Another year…

It’s hard to believe that summer is over…but it is.  As the rhythm of a teacher’s life goes, school starts again in the Fall.  Lesson plans, bulletin boards, seating charts, and lots of other details demand my attention.

This is the beginning of my 32nd year of teaching…I guess that means I’m getting older…some days I feel that way, but most, I don’t.  I’m so thankful for the opportunity to teach here at Ada Christian.  While I admit I never would have thought this is where I’d be, I can look back and see how God provided for me and guided my path to bring me here.   It’s been a journey filled with joy and sorrow,  laughter and tears…and friends along the way to encourage and walk beside me. God is good!

I look forward to another year working with our students.  They are created uniquely by our great God.  I love seeing their smiles when they succeed and encouraging them to develop new skills.  I love seeing their improvement each day and hearing them cheer on their classmates.  I love moving with them and playing with them.  I love receiving energy  from them when they burst through the gym door and I love giving them energy back as we move through the class together.    Two days a week, for 30 minutes each class, we are physically active.  My goal is to help them become more fit and more skilled…and have fun along the way.

So welcome to a new school year.  As we Tell the Wonders of Creation’s King this year, I know we’ll see GLIMPSES of Him daily …and I challenge our students to watch for Him–because He is EVERYWHERE!

Here is an amazing glimpse of God I saw in Guatemala earlier this year…

Here is our theme for this year…

 

Here’s to another great school year!

Coach DK

 

 

Fun and Field Day

 

May 13, 2016:  the sun was shining, the grass was green, the sky was blue…God is good!  It was a great day to be outside.

As part of my job, I get to plan a day of fun for 243 students.  My goal for the day was to provide a variety of activities that were both competitive and cooperative.  So we got out the parachute, the chickens, the hula hoops, the tug of war rope, the burlap bags, and the limbo sticks.

Thanks to some amazing parent volunteers who helped at the stations, that goal was achieved.  Lot of smiles, cheers,  cooperation and competition made for an amazing day.  Here are some pictures of Ada kids in action!

Korfball

It was time for a new game in PE.  Thanks to my professor, coach and friend, Karla Wolters, I acquired a set of “korfs” for this game from the Netherlands.  It is a game that is played internationally at very high levels.  We aren’t quite there yet, but we are having a lot of fun learning…

The KORF

Explaining “offense” and “defense”

Boys guard boys; girls guard girls

Brianna taking a shot

The real Korfs are 11’8″ high.  Ours are about 8′ for now…got to start somewhere.

In this game, girls guard girls and boys guard boys.  Players may pass and shoot, and if someone is playing good defense, you are “defended” and may not shoot…The teams are split in half, with half being offense and half defense.  After 2 scores,  teammates switch sides and roles…and the fun continues.   It really is fun and it really is Dutch–and it’s not as easy as it looks.  Check it out on Youtube, and then come and join us…Welkom to the gym!

PUREPLAY Basketball

For the past 5 Saturday mornings, I have had the privilege of working with 10 kindergartners on their basketball skills.  We spent time dribbling, shooting, passing, doing layups, playing “glue” defense and scrimmaging–you know, all that important stuff.  The progress they made was amazing. It was also fun encouraging them to be good teammates, by looking to pass and working together.

I had 3 amazing parents helping me:  Ben Koetje, Keri Lemkuil and Jason Jerke.  They helped teach and encourage the kids, and guided them as we played.

Moses

Coach Ben teaching hand position

Eager learners

Here is the crew.

Happy faces!

Crazy faces!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Jedi in training

Jedi in training

The Resistance with the Hyperdrives

 

 

 

“A week ago, in a gym, not far, far away…” we had our own Star Wars Episode–‘the Jedi deliver’.

The Jedi(Resistance) accepted a mission to deliver “Hyperdrives”(bean bags) around the Galaxy.  So they did some training with their lightsabers(pool noodles).  When they were ready, they set out for adventure.   However, the storm troopers (First Order) were not about to make this  easy.  They assembled their “guns” (arms) and their “ammunition” (softi-balls) on their ship and prepared for battle.

As the Jedi zoomed around the galaxy, the storm troopers fired.  Not all survived the battle unblemished, and not all Hyperdrives were delivered safely; however, all the Jedi recovered by the end of the class period so they could return to their classrooms.

At the end of the battle, we gathered at “wildcat circle” and discussed our Galactic experience.  We reflected on our awesome God who made the galaxies and realized we all have the true “Force” with us every moment of our lives!

May the FORCE be with you!

The First Order

The “Battle”

The “Battle”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Tis the Season”

 

The halls are filled with sounds of  excited children–bringing gifts to teachers, wishing each other a “Merry Christmas” and saying good bye with “See you next year!” Moms and Dads are serving lunch and visiting classes.

Smiles are bigger than usual today.  The Joy of Christmas!   That might have to do with all the sugar in their bloodstreams too! 🙂

So of course, we have to add to the Holiday spirit in the gym…

The Reindeer Relays are back. I think I’ve done some version of this for around 30 years–because it’s fun and fitting.

We turned the gym into the “North Pole,” complete with snow and ice, elves, reindeer and sleighs.

