PE in Arlington - What is it like at your ES?
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Anonymous
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DS is in K and says that PE is the worst class. I am surprised by this because he is a really active kid (plays baseball, soccer, and swim). He always wants to race me and is just generally choose physical activity over sedentary any time.
He tells me that all they do is exercise and then get one minute of fun game playing. I assume this is not correct, but just curious what PE is like at APS. His class seems to never go outside for PE (they just hang out in the gym). I grew up in AZ (so nicer weather) and I don't remember K specifically but we did a lot of outside PE time (field hockey, track, baseball, kick ball, basket ball, tennis etc). NOW I know that his school here doesn't have all the fields and space my school growing up did, but I find it odd they stay inside all the time. They at least have green space where they could do outside sports. Is this not a thing in APS? Or just not at our school? Or just not with K? I do follow the PE dept on twitter but never see them go outside. |
Anonymous
| Which school? I have a rising K in APS, so want to know what to expect |
Anonymous
OP here, he is at Claremont. I see the pictures on twitter and it looks like they have fun in the gym, like they have done bowling, cart racing, dance, gymnastics, jump roping, etc. They do a lot of hand eye coordination stuff and stuff where they sort colors/shapes/etc making games out of all of that. So I think it is fun (even if he only remembers the jumping jacks in the beginning) but I find it odd they don't go outside. Maybe PE is just a lot shorter than it was when I was a kid and they don't have time to move them all outside and back in. |
Anonymous
| My kids switched from one Arlington elementary to another. At the first, they only went outside to run laps (including K) and then almost always came back into the gym regardless of weather. At the second, they seemed to do much more outdoors with PE. Not sure if it is up to the individual instructor or the school or is determined by space constraints (more outdoors because gym is being used for other activities. I know they much prefer the chance to have PE outdoors. |
Anonymous
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My kid’s PE class goes outside when the weather is nice, but have a lot of gym time too. At her school they have good field space available. They do fun and creative games, a dance unit, a bike unit, etc. but it sounds like they don’t do a lot of organized sports yet in second grade. My older kid is out of elementary now, and they did get around to organized sports eventually, so I know it’s coming.
If your kid is more sports oriented he might hate it now but love it later. |
Anonymous
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My kid is at Nottingham and he loves PE. He said they did something with bowling pins this week, but it wasn't bowling.
They don't just run around like I did growing up. He has never mentioned any exercise, but maybe his teachers make it more fun. |
Anonymous
My kids are also at Nottingham and love PE. They don't go outside for the most part, but it sounds like they work physical activity into fun games (e.g., a relay game where they have to run sprints across the gym and then do some kind of task at the far side before sprinting back). |
Anonymous
| My daughter is in kindergarten at Key and she LOVES PE. It is her favorite subject. She gets upset if I pick her up early on a PE day. I routinely hear about the games they play. |
Anonymous
OP here, I think they do warm up exercises in the beginning? I mean I watch videos and the kids look like they are having a blast? Who knows. He is not the best reporter |
Anonymous
Yes, there is an actual curriculum. My son is in 5th now, but I know they have done dance units, ping pong, volleyball, etc. A lot of these things have equipment and can't be done outside. They do go outside sometimes though. He's at Glebe. |
Anonymous
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Take a look at the PE curriculum on the apsva.us website. At that age a lot of the PE is about basic gross motor skills like balancing, throwing, and those kinds of things. It's lots of game playing like others mentioned, but not usually organized sports like soccer or baseball. DD is at McKinley and loves PE and the teachers. McKinley has no field to speak of so PE is almost always inside.
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Anonymous
| OP's son's experience has been my son's experience in K at Glebe. A lot of it is that they really are teaching them some hand-eye stuff he wouldn't get if he just had free time. And they incorporate equipment a lot, hula-hoops, bean bags, someone else mentioned bowling pins... but it does mean that kids have to spend time listening and then doing what they are told, so my kid has come home with behavior reminders, and doesn't love PE. He does love recess, though. And he gets a ton of outdoor time at Glebe, or at least more in comparison to preK in DCPS. I look it from the perspective that it wasn't until I was an adult that I learned to safely run, lift..., and he's getting a lot of the fundamentals that I missed when I was being slammed in the head by a dodgeball. Also, he just needs to listen sometimes. |
Anonymous
| My APS 3rd grader loves pe and has since K. They go outside some when it’s nice but are often in the gym. They play games, have played kick ball, hockey,volleyball and more. In 3rd grade they have both a swimming unit and a biking unit. |
Anonymous
| My kids (both travel athletes) have suffered their main sports injuries in school PE, usually because they don’t get warmed up properly before things like the pacer. One kid had shin splints, the other a patellar problem after school gym classes. They also don’t really do normal sports, so I could see why it might not interest some boys. |
Anonymous
| I would guess PE is indoors more at most schools because there is limited outdoor space and recess limits taking classes outside for PE during lunch/recess times. My APS kids love PE. My 5th grade DS is excited to have PE daily in middle school next year! |