What elementary physical education teacher wouldn't be excited to see a gym full of active, happy, and motivated students? This book provides new and exciting ways to set up your space using a variety of equipment such as noodles, scooter boards, hoops, and balls. As an elementary teacher myself, and a big fan of the "station format," I found this book to be a wonderful resource for new ideas and formats in the gym. Author J.D. Hughes does a terrific job incorporating different units together, maximizing space, equipment, and time. For example, he diagrams a Football and Frisbee Skills unit using a six-station format that any young child would love to rotate through. I especially found his illustrations (nearly 200) to be helpful and clear, and even if you don't use the specific examples, I am sure it will trigger more ideas for your own class and the way in which you set it up.

The book is divided into two parts; the first part includes the units, games, and activities, while the second part covers classroom management, student incentives, as well as a section on dealing with parents. The book is definitely a supplement book to others as it gives excellent ideas for games and activities, but this is not a book designed to help with cue words or descriptions of skills. For instance, there are great examples for "soccer skills stations" such as passing, trapping, and dribbling, but the author does not detail the instructional "how-tos" of the various skills.

The author definitely succeeded in his purpose to provide an alternative to the "old school" roll-out-the-ball PE class, and provides opportunities for positive, active, and challenging activities. His ideas are targeted toward large numbers of students and keeping them active and engaged. I found the book to be easy to follow, and a good "quick reference" with an assortment of fun-filled activities and ideas (many very unique) for any unit.

I would recommend any elementary physical educator, recreation director, or youth group leader to have a copy of this book on their shelf. On a scale of 1-5, I give "No Standing Around in My Gym" 5 stars, especially for the illustrations and layout examples. Overall, I found this book to be helpful, motivating, and fun - an excellent resource for any teacher.

About Nanci Coolen:
Nanci Coolen, originally from Huntington Beach, CA is a Physical Education educator currently teaching girls in grades 3-5 at Punahou School in Hawaii (K-12). Nanci has been teaching for 6 years and has experience in teaching all grade levels. She lives in Honolulu with her husband who is a Head Coach of the softball team at the University of Hawaii. Nanci also has two children, Demi and Bo.

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