PFA All-Star Teacher Showcase

First of all, please let me thank Project Fit America for their efforts in teaching today’s youth to be active and fit. Your program has made an incredible difference in my students’ attitudes toward leading active and healthy lives. Thank you for allowing us to become a small part of the Project Fit America Program.

I have been an educator of fitness since 1994. I have taught children from age 1 all the way up to 15. From 1995 until 2001 I owned a franchised and nationally known children’s fitness business called The Little Gym. With it, I learned to teach the youngest of students how to have “fitness fun” in many different ways. During this time, I discovered my first teaching philosophy: Have fun! No matter what the subject is, kids just want and need to have fun while learning. My goal has always been to make what I am teaching FUN.

 Since 2001, I have been a physical educator at Newnan Crossing Elementary School where I am blessed to teach over 1,000 students. Obviously, with that many students whose ages range from 4 all the way up to 12, my teaching philosophy became more than just having fun. Yes, I still consider having fun as rule number one in all my classes, but some other things have also become part of my beliefs. Creativity is a very important element of my units. When I learned about Project Fit America and everything it involved, I knew it would be a perfect fit for me. Project Fit America trainer, Steve Cox and his lessons have made a huge impact on my students’ fitness learning. Shuttle Cup? Pacer Challenge? Break Out? All very creative activities that I immediately jumped right into have seen nothing but success from my students ever since. In my philosophy, creativity is the secret to a good, quality, and fun physical education program. From our Haunted PE to Reindeer games to our Family Fitness Nights and beyond, teaching fitness in a creative way almost always leads to my students having fun. If they had fun it must mean they were active.

Newnan Crossing received its Project Fit America grant in 2003 with sponsorship from the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation. Since that time, I have implemented the Project Fit America program in almost everything I teach. In the Fall and Spring, our students enjoy participating in our Station Stars program. We will record any score the students wish so that they have a target to try and beat. We do not compete against each other, only ourselves. That said, I do post up top performers onto our Project Fit America Station Stars display in the gym. We have already had a few students reach Kong levels and I am sure you will hear from many record holders in the near future who attend Newnan Crossing School. Parents, students, and staff are all encouraged to make use of our “Fit Pit” as we have named the outdoor Project Fit America station equipment. Our school family has used it during recess, field days, evenings, and weekends. We are very proud of our “Fit Pit” and the use it is getting. Most of us can’t remember what the school was like without it!