Winter in St. Louis can certainly be frosty, but that doesn’t stop our Lower School P.E. Teachers Jim Lohr and Sue Orlando from connecting our students with the great outdoors daily.
As with everything right now, P.E. looks different from usual. Our in-person Beasley Lower School students continue to participate in physical education activities outside on the MICDS athletic fields unless the forecast calls for heavy rain. Students learning from home are encouraged to step outside for their daily activity sessions as fresh air and larger movement patterns can go a long way to help build strong essential fitness levels, especially in the winter!
Lohr and Orlando have continued to adapt and innovate their program this year, teaching one grade level at a time, separated into four stations by cohort, and without the use of much “touchable” equipment. They engage the students in strength-based and flexibility exercises and games to improve agility, balance, and coordination by using obstacle courses and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts. They use our Lower School Seesaw app to post a series of weekly videos for our remote learners and for all students to access for at-home physical fun.
Lower School P.E. outdoors provides a safe experience for students and a faster progression on movement skills. Lohr said, “Having P.E. every day outside with our kids is making a huge difference. We have kids accomplishing skill milestones earlier in the year than they normally would due to the increased focus on specific physical exercises vs. mastering a game within a unit.” Orlando added, “For kids joining us in-person for the first time this year, we give them plenty of opportunities to catch up in their physical fitness, and students and parents alike appreciate it. When parents report that their kids are talking excitedly about P.E. at home, that’s always a good sign.”
An additional silver lining is how P.E. fits into the daily Lower School schedule. Orlando said, “P.E. is a happy part of the day to get the kids out and moving. The students need it, the teachers appreciate the break, and we love it. It’s a valuable 30 minutes for everyone.” Lohr added, “Now that our classes take place on the field behind Olson Hall, we suddenly have increased visibility from our other colleagues and friends on campus. They often remark how great it is to see us out there with the kids. It brings joy to their day.”
On a recent snowy day, our 2nd grade students exalted in the opportunity to make snow angels (a crowd favorite), build snowballs and snowpeople, and they even learned the value of repurposing campus cardboard into sleds. We don’t think any adult can recall having a sledding unit in P.E.!
“My favorite part is we get fit and do exercises. I feel good. Today we made snow angels!” – Chloe C. ’31
“I really like the laps, but some people don’t like it.” – Ford G. ’31
“I like when we have to do exercises because I feel excited and happy. Snow angels are fun, and I like to try and make snowballs, but I’m not very good at it yet.” – Nyle M. ’31
“We always do exercises, and it’s fun to do it outside. I like sliding and making snowballs.” – Brooke S. ’31
With a little help from Mother Nature, our students are continually inspired to achieve their fitness goals!