I divided the kids up into teams and the relays began:  “reindeer in training,” the “UPS relay,” the “ice skating relay,” the “sleigh ride relay” to name some.

At the end, we finished with a snowball fight–40 white 3″ cotton  balls began flying around the gym–somehow I became a target too.  When we joined at the “wildcat” circle, they were tired and smiling.  Mission accomplished.

Teams cheering each other on!

 

UPS delivery boy

UPS delivery girl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleigh Ride

Young 5’s

Look out–here come the snowballs!

I wished them all a Merry Christmas and sent them on their way…another glimpse of joy in the gym…

Thanks for joining us for another day!

I want to thank you all for your gifts and kind words–remember, Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

See you next year!!

Candyland

One of my goals in each PE class is for students to get a lot of physical activity.  So this week, I set up a bigger-than-life sized Candyland “board.”  Along with pictures of Gramma Nut, Mr. Mint, Lord Licorice, Queen Frostine and the others, were about 25 squares that said “15 jumping jacks,” “10 sit ups,” “10 toe touches,” “20 mountain climbers,” and “jog 2 laps” for a few examples.

The game pieces(animals) at the start.

We had 4 teams spread around the gym.  One teammate at a time would run to “wildcat circle” to roll the dice and then move their team’s “game piece(animal)”

Rolling the dice

When the student got back to the team, they all did the exercise they
landed on.  When finished, the next teammate went to roll.

The Yellow Ducks doing sit ups

Occasionally, someone would land on  “Go back 2 spaces,” or even worse, “Go back to start.” This always brought out a disappointed sigh…

Team pyramids at the end

When they landed on the last square, they ran to the mat and did a team pyramid.  This was a fun end to the game, and I saw many creative pyramids and happy smiles.

Here are some 2nd graders showing off the pieces of our Candyland “board” game.

Sometimes the winning team would even get a piece of candy for their efforts…sometimes just the fun of working together was the reward.  It was great seeing them having fun AND exercising as they competed.

More joy in the gym…!

Give me a “B!”

So this week our kindergarteners’ letter was “B.” So because of that, I went to my big beanie baby basket and got out a buffalo, bulldog, blue jay, bunny, black bear, brown bear and beaver for some fun.  I went to my closet and found buckets, bouncy balls, big balls, little balls and bean bags.  After this was all put together, we had a bunch of fun.  We booted the balls, threw the balls, bounced the balls and lobbed the bean bags into the big buckets–believe it or not, there was a bunch of blue around the gym too!   

After we got better at our skills, we played “Builders and Bulldozers.”  The object is for one team to “bulldoze” the cones, and the others to put the cones back up (build).  It was a blast watching the kids run around, being active and having fun.

Our ball bouncers

our bean bag bucket toss

our builders                                             our bulldozers

It was a beautiful day outside, and a beautiful day inside.

Once again…lots of “Joy in the Gym!”

Blessings!

A New Year…

Wow–It’s October already…September flew by quickly.  It’s always a challenge to start a new year.  Even after 30 years of teaching, establishing guidelines, learning names, developing class cohesion, takes a lot of energy.  Needless to say, when I get home at night, I’m tired!

Our school theme this year is “Show Your ID.”  The I stands for Integrity and the D stands for Discernment.  Big words–but great for students to learn.

In PE, the students are encouraged to “do the right thing.”  That means listen, make good choices, be kind, play fair…I think you get the idea.

Here is the bulletin board in our gym.  Each student has signed a “mind.”

“Think about such things…”

We’re off to a great start.  We’re having fun and learning skills and cooperation.  And most importantly to think about and do the right thing!

Phil 4:8  “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”

Pure Parachute pleasure…

Some days we just need a change of pace.  On those days, the parachute is an amazing piece of equipment for a PE class.  With its bright colors and its light-weight fabric causing ripples in the air, smiles are a sure bet for the class period.

So we begin by making “ice.”  How else do you explain a flat surface to kindergarteners?  Then we make little waves, big waves and tsunami waves.  As the “waves” rise, so does the laughter and anticipation.  Then we can go under the water–changing spots, finding new handles, even leaping to reach them when we get to the other side.  Our levels of static electricity increase and our hair reaches toward the ceiling.  Just a temporary hair-raising experience…

At the end of the class, we play one of my favorite parachute games.  I call it “Jaws.”  Cue the music….    We pick 2 “sharks” and 2 “lifeguards.”  The rest of us have our feet “in the water”–under the parachute.  As we make waves with the chute, the sharks go to work, picking on the smallest victims first and dragging them under the water.  As the victims yell “help,” the lifeguard sprints to the rescue, sometimes saving the victim, and sometimes not.   Eventually, the sharks triumph and we start over again.  No blood, no missing limbs, just an occasional floor burn or missing shoe.

As our last event, we create our own dome.  We raise the chute high and climb under it.  We sit quietly (sort of) and “hide” from the teacher.  Then we surprise her with a big “surprise” and giggle on our way back to the classroom.

Just another glimpse into the gym.  Some more “joy sightings!”

Here comes George!

Ashley is flying!