Building Skills for a Solid Foundation

Warm-up exercises, stretches, and games were just a few of the activities that got kindergarten students moving in physical education class this week at Primrose Elementary.

The newest members of the Primrose community were introduced to their new teachers, new classrooms, and specials, including physical education in the gym during the first few days of school. Their lessons focused on skills needed to be successful with future, more challenging activities.

“Be safe, try your best, and have fun!” said Coach Marta Parker. “Those are the main rules in the gym.”

The class started with a series of warm-up exercises including bicycle legs, ski jump, and mountain climbers, designed to get students moving their bodies. Coach Kevin Mallon led the class by describing and demonstrating each exercise. Students focused on one exercise at a time, moving their bodies and strengthening their minds.

Once everyone was warmed up, students played the Listening Game. Not only does this game teach students how to listen for and follow instructions in a busy, fast-paced environment, but it also teaches the most fundamental rule in gym: move safely.

“Moving safely means no holding hands, keeping your head up, and looking where you’re going,” Coach Parker told students.

The Listening Game moves through six levels of increasing difficulty, starting with the simplest way to move throughout the gym safely: walking by themselves and freezing when the music stops. The game continues up the levels through walking backward, galloping, balance walking on the painted lines, hopping on one foot, and finally skipping. With each new movement, students’ balance and coordination were challenged, they had to focus harder, and they had to listen more intently. 

When asked what they worked on in class, Mikey said, “Being good skippers.” 

“It was fun,” Leo added.

By the end of the game, not only had their abilities to move around the gym safely increased but so had their smiles and heart rates. Students were then led through a series of stretches and cooldown activities including the letter V stretch, butterfly stretches, and side toe touches to help them transition back to being ready for classroom learning.