Golf in Gym

 There are so many things to write about (writing and finishing report cards as a home-room teacher, disappointing digital conduct by students, rewarding ourselves for class accomplishments, class avatars, Plickers, virtual Curriculum Night) and so little time (once again, only now starting to think and type at 10:30 pm on Sunday evening). I think that for today's blog, I will talk about golf.

I haven't taught physical education in forever. This is extra-challenging this year because traditional activities can't be done because of COVID restrictions. My wonderful colleague, Farah Wadia, has encouraged me to register with OPHEA (Ontario Physical and Health Education Association) but I just haven't had the time to go through all their resources to understand, teach myself, and select the best units and activities for my physical education class. (This is true for social studies as well - Freddie Malcolm and Dean Roberts have gifted me with lots of wonderful resources but I have not yet had the time to read them and consider the best options.) I find the most effective method is for me to see a tweet (ideally with a photo) and then I can understand and implement it right away. These are two examples that I found and used immediately.

I have always loved the game SIMON. Modification: Take out the technology and add some physical activity. @Sutherland_CA pic.twitter.com/yIdIJyVh1w

— Jesse Maytham (@Coach_Maytham) September 21, 2020

Building on our exp. yesterday with golf balls & cardboard, the Gr4/5s at @ThreeValleys gave pool noodles a try. We may have lost our marbles (Ha!) but we got a few from one side of the field to the other & learned a LOT about how unforgiving Gravity is. @TDSB #outdoorlearning pic.twitter.com/V1WDeVPE8s

— Tim Barker (@MrBarkersclass) September 22, 2020

One idea I had on my own, but with no idea how to implement it at all, was to play golf. The only golf I've ever played is mini-golf. I haven't the foggiest idea about how golf works. (This is the same for bocce, which my colleague Renee Keberer has been trying patiently to explain to me for weeks. I still keep messing up the name.)

Golf needs equipment, and we didn't have any at school. This didn't stop me. In the beginning of October, I started emailing and phoning all sorts of golf places to inquire about borrowing or renting golf clubs (turns out they are called putters!) for my students to use.

Putting Edge, an indoor, glow-in-the-dark mini-golf franchise with locations in Scarborough, Oakville, Vaughn and Whitby, came through for us in a huge way: they donated twelve putters to our school!

My physical education unit-to-be then influenced our language unit, as the students worked on crafting thank you letters. I just dropped off a few of the letters to the Scarborough location this past weekend. This past Friday was the first time we played.

Once again, thank goodness for my colleagues. Steve Tong, our kindergarten teacher, used his prep time to come and give an explanation on how to putt. He also gave me advice on how to set up the gym and donated golf balls to the cause. The students had a great time. Half the class putts while the other half (using two-thirds of the gym) practices ball hockey skills. We will be comparing and contrasting how equipment is handled between the two sports. Physical education will once again influence other subjects, as my science unit will involve the students eventually building their own mini-putt course. Here are some photos (without students in the shots) of the gym in golf-mode.

Thank you so much to Putting Edge and Mr. Tong for bringing a new and exciting activity to our repertoire. (By the way, in Term 2, I want to teach baton twirling, because that's a sport that I actually know how to do and coach, so if anyone knows where I can get proper batons, let me know!)