It was fun getting to see all of the students again after Winter Break. The two weeks felt so long that I actually started a discussion with Ms. Lemon about how year-round school might not be a bad idea - 9 weeks on and 3 weeks off. Call me crazy, but I think it might be a nice change.
This past week we started our soccer unit. All students began the week with station day. A dribbling, passing, shooting, and free choice station were set up. As students moved freely from station to station, I was able to observe areas of strength and weakness.
Based on what I observed, students in grades k/1 worked on dribbling without using their toe. Using the inside and the outside of the foot was modeled and practiced. "NO TOE!" was the slogan of the week as students worked to keep the ball close and under control while moving in open space.
Students in grades 2/3 worked on passing and trapping. Again, "NO TOE!" was repeated. Instead, the plant foot points towards the target, kicking foot turns outward, knee is slightly bent, leg swings back and through were the keys. For trapping, move to the ball, turn foot outward, lift off of the ground a couple inches, give with the ball.
Fourth graders worked on dribbling, passing, trapping. They did very well demonstrating these skills and were able to play a small game of crab soccer to emphasize dribbling in tight spaces.
We were also forced to be inside one day because of the weather. On this day, students in the younger grades did stations that included the rock wall, the mini-trampolines, and a tossing game. The fourth grade girls completed their mid-year sit-up test and got to workout to an early '90s Jane Fonda aerobics tape. It was awesome! A lot of groaning at first, but a lot of laughter by the end. Most importantly, everyone was sweating up a storm by the end - including me!
