The K and 1st Graders start most PE classes with a developmental movement sequence that is useful for coordinating strong head-tail connections in the spine (useful for rolling, falling, tumbling, etc) and to reinforce cross-lateral body connections (used in everything from crawling, walking, and running to throwing a ball or doing a ballet leap or turn). They have played the Space Game (finding and using the positive/negative space in the shapes their bodies create), Body Sculptures, and Mirroring- all movement exploration games with partner(s)- and are starting to combine them into bigger, more complex investigations. Students have been investigating quadrupedal movement to recruit strength in the arms, shoulders, back and chest (useful later when we tumble), and will soon start to play a few quadruped games, like tag and soccer.
The 2nd-4th grades have wrapped-up Frisbee Games and Ultimate Frisbee, and will next begin aerobic and cardiovascular studies. We'll run (a lot) to build our cardio-aerobic engines, but also jump some ropes and some jacks. In addition, we will revisit quadrupedal movement to build strong bodies and to prepare for Obstacle Courses and Capoeira. The 3rd-4th graders will pull it all together with beginner Parkour/Free Running; essentially the practice of perceiving the world as an obstacle course and problem-solving on the move to navigate through it. There are few things as satisfying to me as an obstacle course, and judging by enthusiasm, many students feel the same way. Just like our ancestors running through a forest or across a savanna, we must make quick decisions while on the move. Our ancestors did so to eat and to not be eaten. Modern living has removed most of the problem solving from human mobility: civil engineers and planners have built roads, sidewalks, paths, and stairs but ancestral humans navigated their environments in a very different way. Free Running and Obstacle Courses challenge us to live to that design- the problem solver on the move- and living up to our design is satisfying indeed!
Stay Healthy,
Matthew Smith
