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 …
In a recent #Slowchathealth post, Andy Milne, shared a story about a “classroom moment” where his students took control of the learning environment and taught each other. The topic was menstruation and how to be supportive. A young man asked what more could boys do to be supportive, and this is what happened: “As I …
Continue reading Creating Environments for “Classroom Moments”
Every October, educators, health professionals, and communities mark Health Literacy Month which is a time to shine a light on the importance of understanding and using health information to make informed choices. At its core, health literacy is about more than reading a pamphlet or following doctor’s orders. It’s about giving people, including our students, …
Continue reading 5 Ways You Can Bring Health Literacy Month to Life
When I first wrote about using Hexagonal Thinking to help students explore the 10 Dimensions of Wellness, I shared how powerful it was to see them physically (or digitally) connecting concepts together. The beauty of the hexagon activity lies in the way students can literally move ideas around, discovering new links and debating which connections …
Continue reading Wellness Dominoes: the Ripple Effects of Wellness
Drum roll, please! It’s that time of year again when we reflect on the highlights from the blog. As always, these posts resonated with readers for a variety of reasons—some were the most-read, others sparked thoughtful conversations, and a few are timeless classics that just keep inspiring. Whether you’re revisiting old favorites or discovering them …
Continue reading Top 5 Blog Posts of 2024: A Recap of the Year’s Best Reads
As educators, our journeys are defined by growth, reflection, and transformation, and each stage of our career tells its own story. In my NYSAHPERD keynote speech, I explored six stages of teaching, drawing on my personal experiences and insights from nearly three decades in education. I labeled the first stage, “Aspiration and Entry,” which will …
Continue reading Where It All Began: Navigating the Early Stage of Teaching – A Keynote Excerpt
Have you ever cooked a meal that was fine but lacked that spark? It got the job done but wasn’t exciting or memorable. Teaching can feel the same way. Sure, you can throw together a lesson on the fly, and it might cover the basics. But if you really want to engage your students, you’ve …
Continue reading Spice Up Your Lessons: How Meaningful PE Ingredients Transform Teaching
What if I told you that I taught an entire PE lesson without telling my students what to do? Inspired by a conference session from Lisa Smith and Sarah Gietschier-Hartman entitled Reinventing HPE Teaching, that asked attendees to 'grow with our students' and DiSrUPt our teaching practices, I was determined to try something new with …
Continue reading Empowering Students: How I Led a PE Class Without Giving Instructions
It's another summer of sport, filled with athletes performing to their potential. European soccer teams are in town for their preseason tours, NFL athletes are at training camp, and NBA preseason dates were just released. As summer winds down and the new school year looms, teachers, like athletes, can benefit from a well-structured preseason routine. …
Continue reading Ready to Teach? Your Preseason Training Guide
About five years ago my health began to decline due to a genetic condition called Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome (EDS). It is a fairly unknown condition, even within the medical community. In short, people with EDS have defective collagen (our connective tissue is described as “chewed up bubble gum” instead of a healthy “rubber band”). There …
When I first started teaching, I remember being shocked and reactive to the outward behavior displayed by students. This could be pointed to several different reasons, but the result was still the same - I expected all students to behave the way I would or the way I assumed someone should behave/react. Little did I …
Exit tickets have proven to be a vital tool to create meaningful PE. They enable student voice and for students to have a greater connection with PE as they are helping to shape the direction the learning will take. What is an exit ticket? Exit tickets are given to students to give their feedback or …
Mayday! Mayday! My Lesson is Crashing! Whether you are a first year teacher, or an experienced educator, at one point or more than one point a lesson may not go quite as you planned. You may have the most thought out, engaging lesson that you believe will rock the world of your students and when …
Sassy questions like this one from middle schoolers during a lesson are like adding hot sauce to almost any food. They add flavor to a lesson. They are student centered teachable moments and one of my favorite parts of teaching. The context is usually a chess move to get more information than they need, an …
Middle school throws a curveball at everyone. But a well-designed physical education (PE) program can be a game-changer, fostering not just fitness but also social connection, a love for movement, and a sense of ownership. Here's how to create a winning experience for your students: Building a Team: Relationships are the foundation. Learn your students' …
Continue reading Middle School PE: Unleashing the Fun and Building Champions
Having just got back from the awesome SHAPE America conference in Cleveland, it's time to reflect on the hours spent in outstanding sessions, reconnecting with educators, experiencing a wonderful city and two impactful keynotes. When I return from conferences I want to do ALL OF THE THINGS - make lesson plans, tweet about my experiences, …
Continue reading Fueling Your Teaching Fire: Tips for Post-Convention Reflection and Action
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