Sports Spectacular: A Community Affair
On Thursday, March 22nd, Emily’s Place teachers hosted their second annual Sports Spectacular with the support of family volunteers and CREATE’s cohort 4 and 5 teacher candidates.
Kids from Emily’s Place and their families were invited to join in on the fun in classrooms and on the playground. Teachers from Emily’s Place along with student teachers from cohort 4 created activities that focused being active and eating healthy while literacy and math were woven in. They featured dancing, yoga, tumbling, tennis, basketball, a smoothie station, and even bicycle obstacle course.
Kids were initially a little shy to jump in on the fun so the smoothie station quickly became the starting point for everyone. The smoothie classroom team was made up of Emily’s Place teachers, teacher candidates from cohort 4 and 5 as well as a graduate student from CREATE.
Everyone conducted a taste test that featured a berry-based smoothie versus a tropical fruit one. Families were then invited to create a recipe card so that they could recreate their treat at home. The idea behind the smoothie station was not only to create a tasty experience but also to remind us that including kids in cooking is often a great way to expose them to math and literacy in our every day life.
Families also explored yoga, tennis, dancing, and basketball that were hosted in classrooms and in communal spaces around the school. With the help of cohort 4 and 5 students, teachers from Emily’s Place were able to provide fun for all.
The bicycle safety obstacle course was the next hot spot in the evening. Cohort 4 and 5 students along with teachers from Emily’s Place helped kids put on helmets before venturing out on the course. Along the route kids had to navigate hills, bridges, and of course a little traffic. At several different points along the route kids also came across various street signs such as yield and stop. Using signs helped kids understand their use for them and how they keep us safe while riding along with neighborhood traffic and although most kids on the course aren’t yet “readers” it encourages them to become aware and understand what might be on their own neighborhood streets.
To go along with the bicycle safety course BICAS, a local non-profit whose mission is to promote education, art, and a healthy environment through bikes was also on hand to provide free repair work on kid and adult bikes. In addition to the repair station, the BICAS team also brought plenty of reading materials related to classes they provide, bike maps of Tucson, and info on how enroll in a bike safety class from the city that also provides a helmet, light, and bike lock upon completion.
As families said goodbye they were invited to browse the free books room. Chapter, board, and pictures books were provided by Reading Seed who’s entire mission is to help kids in Pima County learn to read. One of the ways they do this is by providing free books to teachers and community organizations that work directly with kids.
Reading Seed who is a part of Literacy Connects coalition in Tucson has been a great new resource for Emily’s Place. Through their lending library and free book program Emily’s Place teachers and the CREATE team have able to new ways support the idea of stories and continue our support and commitment in the Flowing Wells district. And what better way to do so than with free books!
Coming together to learn from one another has been something Emily’s Place and CREATE has been working towards for two years. Emily’s Place has been a great partnering school to work with and for our students to call home for the last three semesters. As we continue to grow and learn from each other our partnership has become a success that is reflected in the families that come to events such as the Sports Spectacular who welcome and know our students and us as part of their community.
If you would like to more information about Flowing Wells Unified School District, Reading Seed, or BICAS you can check them out here: