Active First Graders Need P.E. Equipment

Funded Aug 11, 2015

As a teacher, it is always a heartwarming moment for me when I see my students reach a particular goal or emerge from a challenge empowered. Those moments happen far too infrequently in our schools due to the shortages of staff, resources and time needed to spend extra time with those who truly need it. Your donation provided my classroom with simple yet profound activities that, shared with others in the class, become those moments in which the children themselves empower one another. I, and we, thank you for that - and I want to share with you one of those moments. 'The Parachute,' as it is known, has already brought withdrawn pupils out of their shells, established opportunities for social experimentation among the children and has brought smiles to their faces whenever The Parachute is mentioned - and of course when it is used in character building exercises during physical education.

One such activity began with the kids becoming acquainted with the impressive parachute apparatus. Because it is big, and inclusive, and interactive, and collaborative, I get to see some of my most important mantras being set into motion: Help Yourself by Helping Others, Respect Others' Space, Be Caught Doing Good. In the inner city, where Marvin Avenue Elementary School is located, some interactions between children and adults are violent, sometimes profane, often unsupervised. Whenever the school setting offers an excuse to show how beautiful human interaction CAN be, this becomes a learning moment - a social event - that resonates and is processed and remembered. Physical education is crucial for establishing these healthy points of contact between children. And, these materials made possible by your donation enabled them to pursue this. One of my students, Nathan, said that The Parachute was "fun and exciting." While another, Lilly, added that she enjoyed learning to throw the knobby balls. Others laughed when 'trapped' underneath the enormous space it creates as their classmates tried to help them out.

These safe activities are rare, as mentioned earlier we do not have access to many new and innovative resources and materials. Some of the ongoing exercises I have used in the past to set up the success of your donation include teaching and practicing with the students to throw underhand and overhand and also catching the bean bags and balls to help with hand-eye coordination. These exercises helps less coordinated children with essential practices to help with posture and athletic movement. Using The Parachute as a team-building exercise, as I mentioned, helps develop coordination skills in addition to decision-making and leadership skills during the games we play. In future classes, I will occasionally share these materials with other teachers and students, helping them to come up with their own ideas for games. Since the use of these materials requires little involvement on my part, I can be free to observe the children's behavior as they set up the games, which helps me make adjustments to their individual needs.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you again for taking the time to provide us with such a thoughtful, useful gift and by doing so, helping to make the Los Angeles classroom a more productive and magical place.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Chau