Physical Education Beyond the Classroom
Linking Families to Activities Using Parks

written by Mary Nordstrom, Bellevue School District, Bellevue Washington

As physical educators, we are always trying to find innovative ways to get our students moving before school, after school, and at home. Some of the popular ways to accomplish this endeavor have been jump rope clubs, running clubs, juggling clubs, and home activity calendars. As a project for my Master's degree this past year, I wanted to expand on this idea so I developed a handbook called "Let’s Go to the Park." The purpose of the handbook was to provide various physical education activities that could be adapted and played by students with their families in a park setting. In the following paragraphs I have outlined parts of the handbook, and have included sample pages.

It was my hope, in making this handbook, that I would give families concrete ways of being physically active. Families can discover many positive results by being active together, such as; reinforcing physical education skills, building stronger parent-child relationships, connecting with conversation, having fun together, and ultimately teaching the importance of being active to their children which will improve their overall health.

The handbook was developed to connect movement activities from school physical education classes, to families from the Bellevue School District, in the hope of creating an opportunity to increase family physical activity levels. With limited teaching time in physical education, a team approach between school, family, and community is needed for children to develop the skills and a lifelong interest in physical activities. Healthy habits start at home, are further taught in school, and are established through family practice. The play of young students outside of school with their families further strengthens the learning and practice that is taught in physical education classes.

The handbook takes advantage of the terrific park system that exists in Bellevue, Washington, and links physical education activities to available facilities in the parks. The Bellevue Park facilities are well-maintained and provide families with a great asset for physical activity. Research supports the use of parks as serving an important role in providing space for increasing community and family physical activity. Parks are special places of adventure, connecting with nature and family, and making memories of play. Most everyone has a favorite memory of a park picnic, family gathering, or an outing to the park.

In developing the handbook, a decision was made to include a few activities and games that are not typically considered to be appropriate in physical education class. Too much standing and waiting for a turn in these activities is not conducive for maximum participation in physical education class. However, these activities can be played in small family settings successfully. The current philosophy in elementary physical education is for maximum movement and participation for all children in a safe environment.

Activities are a positive avenue to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to become physically active outside of physical education class. The play structure and walking trail sections were added to the handbook even though most of those activities are not found in physical education class. In visiting the parks in the development of the handbook, I discovered that the walking trails and play areas were very popular and it would be beneficial for families to have ideas on what they could add to these areas.

The handbook is designed to provide a selection of multiple parks and activities that can be mixed and matched for your own use. Part one of the handbook includes the introductory pages along with the Bellevue Parks Facility Chart and the map locator. The introductory pages include parent education information on safety considerations during play, the importance of physical education, the importance of physical activity for improved health, and the difference between physical education and physical activity.

The Bellevue Parks Facility Chart provides a listing of six potential facility options offered at various Bellevue parks, with icons for each: play structures, pavement, walking paths, open grass areas, and basketball and tennis courts. The facility icons are also included at the bottom of each park page for an easy visual check on what each park has available. The map locator provides the general locations of the parks in Bellevue.

Part two of the handbook is divided into seven sections. The first section is a listing of 26 selected Bellevue parks. Each park is featured on a page with its address, two websites and a short summary of the park. More information and specific directions can be found on the websites. The next six sections are the highlighted facilities with a listing of activities that can be played at each featured facility.

In the play structure section you can find ideas for short fun games that can be played within the play area. The pavement activities are many of the recess games children play at school. The walking trails section will provide ideas to keep your walks interesting, and the grass area is filled with small group tag games, soccer, and throwing activities. The basketball and tennis activities use the courts at the parks, and give beginning to intermediate activities to play.

Included are examples of some of the pages found in the handbook. I have incorporated a few pages of the different sections to give you an idea of what the collection looks like. I hope you can take some of the ideas to create your own handbook, or use this to inspire you to create a new way to promote physical activity.

1. Introduction
2. Park Pages
3. Activity Pages

Biography: Mary Nordstrom is an elementary (K-5) teacher in the Bellevue School District in Bellevue, Washington. She attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, and achieved her National Board Certification in 2008. Mary recently received her Master’s degree from Central Washington University. She has taught for over 18 years, and truly enjoys spending time teaching students physical education.

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