The second grade has been a very busy group this year! We have covered many units so far: Swimming Cooperative games Ball skills Scooters Pillo Polo Dance The children started off their year in the swimming pool with Mr. Shoulberg. They worked on improving their swimming strokes and endurance while also playing many fun games. But the best was "FREE SWIM DAY!" Every Friday the pool was a busy place for our second graders; everyone was very active!  Rope climbing and rope swinging were amongst the most popular activities. The group also enjoyed jumping off the diving board and playing on the mats.  This group was non-stop from the beginning of class to the end!!! The first "dry land" unit we had was COOPERATIVE GAMES. Here the children worked in small or large groups to achieve a common goal. We worked on "team" strategies and good sportsmanship. Some of our favorite games were:  Charlie Brown’s Pumpkin Patch Capture the Rings Blob Tag Team Tag The next unit was BALL SKILLS. We used everything from bean bags and carpet balls to our large nerf playground balls!  Ready! Aim! Fire! We worked on our throwing skills such as: stepping with the opposite foot forward keeping the elbow back.  "Don’t forget to follow through to your target!"  We worked on hitting moving as well as stationary objects, and positioning our bodies at certain angles to facilitate hitting the object. Some enjoyable sounds coming from the gym during this unit were bowling pins falling to the floor or hearing the words, "JAIL BREAK" or "DOCTOR!" being shouted.   Our ball game favorites were: Bombardment Prison Dodgeball Doctor Dodgeball Our fourth unit found us all operating small-motorized vehicles – SCOOTERS! Everyone received their scooter licenses. They obeyed all traffic laws by demonstrating safe driving skills. Not to mention the workout their legs received everyday! Some of the fun games that we played were:  Cops & Robbers Stuck in the Mud on Scooters Asteroid Monsters Human Bowling! Realizing how quickly the school year was moving, we decided to park our scooters in the equipment closest and begin our Pillo Polo/Floor Hockey Unit. We worked on ball handling skills along with passing, dodging, shooting and guarding. The future of the NHL with these little "recruits" looks promising!  Our five star activities included:  Guarding the Pin Sideline Hockey Star Wars The wrestling room took us to our next unit, which was DANCE. This was probably one of Miss Watson’s most enjoyable units! After many rounds of Snakes-in-the-Grass, the children participated in many dances such as: The Electric Slide,  Achy Breaky Heart,  The Macarena,  Limbo Rock,  The Alley Cat,  The Bunny Hop  The Chicken Dance But the best part came when the children created their own dances! We were all proud of each other! We have the video available if anyone is interested! As the year goes by very quickly, we have seen your children grow in many ways. They display confidence in their physical ability to tackle any new challenges that are presented to them. They are also developing friendships along with a sense of positive sportsmanship qualities!