Last Day of Tennis

                Today is the last day of our Tennis unit at Pathfinder School.  It may be raining but our students are still fierce in the game. We took our skills indoors and set up a tennis court in our gymnasium.

Some students chose to volley the ball back and forth over the net, while others wanted to practice different skills that they had learned over the past two weeks. One of our students heard thunder while hitting his ball over the net and said, “Did you hear how hard I hit that ball?”  You can see that we have a lot of fun, using Mother Nature’s sounds to liven up our games.

Our next unit will be on volleyball, and our students will explore the equipment, skills, and rules for that activity.  It’s important to try different games and sports with the students as it encourages them to stay active physically, learn how to take care of their bodies, and helps them become well-rounded in all areas.  We have a lot of fun as we learn, and it’s very satisfying to see the children gain strength, build physical skills and become motivated.

Until next time, stay active!
             Miss Shirey 

Hustle, Hit and Never Quit!

Now that our Pathfinder School students have practiced some of the tennis basics, they are learning to hit tennis balls at hula hoop targets, over the net and to their peers using the forehand stroke.  Tennis is a challenging sport, but also gives students the freedom to develop their own strengths in the game. Some of our students still need hand-over-hand assistance, but many of the students are hitting the ball over the net independently and are learning to control the better.

Along with learning skills, our students have learned about famous tennis celebrities, including Vanessa Williams, Andre Aggasi, and Roger Federer.  These gifted athletes demonstrate that hard work and dedication can lead you to something that you love for the rest of your life. At the end of the tennis lesson, we connected sports and jobs that our students enjoy doing, and discussed how hard work and dedication can help get them find employment after graduating from Pathfinder School.

“Animals” is the school theme for the summer session at Pathfinder School.  As we are outside on the sport court all day, the students see and hear lots of different animals, including birds, fox, deer, squirrels, etc. This week we watched the YouTube video “Bird Got Swing: A Musical Experiment” by the Cornell Ornithology Lab in Ithaca. Throughout the video the students would try to imitate the birds that jazz vocalist Theo Bleckmann was calling.  When we went outside to play tennis, if the students heard an animal sound they would stop, and point at or tell what animal they heard.  Then all the students would try to imitate that animal. If we couldn’t hear the animal clearly, the students would make the sounds that they thought the animal would make.  If you would like to check out the video please lick the link below

http://gbbc.birdcount.org/2014_video_and_slide_show/

Keep Active, 

Miss Shirey 

Tennis Anyone?

Tennis is our first unit during the Pathfinder School summer session, and we’re pleased that we have some new day students joining us over the next few weeks.  Some students have participated in tennis activities before; these students are showing their leadership skills by demonstrating tennis skills and helping their peers.  Some of these tennis skills we’ve worked on at the Sports Court include:

·         Balancing the racquet on a body part

·         Shaking hands with the racquet (tennis stance)

·         “Walking the Dog,” in which the ball is the dog and the racquet is the leash

·         Balancing the ball on the racquet

·         Bumping the ball forward off the racquet

·         “Tick Tock,”a modified skill that teaches students how to hit a forehand stroke

               

  Tennis is a sport that is great at so many levels: It’sfun and our students have had a some belly laughs while practicing the skills. The sport encourages the students to get outside and enjoy themselves. It’s a lifelong activity that helps improve cardiovascular endurance and hand-eye coordination.

                

One of the non-fitness benefits of tennis is that it encourages students who have difficulty in communicating to use their language skills to make their needs known.  At Pathfinder School, we use the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) more-and-more.  This is a low-tech approach that relies on picture cards and a display board (typically a sturdy binder with Velcro strips) that students may carry to talk to people who don’t know American Sign Language.  I have a larger board with cards that show the words/pictures of tennis equipment, rules and skills, and how to keep score.  This board is yet another way to engage students and get them excited about fitness.

Keep Active,
Miss Shirey