Observing Homer

Well the week started off with a bang!  I arrived at Homer Junior High School  right around 7:30. It was damp from the rain the night before and their was an overcast in the sky. Not typically a great day for physical educators doing a track and field unit. However my host teacher, and his co-worker had great plans to keep the kids interested in the class and have some fun. When I walked into the office to sign in my host teacher (HT) happened to also be there, and we made our way to the gym. In the gym 4 or 5 Kan-Jam stations were set up with 3 ping pong tables and a fooseball table. This already had my attention! The monday students had exhausted their indoor days for the Track and Field unit and my HT thought it'd be better to give the 7th grade students an idea on what they'd be learning next year. As eighth graders do Disc Golf, Kan-Jam and Bocce Ball unlike their younger peers. The kids were split into 3 stations, Kan-Jam, Table Tennis/fooseball and Reviewing for the cognitive test they have coming up on Friday. The stations rotated depending on how many students were in the class. The sixth Graders however didn't have an exam on friday, so when they were at the review station they were just sitting out. Although Kan-Jam and Ping Pong are some of the greatest games ever invented, there is not a lot of movement going on. So while the sixth graders were sitting out I walked over to them and taught them how to play Full Body Rock Paper Scissors. The students were fully engaged and really were intrigued by this new game they had learned. Some, however didn't want to do it which is okay, because 95% of the students really enjoyed what we were doing. I felt good about the situation because now probably 30 more kids can go home and be jumping around all day playing Rock Paper Scissors. So to me, I did my job.