Build Your Emergency PE Binder in One Afternoon Let's be honest...none of us plans to be absent. But every school year, it happens. Whether it's a surprise illness, a family emergency, a professional development day, or an unexpected appointment, you'll eventually need a substitute. The question is... Will you be ready? One of the best things you can do at the beginning of the school year is create an Emergency PE Sub Binder . Taking just one afternoon now can save you hours of stress later. Imagine waking up sick and knowing everything is already prepared. No last-minute emails. No scrambling to write lesson plans. No worrying about whether your students will stay engaged. Instead, your substitute simply opens your binder and teaches. Here's what I recommend keeping in your Emergency PE Binder: ✅ Class schedule ✅ Emergency procedures ✅ Gym rules and routines ✅ Student medical alerts (following your school's privacy guidelines) ✅ Attention signals ✅ A substitute che......

The first few weeks of school are some of the most important days of the entire year in Elementary PE. They're your opportunity to build relationships, establish routines, teach expectations, and create a positive classroom culture that will last all year long. Whether you're a first-year teacher or a veteran, a little planning now can make every PE class run more smoothly. Here are my favorite tips to help you start the school year with confidence. 1. Focus on Relationships Before Skills Students are much more willing to participate when they feel welcomed and included. Spend the first few classes learning names, encouraging teamwork, and helping students get to know one another. Simple community-building activities like Four Corners, Human Bingo, Find Someone Who, and Would You Rather? get students moving while making new friends. 💡 Free Resource: Download my FREE Four Corners Ice Breaker Activity to help students introduce themselves, discover common interests, and feel c......

Have you ever sat down on a Sunday evening with a blank lesson plan book and wondered... "What am I teaching this week?" I've been there. Early in my teaching career, I spent hours searching for activities, digging through old lesson plans, and trying to remember what I taught last year. By the time Monday arrived, I was exhausted before the week even began. Then I made one simple change that completely transformed my planning. Instead of planning one lesson at a time, I started planning an entire month at once. That one habit saved me countless hours and made every week feel more organized. Here's the simple system I still use today: Week 1: Introduce the Skill Teach the fundamentals with demonstrations, simple activities, and plenty of practice. Week 2: Build Confidence Use stations, partner work, and fun challenges to increase repetition. Week 3: Apply the Skill Students use what they've learned in small-sided games and cooperative activities. Wee......

No Prep, Minimal Space: Easy Implementation for Busy Teachers When it comes to planning activities for your 100 Days of School Celebration, it's important to keep in mind the constraints of time, space, and resources. As a busy teacher, you need ideas that are easy to implement without requiring extensive preparation or occupying too much classroom real estate. Luckily, these math workouts are designed with simplicity in mind. Where do you start? Here are some easy 100 Day Celebration Workouts to get you started during these cold winter months. ❄️ 100 Days of School Active Workout ❄️1 00 Days of School Choice Board Workout ❄️ 100 Days of School Workout Not only do these math workouts require minimal materials, but they also require minimal space. For busy teachers who may have limited classroom space, these activities can be done in small groups or even individually. The Choice Board is great to i gnite excitement in your students during this special celebration. By incorporat......

February is  Heart Health Month Every day is an opportunity to give our heart the best dose of health!   Let's focus on our heart health this February! What are some ways you can give your heart a dose of health?  Here are some ideas: 💜 Set a step count goal for your day 💜 Set a smile goal-Smile and think of a "happy" 10x today :) 💜 Try a healthful recipe today including lots of yummy veggies 💜 Grab a handful of almonds-great for the heart 💜 Try a yoga or fitness video 💜 Get your heart pumping with 25 jumping jacks and 25 squats 💜 Hydrate with water giving your heart the best 💜 De-stress or de-clutter the mind with meditation or scripture reading Wishing you a month full of love and self care💗...

Let it Snow ❄️, Let it Snow ❄️, Let it Snow ❄️ !  Got the winter blues?  Try creating a winter wonderland to add some fun and excitement to your winter PE classes.  Kids love theme days!  How do I create a Winter Wonderland?  Go simple or  go big? The choice is yours.  Here are some ideas. Use cotton balls or packing peanuts to create  snow flakes all over your gym.  Amazon has  some great pieces on large quantities of cotton  balls.  Contact your local UPS to see if they can  donate some packing peanuts. If you really want to go crazy, use a fan to allow  snow to circulate around the room. Use posters or backdrops on the wall. Hand cut snowflakes to hang in doorways. Ask your classroom teachers to have a snow flake time and have students make snowflakes to hang in the gym. Purchase snowmen to display in the gym.  The hard part of this one is storage from year to year. Snow means winter clothing.  Scatter gl......

Can you believe we are already into January? The holidays are behind us and the New Year is shaping up to look a bit like a rerun thanks to the never-ending pandemic.😷   But in the words of the great Martin Luther King, Jr,    “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.” 💪   Honoring and celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. is essential in our classrooms. Partly because January is when we celebrate his birthday but also because of the relevance of his message for what we are facing as a nation today.   Today, I am sharing my favorite resources to use to teach your students all about Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of peace, unity, and equality. ☮️   Your kids will just love these MLK Jr. Resources:  ☮️ Martin Luther King Jr. PE Warm-Up & Brain Break Instant Activity Get your kindergarten to 6th-grade students up and moving with these fun, interactive, engaging, instant brain break warm-up activities.  ......