“With QuaverHealth•PE, the sky’s the limit!”
By Kristin Clark Taylor
First Play of The Day? Warm-Ups and Goal-Setting!
Charles Weekly, a traveling P.E. teacher at Faxon Elementary and Hartman Elementary in the Kansas City Public Schools, usually begins his classes by taking his students through two important exercises.
“To kick things off, I’ll usually put on a Quaver warm-up drill, and I might even mix in some of my own drills,” he says.
“When they see the visuals up on the screen, they’re able to make that human connection and really get physically engaged!”
The other exercise involves creating a positive, “can-do” mindset at the very start of the class.
To do this, Weekly relies on the Quaver objectives to help guide a brief discussion on setting goals and identifying specific tasks that need to be accomplished.
“One student might say something like, ‘I want to get better at dribbling with both hands, so I’d really like to work on that today,” Weekly says, “or I might lead a discussion where we identify some key goals that I want us to try to achieve as a group.”
But Weekly doesn’t just rely on Quaver to kick off his classes: He uses the curriculum throughout class, too!
“Once I turn to a Quaver lesson,” he says, “I’ll go all the way through with it — from start to finish.“
Inside Mr. Weekly’s Wonderful World of Physical Education.
When it comes to providing specifics about how he uses QuaverHealth•PE in his classes, Weekly is, well, wonderful.
Here, he happily shares a few of his favorites:
• The “Volley Toss”
The younger students (generally K-2nd grade) “are still too small to use real volleyballs, so I blow up a bunch of balloons, and we’ll use those instead!”
“At that young age,” he says with a smile in his voice, “they’re still fascinated by how the balloons float … but they’re also starting to understand how their body movements can control the direction of the balloons!”
• Move, Move, Move!
Weekly says he’s also thrilled with all of the new movement videos that QuaverHealth•PE has recently introduced.
“My students love to dance and move right along with the videos, which is great because movement is so important to learning and self-discovery!”
More often than not, he adds, “I’m moving and dancing right along with them!”
• Talking It Through
Weekly also finds the Quaver discussion points very useful. “Being able to really talk through the lessons and the skills is a great way to reinforce learning – and it also promotes positive thinking and self-reflection.”
Healthy Habits, Happy Lives
What else is at the top of Weekly’s favorite things around QuaverHealth•PE?
The emphasis on learning to take care of ourselves – and each other.
“I’m lucky to have found a resource that places priority on things like practicing proper nutrition, learning to resolve conflict, and being respectful of each other,” he says.
“These lessons are about learning to live responsibly, which is what wellness is all about!”
“I like that the lessons focus on topics like healthy eating and responsible decision-making,” says Weekly. “It’s never too early to begin teaching these important life skills to young people!”
Charles Weekly is clearly a dedicated P.E. teacher who cares deeply about the young people he teaches – and about the tools he uses to get the job done.
“The more my students use QuaverHealth•PE, the better they become.”
That is exactly what QuaverHealth•PE was designed to do.
For more information on QuaverHealth•PE, go to QuaverEd.com/HealthandPE.
Kristin Clark Taylor is an author and a journalist.
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