Got a smoothie?

I wanted to share my little gifts for my son's P.E teachers!

Gift Cards from our local Smoothie joint!  
Perfect for a healthy treat after a long day!  I think they'll love them!  
I want them to know I appreciate and know that they are impacting my child!  

P.E is a pretty big deal for me, obviously...but it's much deeper than that,
My son who is in kindergarten LOVES P.E  He thinks it's so cool that his teachers talk about healthy foods that we eat at home.  He loves that they warm up with crunches and jumping jacks...he's amazed that we do that stuff at home all of the time and now he's doing it at school!  I am so happy that he loves it on his terms.  He shows a huge interest in anything fitness/healthy and that makes me very proud.

It is very different from myself growing up,
My experience with gym/P.E is a HUGE part of my motivation to teach.  It was AWFUL.  I felt insecure.  Never wanted to "dress out" in front of my friends.  Hated running, fitness testing, etc.  Why?  I was overweight.  I was so unhealthy.  It was embarrassing.  I still remember taking our weight in P.E, I wanted to cry.  I was popular and the funny girl, so I used laughter to distract from the # on my paper :(  Ugh.  
With teaching P.E I made sure ALL children felt comfortable and confident to achieve fitness goals at their pace and level.  I didn't push, just guided and helped them see that exercise can be fun and not intimidating.  It was a main focus for me because those are the children that need exercise and want to be healthier.  I did not want a child to feel left out because of his/her weight or fitness level.  That's not fair.  I believe that's why so many men and women are intimidated by the gym.  I know it was hard for me because it brought back those fears from school...putting on the shorts and t-shirt and showing my skills or lack-there-of :( 
I guess you could say I brought a different angle to physical education.  Most P.E teachers are former athletes.  They were soccer stars or volleyball players for most of their life, sports and fitness is all they know.  For me, it was the TOTAL opposite.  I was the unhealthy, fat and funny girl that coordinated the weekend parties.  Yep, that was me.  After my weight-loss success in college, I decided I could impact lives from the other side.  I could relate to the children that weren't the star athletes.  And while being the star is AWESOME and having huge athletic abilities is amazing, it often leaves other children in physical education in the dust.  I am talking about the children that won't move on to athletics for 1st and 7th period.  The ones that'll get lost in the crowd of children.  ALL children deserve to live a healthy life.  And a lot of kids had their stuff together.  They were awesome athletes that rocked at their sport while eating a balanced diet!  Ah, great to know there are parents out there with it together!!  My teaching philosophy was that I want all children to find a passion for healthy living.  Find something active that they enjoy doing.  They don't have to be GREAT at it, just enjoy it and get moving!  

And after writing that I have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE WHAT POINT I WAS TRYING TO MAKE.  The beauty of blogging is that we can use our voices to make a difference...To tell you about my past experiences?  Maybe it was to tell you to take care of your elective teachers this Christmas?  Or maybe to tell you why I became a P.E teacher?  Hmmm, I HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!  

*But good news is today's workout ROCKED!  I kept up with my husband until the end when he sprinted off in front of me, but I'm feeling it now.  Sore feels great because you know you've worked hard, but I'm like physically walking sideways!  Ha!  Totally worth it :)