During Monday's lab was the first time that our group worked with the pre-k children. We observed leaping, horizontal jumping, and sliding. It was interesting to me the large difference in ability from pre-k to just first grade. Only two years between and the children advance so much. The pre-k group was ready for any task that was thrown at them, but their responses to doing things such as horizontal jumping were extremely different than the responses of children slightly older than them. Their motor skills are not as advanced. Although they were jumping and moving forward, they didn't thrust their arms or do anything extra to propel themselves. This is what makes me realize how important it is to teach children from the youngest ages possible. As a physical education teacher I will need to correct and strengthen the tiniest things because I don't want them to become habits that are hard to get rid of.
As I was explaining to the children how to slide correctly I could see that they were very interested in what I was saying. They want to do things and "show off" the things that they know how to do. They love the attention and using positive comments after they finish a task is a great way to keep them motivated. Although the children were very interested in what I was doing they were quickly distracted when Blaze, the Cortland Red Dragon's mascot came to visit. He played with the children and just the costume had all of the children hyped up and ready to play! This lab went very well and was extremely enjoyable! It was amazing seeing the children's faces light up as Blaze walked into the gymnasium. I'm so glad to be a part of this program, who would've thought that going to lab and working with these children could make my day and always put me in such a great mood?
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