Giving, Getting, Fun and Feasting During the Holidays

written by Isobel Kleinman, author of Too Dangerous to Teach

Thanksgiving through New Years are filled with thoughts of giving, getting, loving and feasting. This holiday season may be clouded as some of us were severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, and others of us are still impacted by the stubbornness of unemployment and a sluggish economy. But, in an ideal world, which we should aim for when we develop goals in education, we should think of the whole picture and the whole person. I like the Greek ideal: Developing the body and the mind as a unit. I think we should embellish the body and mind ideal by incorporating some social issues. Let's aim to create an environment that strives to meet the health and social and emotional needs of our students and their families. The holidays are perfect for exploring how to think of others as well as ourselves in a healthy way.

Let's start with thoughts of – GIVING - and relate it to physical education.

Create a fund raiser and give the receipts to a cause the kids can identify, but make the event dependent on lots of physical activity. There are plenty of examples in everyday life but here are other examples that would be school specific and address the social and emotional aspects of the students participating:

Have a PLAY NIGHT that involves lots of kids. We used to run a volleyball play night. The kids paid an entrance fee per team, made up of their own teams. The caveat was that they needed 3 guys, 3 girls and a faculty member. Then we ran it as a round robin. The kids played through the evenings. The community donated refreshments which the kids bought to add to the kitty, a good time was had by all, and the winner walked away with something – T-shirts; a trophy. There was lots of fun and excitement, but the best reward was knowing that the money raised went to a good cause, chosen by the kids, while lots of kids participated.

Run a DANCE MARATHON. Have students pay to enter. Use a dance card. The more dances they are checked off for, the greater their score. Give an award (even a token would enhance participation) at the end of the evening for the girls and boys with the most dances, most different partners, the most energetic -- you name it. Spread the wealth. Use categories that inspire participation and good spirit. Here too, you can have the community donate refreshments and sell refreshments to enhance the fundraising.

Put on a SHOW. This requires long term planning. Once you have it figured out, you could do it annually, sell tickets, and give the proceeds to charity. You could do this in cooperation with the music and art departments. If you're involved, it must require active performances that are worthy of an audience. The great side effect is that when kids are in a show, they willingly work toward excellence. A good objective is to involve as many kids as possible. We ran a GYMSHOW in the 70's. Later, when I changed schools and no longer taught gymnastics, I gave an annual DANCE CONCERT.

Gymnastics and dance lend themselves to performance. Depending on how it is set-up, having hundreds participate is possible. It helps if your program includes dance and gymnastics, and encourages kids to make their own routines. Ours did. The Educational Gymnastic unit had themes that took students from exploring movement, to connecting it, to developing control and quality while they moved through space, to connecting their choice of movements to create short gymnastic and/or dance routines. In a lesson or two they had a short routine that was worthy of some tweaking and a stage performance.

One year, we took 30 second routines of bridging and arching that kids performed by going over and under each other and had a sequence of partners performing their own routines. The audience watched them bridge and arch to the sounds of Simon and Garfunkle's Bridge Over Troubled Water. The impact was tremendous. It was during a war. The notion of peace was powerful. Infused in the music, when – at the end – all routines were complete and the music ended, all the partners linked together to create one huge large peace sign which gave everyone the chills. It was a great ending to a fabulous show and the kids raised quite a bit of money all of which went to a good cause.

The second - GETTING

For years our society has seemed like the "give me" society. Today our kids seem to think that gifts (and good grades) are coming to them. Their parents do, too. No matter how irresponsible a kid is, parents go ahead and give them what is expected – birthday presents, Christmas gifts, and even prizes for what is promised whether or not it is delivered. Hardly a soul thinks of using gifts as an incentive for getting kids to be more responsible, especially when it comes to Christmas.

Somewhere in the many pages of Too Dangerous to Teach, I tell a hilarious story about meeting with a student whose attendance and participation were horrendous. He didn't seem to mind that he was failing or that his failure upset his family. He was going to do it his way, no matter what. I was so exasperated during an after-school meeting with him (yes, he was courteous enough to show up as requested) when his affect said over and over 'I don't mind failing' that I found myself telling him that if he didn't straighten up his act, he would not be getting his Christmas presents. I still remember the look on his face.

