Are you looking forward to the holidays? How about spring break or the summer or simply Fridays? Or how about just coffee? What about retirement? Do you know teachers that have their retirement date worked out to the year, month, week, day and depending on how things are going in a particular movement, they may …
In physical education, we often focus on what students are doing—running, jumping, throwing, cooperating. But some of the most powerful learning happens when students pause to think about how and why they are moving, feeling, and interacting. That’s where reflection comes in. I’ve been using a simple strategy with my students this school year called “4 for Thought.” It’s a set of …
Continue reading 4 for Thought: Using Reflection to Deepen Learning in Physical Education
Every few years, a new activity captures the interests of our students. Pickleball was hot for a minute, Spikeball was visible in every park and beach. Cup Stacking blew up for a while, and for a short period, each of these activities had their moment. If your community is anything like mine, it would appear …
LEVEL UP your gameplan: C.I.A. Control what you can. Influence what you’re able. Accept & manage the rest. Focus on what matters to LEVEL UP. In a world that constantly bombards us with social media influences, global, federal, and local pressures that tell us to do more and carry more, this framework is a reminder that clarity is …
Rethinking Productivity for School Practitioners8 ways to improve well-being while doing your best work in schools In schools today, productivity is often measured by how much you can get done in a day—lesson plans, meetings, emails, student support, documentation. But this “produce more” mindset comes at a cost. For educators, administrators, and support staff, that …
Continue reading Rethinking Productivity for School Practitioners
Okay, I'll be honest — I was going to write something spicy. Something about how the entire Bravo network could be used to add relevance to your skills-based health education curriculum. (Honestly, that idea still has legs, but it would take at least 1,500 words and a lot of Summer House references.) So instead, I …
Continue reading Advocating for Health Education: You Don’t Have to Do It Alone
Kim Morton shares a message that’s hard to ignore: one day, your health may be the only thing on your mind. In this reflection, she challenges us to rethink how we value health now, and reinforces why what we teach in HPE has lasting impact far beyond the classroom.
Last May, as we were wrapping up the Lower School Field Day, a few Upper School students from Grades 6 and 7 approached me and asked, “Miss, why don’t we have a day like this in the Upper School?” A few weeks earlier, I had been told that I would be the Learning Leader for …
Continue reading When Students Ask, We Listen: Creating Our First Upper School Sports Day
Field Day is more than just a break from the classroom - it’s a carefully crafted experience designed to bring students together through movement, teamwork, and joy. While students arrive ready for fun, what they don’t always see is the incredible amount of time, energy, and resources that go into making the day unforgettable. Behind …
Yes, this is my annual Teacher Appreciation Week microblog post that includes the cool Google Form you can use to send a personalized message to the awesome teachers in your life. But first, read on. Teacher Appreciation Week at my school is quite the affair. This year our Student Council decided to make it ‘Disco’ …
You can always spot a teacher at a conference. It's in the vibrant personalities and the unapologetically loud voices echoing through the lobby. It's the armloads of "really important stuff" including laptops, oversized water bottles, a stash of snacks that could last a week, and handfuls of "fabulous freebies." It's the heavy backpacks and the …
Continue reading A View from the Lobby: The Unseen Pulse of Pedagogy
Summer is almost upon us, and the thought of recharging my personal batteries, spending quality time with friends and family, and catching up on my ever growing collection of books is keeping me going as the end of the semester draws near. In addition to sharing my annual #summerreads blog post, I'm also launching the …
Life moves fast. Between work, school, responsibilities, and the endless to-do lists, it's easy to get caught up in the serious side of life. But what if I told you that play - yes, play - is one of the most powerful tools for building resilience, improving mental and physical wellbeing, and fostering deep connections …
Do you remember the coach who only seemed to focus on the “star” athlete, making their contributions the only ones that truly counted? These coaches often, unintentionally, minimized the impact of everyone else on the team. But then, do you remember the coaches who saw every athlete—no matter their differences? The ones who invested in …
Continue reading Built to Belong: Why Every Student’s Difference Matters in Physical Education
Every athlete dreams of the perfect team: a group where everyone has each other’s back, communication is excellent, and the result always positive. But the reality of competitive sports is that you aren’t in this alone, and sometimes, the biggest opponent isn’t your opponent but the person standing next to you. Toxic teammates are unfortunately …
Continue reading How Toxic Teammates Hurt Performance – and What to Do About It
Launched in 2020, over 240 educators and authors have joined in with the last six #microblog events here on slowchathealth.com. All six have been a huge success, lasting a whole month and featuring voices from across the globe. Sharing bite-sized blog posts of approximately 500 words, there have been submissions from experienced bloggers, first-time writers, …
Having just got back from the awesome SHAPE America National Convention, it’s time to reflect on the hours spent in outstanding sessions, reconnecting with educators, experiencing a vibrant city, and soaking in a couple of impactful keynotes. There’s something about Kansas City - the energy, the conversations, the BBQ-fueled networking - that made this one …
Kansas City, often called the “City of Fountains” (The city has more than 200 fountains, which is often said to be second only to Rome in the number of fountains in a city) is a place I’ve passed through before, but this spring it becomes the gathering point for thousands of health and physical education …
Continue reading Level Up Your Conference Game: #SHAPEKansasCity Edition
There’s something powerful about writing things down by hand. In a world of shared Google Docs, AI summaries, and conference slide decks that land in our inbox before the keynote even ends, it might seem unnecessary. But research, and my own experience, tell a different story. When we write by hand, with pen and paper, …
Continue reading Why Handwritten Notes Still Matter (And Why I Created a Notebook for Educators)
I once wrote a blog post about the value of revisiting saved social media posts and screenshots because sometimes "the best inspiration is already in your pocket—literally." Like many teachers, I’m a collector of great ideas. I hit save on Instagram posts that inspire me. I pin classroom strategies and eye-catching infographics to Pinterest boards I haven’t visited in months. I bookmark tweets that I know …
Continue reading Why Patintero Belongs in Your PE Curriculum
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