Spooky Scary Halloween Spirit

This week Pathfinder School had some very special events happen, and this carried through in the students’ Adaptive Physical Education classes.  Our football throwing and catching unit has ended, and for the next couple of weeks the students will work their way through various obstacle courses and may even create an obstacle course of their own design.  We also included some Halloween activities in our APE classes this week.

One of our throwing activities that the students really enjoy is called “Caboose.” A giant box is placed on top of a floor scooter and is pulled by a rope. The teacher starts off as the engine pulling the caboose; if the students have met class goals and exhibited sportsmanship,they get turns at being the train.  As the caboose is pulled along, all the students stand at half court (on a basketball court) and throw as many balls as they can (yarn-, foot-, soccer- and tennis balls) into the caboose before the timer runs out and the train needs to get more fuel. 

 Our older students in Mrs. Kelly’s class have been playing flag football games when they come to Adaptive PE. When a student scores, each loves to do his own special dance and yell “TOUCHDOWN!” Playing this game really has been a highlight for me as a teacher. It’s amazing to see how students’ skills improve and they often surprise me with what they can accomplish.  Some students can spiral throw, others can step with their opposite foot without any prompts, and some can catch a ball at 50-foot distances.  At times, students may get confused about the game rules, but their peers are supportive in reminding them of what to do --when to hike the ball, which way to run, and when to pull a flag off an opponent’s belt.

Each Wednesday, our teaching staff takes turns developing programs for our weekly special. This week was my turn to host the Wednesday special, and of course I focused on a Halloween theme. JI set up six stations that all the students rotated through as spooky music played: coloring, costumes&dress up, pin-the- nose on the pumpkin, “Scary Spider Toss,”and the limbo.  The final station,“Trick-or-Treat”offered each student coloring sheets of candy, pumpkins and bats with activities on the back. I am pretty sure that the costumes station was the students’ favorite.

Until next time, keep active!

Miss Shirey