Budget and equipment

This question is for elementary teachers. Does lunch playground equipment or class playground equipment come out of your budget? Well, it comes out of mine. I have a serious problem with this because I see this equipment left outside after recess and then the teachers come to me and ask for more. Just curious to see if your district has the same policy?

Open House!

Tonight is Open House at our school. This is an evening where kids come and run around the school and they don't have to listen to their teachers, well, at least it seems that way. Does anyone set up activities in their gym for Open House? Some of my fellow elementary p.e. teachers set up activities and equipment for the kids, and from what I understand it becomes chaos. I'd be interested to hear what other p.e. teachers do for Open House.

Elementary grades

Does anyone who teaches at the elementary level have a grading policy of plus or minus? My district is that way and I find it to be a joke. We give either a plus or minus for 1. Behavior 2. Comes to class prepared 3. Displays good sportsmanship 4. Works cooperatively with others
Did you notice that it has nothing to do with skill development or knowledge? I'd be interested in hearing how other districts grade in elementary school for physical education.

Heart-rate monitors

Does anyone use the strapless Reebok heart-rate monitors? There are times that when my student's try to get their heart-rate reading, it does not work. I'm wondering if the sensors aren't working or if their skin is too dry? Any thoughts?

Technology games

Does anyone know if there are any other games that can be played on the Playstation II using the DDR dance pads? I have two DDR dance pads, but I would like to have other games that can be played that gets them moving. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!!

Titanic

I'm wondering if anyone has tried playing the game Titanic with your elementary classes. If you haven't, it's one of their favorite games, and I'm sure your classes will enjoy it too. The game is a cooperative learning game that requires the student's to work together to complete a task. I tell the story about the Titanic, and how it was an unsinkable ship. The game is played placing 6 folded mats (boats) on one endline, and 6 steppers (docks) on the opposite endline. Scatter large and small cones, balls, scooters, and anything you can find in your gym closet on the floor. The goal of the game for the students is to try and get from one end of the gym to the other without touching the gym floor. The students can ride on the scooters to get across, or they can place them under the mats and build rescue boats to get across. While they are crossing, they are required to pick up the equipment, pretending it's their luggage and "stuff" still in the water. If a student touches the gym floor with any body part, for the exception of their hands, they must go all the way back to the beginning endline. Large cones can be used to hop on to get across. The game is over when all of the boats, "stuff", and students are standing on the steppers (docks) without anyone touching the floor. Lastly, to make it more challenging, the teacher can be "Mother/Father Nature". As Mother/Father Nature, you can rock their boats, spin their scooters, or scatter any equipment that is not being held onto by the student's. If boats are unattended, you can send them all the way back to the beginning endline. I time the student's, and they really get into trying to beat their previous time. Every student is involved, every student helps the class to accomplish the same goal, and they get a great workout.

Punt, Pass and Kick

On Thursday I hosted my Punt, Pass and Kick competition for my 4th and 5th grade students. The first two years that I did it, I had every student participate during my p.e. classes. This took a lot of time, usually two or three classes, so I changed how I run my competition. For the past two years, I've held the competition on a volunteer basis. I held it after school to allow the student's who were interested to come and compete, which didn't take up my p.e. class time.