By

Brianna Kleitsch (Peyer),   Flora Thew Elementary School

Play:

Topics:

Physical Activity Participation, Student Leadership,  Teamwork

I started the school year at a new elementary school and quickly found that they only had one after-school program. I thought Fuel Up To Play 60 would be the perfect addition! For the past 14 weeks, we have been meeting every Thursday and I am so proud of how far the students have come. We have a consistent group of 30 kids and each week we start with leadership and nutrition and end with physical activity. They have come up with so many great ways to make our school healthier and I cannot wait to start implementing more of their ideas! We just started our Walking Club that takes place during morning and afternoon recess. It has been a great way to get all kids interested in moving and we have great incentives for them. We are currently walking across the USA! I love Fuel Up To Play 60 because it has brought out leadership qualities in many of my students!

How did students and adults work together as a team?

I went over the different "Plays" provided by FUTP 60 with my students and then had the students get into groups of 4 to talk about which Play they thought would be best for our school. They then presented their ideas and we had a group conversation. The students controlled the conversation and I would step in only when their ideas where possibly out of reach.

How do you plan to make this Play last during the school year and beyond?

Our Walking Club is something that can be done every day during recess. We continue to give challenges to the walking club so they stay interested and of course, provide prizes for motivation.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

When it came down to choosing a Play, I found my team arguing over different ideas. I used this as a learning experience and we practiced leadership qualities. We discussed how important it was to work together, accept others' opinions, and we practiced solving problems and coming to an agreement. They were then able to put their different ideas together so that everyone was happy.