to get back on task. I felt bad because that was pretty much my fault getting them going. Overall it was a good experience and the kids were great.

Shameful or Not

Dodgeball, kickball, shamefull games. I think not. Shamefull in the PE class setting--ahh probably. Pe has standards and needs to help children learn movment skills and a healthy life style. Can dodgeball and kickball do those things? Most certainly. The things is children need to be involved and be active. Adaptations need to be made on these traditional games. It's shamefull if people are standing or sitting out and or people are becoming made targets and embarrased. The job lies in the hands of the pe teacher. A well executed plan can definetly enhance the games and make them worthy of class.

Gotham City Cortland?

Lab 2 was a ball for everyone. I believe that the students were more engaged due to the effort that we as students put into dressing our parts. We made that after school experience one that is different from all the other and something to laugh and talk about. My group was in the classroom with the Pre K. Seeing the students in the classroom compared to the gym or the playground was like entering another world. I saw the students act calm. After my interaction with them in the gym i thought that would be impossible. I went a little above and beyond for the theme and dressed in an all out Batman costume. I didnt kjnow how the students were going to take me. Too my surprise they thought i was the real Batman. When i walked in they swarmed me. It's funny they all asked the same question. Can you fly? It was also funny to hear the kids call me Batman. They seemed to open up alot more to me because i was dressed up. We worked on some coloring and playing with play dough. It had been soooo long since ive had my hands in play dough. I got a kick out of it and had a good time and good experience.

video for lab 1