Cathe Helping to Keep My Classroom Fit During Social Distancing

Jenn K

Member
I have been working out with Cathe for the better part of 15 years. Step and weights are my favorites, but I do them all modifying to low impact as needed. Cathe has inspired me to make fitness a life-long pursuit, even as I have recently had a few set backs. But this is not a story about me, I have recently found another great application for Cathe's workouts - Social Distancing PE! I teach 5th/6th grade at a private school. During the lock-down in March, we had to send the students home and record videos. For PE, I recorded myself doing modified Tabatas and HiiT workouts using many Cathe moves. The kids had fun joining Mrs. Kelley's workout. My principal even joined in! In the fall, we were able to obtain a waiver from the Health Department to meet in person with conditions. One condition was obviously to socially distance the students. This can make PE difficult. However, knowing the importance of exercise, I was determined to keep the kids moving. We started the year with a "Boot Camp" unit. The kids spaced out in the gym with their mats in front of them and I led them in step out squats, ice breakers, long reach lunges, crab walk push ups, push up/sit up combos, and such. They LOVED it! Even after the unit was done, they insisted we keep some of the exercises for our warm ups. Many even use recess to run a mile in laps. Ok, I do give them cool vinyl stickers for each mile, but they are making the choice! Next year we will tackle coordination (step) and balance and flexibility (yoga). I have been able to pass on an excitement for fitness, that I first received from Cathe, to my students. Thank You!
 
How inspiring... thanks for being a great role model for your students & finding a way to keep things fun & interesting during the pandemic. As an aside, I think learning sports and the teamwork aspects are important for students, however, finding a life-long love for physical activity & fitness is even more important, and sports don't always do that. :)
 
Thanks! I agree. We just completed a foosball distanced-style hockey. The kids had to communicate to pass the puck. Fun and challenging. January will be the Electric Slide and yoga. I'm trying to expose the kids to all kinds of fitness so they can find what they like, and hopefully will continue.
 

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top