PRESQUE ISLE — The Cornerstone Christian Academy had no place to hold physical education classes or anyone to teach. However, Kevin Sjoberg, a parent at the school, and the Presque Isle Recreation Center decided to take on the task. The next road block was finding a place to hold the class, as there is no gymnasium at their facility.
Contributed photoAdam Murchison PLAYING A NEW GAME – Macey Currier and MacKenzie McCrum take a whack at playing tether tennis during a Cornerstone Christain Academy gym session.
After concluding a soccer unit, Sjoberg decided to stray from the conventional team sports and delve into activities that promote lifelong wellness. On Thursday, Nov. 1 the Cornerstone students had new experiences and lessons in their new gym class. Gone were the set rules and preconceived notions of how games are supposed to be played. Sjoberg implemented activities to target the five aspects of physical fitness: flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, muscular strength and body composition. He targeted the skills that lead to a lifetime of physical activity. These skills include speed, agility, balance, coordination and reaction time.
The school split into two groups, with the earlier grades coming for the first 45 minute session and the older students coming for the second 45 minutes. The class did stretching exercises and a warm up game to get the blood flowing, followed by several new activities. Games like tether tennis work on hand-eye coordination and timing. The Wobbler works on balance. It strengthens the muscles of the legs and core, not often used, as the students try to maneuver a ball through a maze using their body weight to rock the ball back and forth and forwards and back. Moon shoes are a more dynamic toy, working on the explosive muscles of the legs and the balance component.
The kids had a smile on their faces while playing. Introduced to these games for the first time, the students were eager to learn. They also built team ethics by helping their classmates who struggled with a certain skill, or clapping until everyone finished a given task.
“It’s great to see such an eager bunch learn the basics of not just organized sports, but also have the chance for free play and using their imagination,” said Adam Murchison of the Presque Isle recreation staff.
Sjoberg and his students will continue to learn new sporting and wellness skills every Thursday at the recreation gym, except for the last Thursday of every month.
