MD-Lab 1

Tuesday Feb the 14th  I went to my first lab experience at Dryden Elementary School for my Motor Development course. Needless to say I was extremely anxious. I anticipated that I would be a nervous wreck the whole time and this wasn't the case. After about 5 minutes things seemed to fall into place and I was able to focus and give my full attention the students. The lab was informal and was basically geared towards building a rapport with the children and have a good time. However there was a underlying  objective which was to asses throwing and catching skills of elementary school students. While instructing numerous activities I began to fully appreciate the importance of establishing playing boundaries and safety statements. Without these managerial tools students easily get off course. My group, The Minions, started with "Everybodys It Tag" which I feel was fitting. This was a instant activity that required little instruction and got all the children engaged and running around. Also it was a fun way to break the ice. We followed up with  Toss-A-Name Game as it was appropriate for the theme and was a good way to learn students names. We then did  a "Group Juggle"; however given the age/developmental variations there were some difficulties. One of the children was 5 years old and was still in the initial stage within Gallahue's Theoretical Model of Motor Development. In my opinion, mistakes and all, the activity was beneficial in that it allowed students the opportunity to practice throwing and catching. Our next activity was the throwing and catching lab assessment. It was during this activity that motivating the younger students was necessary as this activity was a bit challenging for them. Also the younger child needed more specific instructional feedback to help them be more successful. However, it was more effective to give them instructions through demonstrations rather than words alone. Not only are they able to gather some information from the verbal instructions but through the visual instructions. This is crucial as children are maturating within the cognitive, affective, and pyschomotor domains. After the lab assessment were continued with different throwing and catching activities giving student time to practice in fun ways. The experience way great and I have a fun time working with the children at Dryden Elementary School and would to thanks for having me and I'm looking forward to visits to come!