The journey to a healthy lifestyle starts with fun in Elementary Physical Education

If you ask any Physical Education Teacher who truly cares for their students, they would say the greatest desire they have is for each and every student to develop a lifelong love for physical activity. The only way to achieve this is to create an environment which allows students to enjoy and have fun during Physical Education class. The great thing is that it is an easy task to accomplish.

When it comes to Elementary students, fun comes natural. The simplest things can make them happy and gives them a great amount of joy. “Quality physical education promotes lifelong physical activity by teaching students the physical skills and attitudes necessary to be active for a lifetime.”1 The central idea I see in this is attitude. When I first became a Physical Education Teacher last year I quickly noticed one unusual characteristic…… ATTITUDE. In the Elementary classes, there is a sense of joy and happiness all day. However, I have seen first hand the decrease in excitement as the ages go up. With this idea in mind, the greatest thing a Physical Education Teacher can do is to get the kids excited about being active. This comes simply by what you do personally and how you do it. It’s the concept of monkey see monkey do, if you are excited they will be as well.

Getting students active outside of school is another great way to develop a lifelong love for activity. One may think to yourself, how can I possibly accomplish that? It is very simple, get the parents support. Any chance one gets to communicate with parents, ask them about the student’s life outside of school and how active it is. A tool one can use to help them is to give them a physical activity calendar. “Physical activity calendars are easy to create and help students establish active habits outside physical education. Calendars also serve as a strategy for communicating with parents about physical education, physical activity, and health.1 The last tip I will leave is a way to bring parents in. I am sure everyone remembers field day!!! The last week of school was spent getting to be outside and playing games all day long!!! As the P.E. Teacher, organize a field day throughout the year to give students a break from school and give parents a chance to come together and enjoy being with their kids.2

1Hager, Lisa; Beighle, Aaron, Teaching Elementary Physical Education Jan2006, Vol. 17 Issue 1, p28

2Teaching Elementary Physical Education Jul2006, Vol. 17 Issue 4, p7 1/2p.