Blistering Knees: 2nd Grade P.E.

Today was so much better. The kids loved the game we played and no one had to sit in timeout, woohoo! Funny story... I was letting the kids race around this obstacle course that I had set up in the gym. I was lining up boys against boys and girls against girls. I had 2 boys ready to go and all of a sudden one of the boys had a break down. He said, "I don't want to play because I always lose at these races.". He was about in tears, so I told him he didn't have to race. A few races later, he came up to me and said he was ready. He wants to race a girl, Natalie. I looked at Natalie, and she was giving him the looked with her fingers going between her eyes and the boy. You know, the one that says I got my eye on you, bring it on! Lol, I was cracking up on the inside and not believing what I was seeing. A 2nd grade boy wants to race a girl so he won't lose, and the girl is up for the race. So, here we go, I start the race, and of course the boy wins by a long shot. The boy is victorious with his pride still intact, and the girl is defeated by yet another boy. Well, a couple races later every one is getting a second chance, so this same boy tells me he wants to race Joy. I look at Joy and she shakes her head, no. This boy is cracking me up, and he is not by any means slow. He is probably one of the most athletic kids in the class. So, class is almost over and I find out that Natalie has been hiding behind a pole crying for the last few minutes. I go over to her and aske her what's wrong. Through heavy sobs, she says, " I lost". I tried to console her by telling her it was only a game, but it didn't seem to work much. She left class crying. How about that teaching tactic? Let the boys beat the girls, so the girls leave crying. Lol, I probably need another strategy. Other than that, it was a successful P.E. class.