YOU are a superhero to someone!!!

*To the MOOOOOOOOOON!*

Today, we got to spend the day with the fantastic and mighty St. Mary's superheroes! It was so refreshing to be back at the school with the kids after our little break. Wednesday's are the longest, toughest days so the time we get to spend at St. Mary's at the end of the day is like a breath of fresh air!

This young lady taught me much more than Irish Step dance :)

I got to spend a lot of time getting to know young Mo today. She is truly a thirty year old in an eight year old's body. ADORABLE! She taught me a lot about the power of a young mind and a young spirit. She was enrolled in Irish dance (which she so graciously tried to teach me) and could talk your ear off about theater and singing and playing the piano. She was almost worldly in a way. I look forward to meeting her again next Wednesday - when she is dressed as a teenage Elphaba!

A true SUPERHERO!

I would also like to take a minute and comment on Justin. I personally did not get to witness this - but the picture says it all. ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. This is what we strive to get from our kids - this undivided, unfaltering attention. When we acquire this... we open an eternal portal of teaching opportunities - and, not only the physical education opportunities. When the kids look up to you like this you become a role model. This allows you to easily and even subconsciously teach them about life, respect, and becoming a positive role model themselves. I hope that we're all a Justin someday!

A Pirate's Life for Me :)

This Wednesday we spent the afternoon with the St. Mary's kids hobbling around our pirate ships on our peg-legs, stealing gold, and chatting with our talking parrots! It was FABULOUS! The kids are adorable. Each child is totally unique and it's wonderful that we are getting the opportunity to be a fun and hopefully influential part of their life.

During this lab we were able to observe the children running, galloping, and hopping and examined their ability to perform the fundamental parts of each skill. Adam and Mary were great examples of students who understood the skill, could perform the skill successfully, and are still refining the full motions/aspects of each skill.

Check out how enthralled the Pre-K's are with Trent's story about Peter Pan and the Lost Boys! It is awesome how well you can keep the kids' attention when you get them to use their imaginations and are right down on their level!

A little dress-up goes a long way :) The Pre-K's and I are wrapping up the day with a little discussion about our favorite colors and a little contest as to whom can toss their favorite color ball the farthest and then pick it up and get it right back into the basket the quickest!

The St. Mary's kids always bring about a laugh and a smile :) Pam and I are sharing a laugh over our first attempt at teaching! Learning to teach well is going to be quite the journey!

Danny and I are learning that one of the best ways to keep the kids excited about the games is to hop right in on the action! Literally!

Getting to create/pick/modify a game for the kids to play was a lot of fun. It was like unlocking the little kid in your memory. It made you think back to all of those awesome games that had you loving your PE class so much! You couldn't help but smile at the fact that you were now able to share those games with other kids! I mean, how cool would it be if your exciting and unique teaching could help a kid fall in love with moving?! I mean, you're only helping them get on the road to a healthy, successful, rewarding life! Pretty neat, right!