In the Zone Issue 8 / Winter 2023
From Mindful Minutes to Superhero Stations SHAYLEY LOVE Physical Education Teacher, Saratoga Elementary School (Saratoga, WY)
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n addition to teaching grades K-5, I am also the high school coach for volleyball and track — so I get to work on a lot of skills with students in our community. Before every match at the high school, the girls take a Mindful Minute so they can self-regulate (although when coaching I call it a Visualization Minute so it sounds less elementary to them). During volleyball, I ask everyone on the team to focus on positive things — not the errors — such as making every serve, making every pass, and having strong defense. If we are down in a match, we take a Visualization Minute. With my track team, it helps even our most gifted track athletes refocus when they need it. Students on both high school teams were unsure at first, but now they want to do a Visualization Minute and even remind me if I forget. With my kindergartners, we practice the Mindful Minute during lockdown drills to help them understand how to stay calm when they may encounter a stressful situation in the future. I incorporate the health. moves. minds.® curriculum as a supplement to my current curriculum and use the lessons throughout the year — and the Mindful Minute is used throughout the school.
Support for School and Community For the past two years, we have held a health. moves. minds. Fundraiser in February. This has been a blessing for our building because we needed funds to buy larger equipment and supplies for new activities. The fundraiser giveback and a grant we received that year helped us purchase new basketball backboards and equipment, which hadn’t been
The health. moves. minds.® Fundraiser brings together the lessons, activities, and community-building ideas that help students live their best life. You can share your success with health. moves. minds. — and bring national attention to your school — by contributing to In the Zone! If interested, email healthmovesminds@shapeamerica.org.
In 2022, Saratoga Elementary supported a new Little League in the community through their health. moves. minds. Fundraiser.
replaced since possibly the 1970s. Last year, we got a Frisbee golf set which the students really enjoy. During our first year of health. moves. minds. we didn’t support a charity because I wanted to see what the fundraiser was about and how we would do with it. We did so well with what we raised and received back that we decided to support a charity the next year — and we chose our local fire department. We had a huge fire in our area, and many of our volunteer firefighters don’t always have new equipment or things they need to do their job. The next year we supported a new Little League in our community, helping to purchase catching gear for the team. Our students were so proud to help in their community both years. Whenever people in the community come up to students in town and thank them, it makes them feel really special. Getting recognized for doing something good goes beyond what they are doing in PE.
Incentives and Celebrations When implementing the fundraiser, I allow my students to donate online or by cash or check. We have additional classroom jars and a couple of classroom challenges. The winning classroom that raises the most through online and cash/check donations get a pizza party. The winning classroom that raises the most through classroom jar donations gets a root beer float party. We also let the top individual fundraiser in the school spend a whole day as the PE teacher in my class. I help them plan and (continued on page 4)
Learn more and register at healthmovesminds.org
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