Today we played with bean bags! I love bean bags. Everyone got a bean bag, and we practiced throwing them to ourselves. Next we switched hands, and then tried catching them on the back of our hand. We paired up,
Weekly Summary: Movement Games – Quarks – Gym
Last week I tried out a few different movement games on our Quarks, to varying degrees of success. Lacking hula hoops, we had to instead use a jump rope (tied in a loop) for our first exercise. We all joined
Weekly Summary: Week 2 – La Crosse – Quarks – Gym
Week 2 – Potawatomi, Pegnegewen (stickball) + DIY Lacrosse sticks We began Quarks gym with gathering at the far pavilion to look at real examples (thanks Vicki!) as well as images of La Crosse Sticks, discussed their function, forms and
Weekly Summary: Week 3 – Relay Race 10.19.23 – Quarks – Gym
This week began class with reading a traditional folktale of the Hmong; a group of indigenous people of Laos titled – “Nine-in-one, Grr! Grr!” by Blia Xiong. If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s a classic “trickster” tale that
Weekly Summary: plank position/ harvest – Neutrons – Gym
For the harvest theme this week, the Neutrons warmed up performing different activities of (pretend) harvesting: Picking apples and pears from high trees (walking on tip toes, stretching overhead), lifting very heavy large pumpkins (squat, raising up slowly against isometric
Weekly Summary: “Pool Noodle Sharks & Minnows” and “Lanes” – Muons and Electrons – Gym
For our first week of combined Electrons-Muons gym, Jessica and I set the stage with the kids for how we would like to organize gym this year. Each week we will have 2 options: a competitive game and a non-competitive
Weekly Summary: Bodies and bridges / teamwork exercises – Quarks – Gym
We started class with warm up exercises moving our bodies in various forms : “as big as we can be” and “as small as we can be”. The kids then shared shapes they can make with their bodies, then we
Weekly Summary: Gym Meets Nature Walk Meets STEM – Muons – Gym
After seeing two groups enjoy trying to prise apart the giant fallen log in the woods, Ananda and I thought the Muons would enjoy the same adventure. So, we headed into the woods and invited them to put their burgeoning
Weekly Summary: Hike! – Muons – Gym
Ananda, Brigit, and I took the Muons on a hike to the Trailside Museum to check out the barred owl (who was quite lively) and get our movement on. The Muons were full of movement, albeit not always the forward
Weekly Summary: Sit-ups and fun in the snow – Electrons and Neutrons – Gym
What a beautiful day to be outside! It was a bit of a challenge to find a dry spot on the benches for sit-ups but some kids preferred the snow on the ground anyway. Their form was really good, we