Crochet: Using Community Resources for Physical Education Equipment

In early 2023 our organization was contacted by the Physical Education and Sports Teachers Association of Zambia (PESTAZ) and were asked to help improve the quality of physical education in their country. One of the goals for the project was to provide equipment. This was a huge need for them as many of the schools …

Continue reading Crochet: Using Community Resources for Physical Education Equipment

Tails of Patience and Progress: What Teaching and Dog Training Have Taught Me

Before becoming a parent, I believed I had a solid grasp on managing children's behavior. Then I had my son and daughter, which made me realize I had much to learn. Fast-forward a decade, and now I have adopted a dog to take it to another level. In the two months since adopting our four-year-old …

Continue reading Tails of Patience and Progress: What Teaching and Dog Training Have Taught Me

TOY Story: A Journey of Growth, Gratitude, and Belief

"Believing you’re enough changes everything." We live in a glass bowl world. Every move, post, and thought is visible through social media, where comparisons are constant — either by others or by ourselves. We wonder: Is it good enough? Creative enough? Original enough? Sometimes, there’s instant gratification — likes, comments, affirmations. Other times, silence leaves …

Continue reading TOY Story: A Journey of Growth, Gratitude, and Belief

Using Team Roles for Instruction

Managing student participation and classroom efficiency can be challenging. To address this, I introduced a team-based structure with defined roles in small teams during health instruction. This approach made class time more active, helped things run like clockwork, and got students talking, collaborating, and having fun while building their health skills. Setting It Up The …

Continue reading Using Team Roles for Instruction

No One Talks About These 5 Small Mindset Shifts (But They Change Everything)

Sometimes, it’s not a massive change that transforms your life — it’s a small shift in how you see yourself, your challenges, and your possibilities. Over time, I’ve learned that adjusting my mindset, even slightly, can open doors and help me to see pathways I did not think I had (Hello--- Imposter Syndrome) or that …

Continue reading No One Talks About These 5 Small Mindset Shifts (But They Change Everything)

Scroll With Purpose: Why the HPE Collective Should Be One of Your Daily Stops

Let’s be real—we all scroll. It’s baked into our routine. Coffee. Email. Group text. Twitter (not so much anymore). Bluesky (not what we hoped it'd be… still time though!). TikTok. Scroll, scroll, scroll. So… why not make one of those scrolls meaningful? That’s what the HPE Collective is. A space where Health and PE teachers …

Continue reading Scroll With Purpose: Why the HPE Collective Should Be One of Your Daily Stops

How Screen Time May Be Affecting Your Health as an Esports Player

Esports, or organized competitive video gaming with in- and out-of-game rules, have significantly grown in popularity in the last 10 years (Nothelfer et al., 2024). It is a common misconception that the first video game was created in 1972, but that was the year of the first esports tournament, held at Stanford University (Jin & …

Continue reading How Screen Time May Be Affecting Your Health as an Esports Player

How Can Esports Impact Sleep?

Esports, or organized competitive video gaming (Jenny et al., 2017), have proven to be a global phenomenon that attracts millions of players and audiences. The esports industry is massive, with professional tournaments offering multi-million-dollar prize pools and streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube enabling influencers and talented gamers a full-time income (Ahn et al., 2020). …

Continue reading How Can Esports Impact Sleep?

Sit Up, Game On: How Gamer Posture Can Make or Break Your Health

If you are under the age of 45 years old, you have probably been there: hours spent glued to the screen, trying to “level up” in a favorite video game or competing for that top high score or ranking. But while you were focused on your gaming skills, there’s something that was likely ignored: your …

Continue reading Sit Up, Game On: How Gamer Posture Can Make or Break Your Health

Press Pause and Play: The Family Habit That Changes Everything

In the rush of daily life, school drop-offs, work meetings, dinner prep, washing, and a never-ending to-do list, it's easy to let "playtime" fall to the bottom of the priority pile. But what if we told you that playing together as a family could be the most impactful thing you do for your family's health, …

Continue reading Press Pause and Play: The Family Habit That Changes Everything

Making it Count: Organizing PE Around What Really Matters

In most multi-activity curricula, when asked “what are we doing today?” the all too familiar response is “games, or aquatics, or dance and so on”. These activities are therefore “the organising centre” of your physical education programme. These are the ‘things’ we plan our lesson around them, it is the skills and techniques of these …

Continue reading Making it Count: Organizing PE Around What Really Matters

Cultures, Perspectives, Backgrounds

Have you ever considered the cultural backgrounds of the students you teach? As an educator, I have come to realize that considering the cultural backgrounds of students is not just beneficial but essential in creating an inclusive and effective learning environment. My experiences teaching in International Schools have profoundly shaped my perspective on this matter. …

Continue reading Cultures, Perspectives, Backgrounds