Author: Fran Cleland

The 12 Days of Physical Education

Implementation plan for the “12 Days of PE”

  1. The setting is in the gymnasium.
  2. Playground or junior basketballs are in learning team colored hula hoops. Learning teams are dismissed by color to get a ball and find a personal space and use the ball in whatever way they choose until the teacher states, “Reindeer”! Reindeer is the cue to silence ball and listen to directions.
  3. I typically “sing” the lyrics with support from the children’s classroom teacher! We use a microphone and sound system to project voices across the gymnasium.
  4. Children are already familiar with the ball-handling skills. The “superhero pose” is when a child goes down on one knee and holds their junior basketball or playground ball in their opposite hand, similar to the Statue of Liberty!
  5. We sing each verse and repeat verses just like the regular song.

Verses and Movements

On the first day of physical education my teacher said to me, “Bounce the ball as high as a tree!”