It was clear that I finally got through to him. The only trouble was - and I can admit it now but not then - that I never cleared this with his parents. So, as soon as he left my office, I had to scramble to get his folks on board. Thankfully, they went along with me. And do you know that their son did a complete turn-around? He started showing up and participating. He starting learning to be engaged and once engaged, he started having fun. Once he started having fun, it was not a stretch to get him to class. So, I say, why not? Love does not mean rewarding kids for behaving in ways parents or teachers don't condone? Unfortunately, we teachers don't just have students to teach. We often have to teach the parents as well.

At any rate, as teachers, we can use the promise of getting to motivate kids to do better. We should set intermediate targets, targets that they can reach with work. We can promise that if they reach them, there will be something special at the end of the road - a culminating activity they'd enjoy – a field trip, a party, a prize. In the process, we can see the ultimate prize - the enhancement of their self-concept and/or body image.

What can we have them work on? Lots! From the obvious personal achievements like weight control and cardiovascular fitness, to characteristics that would help them get along better in the world like - getting along well with others, displaying good sportsmanship, using initiative, taking responsibility for someone else's good feelings, taking care of the environment, fulfilling their personal goals, getting in the habit of trying one's best, and yes - developing their leadership abilities.

The third - FUN

Warmth, vibrant colors, large gatherings of people, smiles, laughter, and sometimes surprises mark the holidays. How can we emulate that in our program? Try a Surprise. For one, why not tell the kids not to change the last day before the holidays and do something that is not in the usual plan, something like creating a class party with some dance mixers that gets everyone dancing with each other. Here is one of many mixers that will get everyone up, dancing quickly, and will set the tone for the rest of the day. Imagine their surprise when the music comes on and they hear Jingle Bells.

JINGLE BELLS VERSION ONE
Formation: double circle, partners facing, the boy's back to the center of the circle.
Position: with partners hands are joined.

Part I
With girls' right heel and boys' left heel, do a heel, toe, heel, toe, and 4 slides CCW
Reverse, girl's left heel , boys' right heel – heel, toe, heel, toe and 4 slides CW. (Repeat)

Part II
Clap own hands 3x, partner's 3x, own hands 4x, partner's once
Join right elbows and swing partner, skipping 8 skips around, singing
Repeat the claps, join left elbows and swing, skipping 7 skips
On the 8th, say "Merry Christmas," leave partner and go one person to the left

JINGLE BELLS VERSION TWO
Formation : Partners in a single circle, girl to the right of the boy.
Position : Hands joined, weight is on the right foot.

• "Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh" - 4 walks in, 4 walks out.
• "or the field we go, laughing all the way" - 7 ½ slides left (the half is a walk which frees the right foot).
• "Bells on bobtails ring, making spirits rise" - 4 walks in, 4 walks out.
• "Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh" - 7 ½ slides right, ending facing partner.
• "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way" - clap own hands in front 2x, own hands in back of self 3x, partner's hands 1x.
• "Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh" - join hands of partner, circle left with 8 skips. Release partner, face the corner.
• "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way" repeat clapping pattern with the corner.
• "Oh what fun it is to right in a one horse open sleigh" corners join hands and circle left with 8 skips. Then, continue the dance as started. The corner becomes the new partner, students join hands in a single circle with the girls moving to the right of their new partner and the dance beginning - walk in 4 steps.

The fourth - FEASTING

Somehow, we have got to teach kids to connect the idea of doing enough with their bodies to burn off the calories they take in. Feasting is all right as long as they make the effort to make sure the gorging is a one day affair that they will burn off. Here are some ideas you can use in the gym as tools to do this.

1. Assign groups to figure out the calories for typical Christmas dishes, report on it, and lead the class in an activity that they can do to happily burn it off.
2. Work in conjunction with the Home Ec., Art (if you still have them) and Health departments to make a real party - with decorations, food, health knowledge, and activities that match up joy with good health principles.
3. Have a Mother-Daughter, Father-Son, or Parent-Kid night that mixes food, thought and activity in a celebration of the holidays and upcoming New Year.

Enjoy your holidays.
Isobel Kleinman

(back to pelinks4u homepage)