Week of May 25th
P.E. Work/Activities: Orienteering
Orienteering is about
looking, searching and finding.
Warm-up: Put on some music and follow the movements on directions and levels below.
Reach and Look. Reach upwards with both hands, then down towards the floor, reach forwards then backwards, to the right and to the left. Repeat 4 times.
Equipment and Space: Indoors: use your Living room/ Dining room or outdoors if you have a garden. You need 6 soft toys.
Ask your child to stay in the hall or kitchen while you hide the soft toys; place these at different levels, some high, some at eye level, some at ground level, some hidden.
The participant/s can search with a helper or independently. When guiding bring your child close to the object and give them time to look and find. Count together to make sure you have found all 6 toys.
Repeat this 2 or 3 times.
Finish by putting on a song from your Summer playlist and dance in the space together.
Enjoy and stay safe. Olive
Week of May 18th
April 27th – Ideas for Active Week from Olive
Dear Parents,
As this is around the time we would usually have our Sports Day, the following are some Competitive Activities for you to try with your child this week, which can be done indoors or outdoors.
Equipment needed: 1 beach ball, I tennis ball, a large saucepan, and/or large empty flowerpot or laundry basket;
Space: use the garden if you have one; if not, move all the furniture back against the wall in your living-room to create a safe space for the activities.
Time 1 minute for each activity and count the number of scores you get in 1 minute; then it is your partners turn. Use ‘Go’ to start and ‘Stop’ to finish and write down your score.
- Sprint
Travel from one end of the living room to the other, touch the couch or armchair and travel back; count 1 to go across and 2 to come back; continue for 1 minute; you can walk, run, travel on the floor or in your chair. Write down your score.
- Rolling Action
Place your coffee table in the middle of the room and put a large empty flowerpot or saucepan on the floor at one end. Take a tennis ball and roll it from one end of the table to the other aiming to get it into the pot. Write down the score after 1 minute and then it is your partners turn.
- Target Practice
Place a laundry basket in one corner and place a marker e.g. a cushion on the floor where you will sit or stand. Throw the beach ball into the basket with your helper collecting it each time and returning it to you. Count how many baskets you get in one minute. Then it is your partner’s turn.
- Soccer Penalties
Make a small goals inside or outside, you could use two cushions for the goalposts, for example.
Use a chair as a marker for the person taking the penalty, for the spot to stand or sit.
No goalkeeper. Your partner shouts ‘Go’ and he/she will also collect the ball and return it to you. You can use your hands or feet to score a goal. Keep going for 1 minute until the time keeper shouts ‘Stop’. Write down your score and change around.
Add up each persons’ score for all the activities. Give a high five or ‘elbows’ to the winner and participants.
- Finish by putting on your child’s favourite music or your’s, and dance in the space around you
or, alternatively, play musical statues,
with best wishes, Olive, P.E. Teacher.
April 20th – Ideas from Olive
Dear Parents,
The following are some short exercises for you to do with your child each day, if possible. It should take about 5 minutes; these are similar to what we do each Wednesday in P.E. Class.
N/B Each child is different so adapt each exercise to the ability and movement range of your child and let them lead and you guide.
Exercises:
- Relax the Shoulders.
Begin by relaxing your own hands and placing them on your child’s shoulders. Gently massage both shoulders. At the same time do 3 slow deep breaths, down towards the stomach, in and out. You can both, close your eyes, if this helps.
- Arm Exercises
- Using hand over hand hold your child’s hands and gently stretch upwards overhead and back down, let your child lead and decide how far to stretch; all stretches are done slowly. Repeat 3 times.
- Slowly open the arms outwards to the sides and close ( e.g. open the door, close the door)
Repeat 3 times.
- Shoulder Circles
Support and hold your child’s right elbow. Very slowly circle the upper arm 3 times clockwise and 3 times anti-clockwise, focusing on the shoulder joint as you do this. Repeat with the left arm.
- Back Stretch
With your child sitting in the chair, ask them to place their hands on their knees, and then reach down with their hands to touch or almost touch their toes; they should feel their spine being gently stretched. Slowly roll back up, sitting nice and straight in the chair. Repeat this 3 times.
- Swing Action
Finish with a whole body swing action. Holding both hands, swing to the right side and then to the left, repeat 3 times with a continuous flowing movement.
- Dance/Music
When the exercises are completed you could put on your child’s favourite music and dance freely in the space, around you.
All the best and take care, Olive
.
.
Our Physical Education and Dance programme at St. Gabriel’s School has been in existence, since 2007. All pupils at the school receive 30 minutes of Physical Education each Wednesday throughout the year. All areas of the curriculum are covered including;
- Basketball
- Racquets
- Hockey
- Rugby
- Volleyball
- Dance
- Athletics
- Orienteering
- Adapted yoga.
The activities are adapted to pupils’ individual needs. Each year we run a Sports and Fun Day involving the whole school community.
Dr Olive Beecher is the Physical Education and Dance Teacher at St. Gabriel’s School.