Overhand Throwing

This week in PE we focused on our overhand throw. We learned about 4 different cues in order to perfect our over hand throwing technique.

1. Starfish - ensuring that the ball is in our back hand and that our legs are spread out. We are also making sure that we are perpendicular to our target
   
2. Muscles- Bending our back arm to get ready to throw
   
3. Squish the bug- Rotating our body to face our target
   
4. Throw- moving our back hand forward to release the object
   

We practiced this skill through the following games:

• Fire and Ice
• Bring it back
• Book it Ball

Underhand Throwing

This week in PE we are working on our underhand throwing. When performing the underhand throw we want to make sure that the foot opposite of our throwing hand is forward and then we are swinging our throwing arm forward. We discussed what the perfect release time was depending on where we wanted the object to go. Meaning if we wanted to slide the object on the floor than we would release it early (like bowling). If we wanted to pass to our partner we would release it around the time it gets to front knee and if we wanted it to go high in an arc we would release it later. We tried these different trajectories through games like:

-Catch me if you can
-Watch your step
-Golf

Running and Yoga

In PE this week we were thrown for a loop with picture day, cold weather and the Remembrance day dress rehearsal and performance. This meant that we were not always in the gym or we were using half the gym. Our focus this week was the fundamental skill of running. We discussed as a class the stance and swing phase of running. We highlighted how one's body needs to be tilted slightly forward, how the heel is the first thing to touch the ground, for a split second both feet are not on the ground (flight phase) and how your arms should be moving opposite your legs to help maintain balance. On the days when we used half of the gym we practiced yoga. We brought out the blue mats, dimmed the lights and wheeled in the smartboard for a guided yoga practice. We talked about how stretching and strengthening our muscles is just as important as cardio. How yoga helps use in a variety of way such as being mindful of our breathing, strengthening our muscles and helping with our flexibility.