the independent little bee...: Stuck in the house because of the snow? Here's som...

*Justin and I blogged about exergaming last winter. Here's some tips on exergaming and indoor fitness ideas :)  Click on the link and it will take you to the article.
the independent little bee...: Stuck in the house because of the snow? Here's som...:
Indoor Fun This Winter Season By Justin A. Haegele, APE Teacher with Robbin Keating and her vision tips It’s the middle of ...

Some fitness on the Wii

A lot of people have the Wii these days and have had fun playing a variety of games. We have one family that is participating in the Challenge that found some luck with getting some physical activity by doing exer gaming (that's when you use gaming for fitness).  This is a tip from Ellen. Her son is a print reader and a participant in the Challenge.

From Ellen: Just to share some good information....I was looking for a fitness game for the Wii. I went to Game Stop and the salesperson was more than willing to help find a good game for Alex to use when he cannot go outside for exercise.  He scanned the bar code on the games and I was able to preview to see if Alex would be able to play the games...first one was Family Party Fitness Fun. (We played last night and it is a fun challenge some games harder than others and it will take practice.) The other was Fit in Six....that had yoga and strength training but was too hard because it requires a camera to participate and that was hard to get your body in the right line of the camera eye.

 

Today we picked up the Wii balance board that came with Wii Fit that has everything Alex needs to work on such as core strengthening,balance  and flexibility. It should be fun! Will fill you in on how much fun!!

 

If anyone has a tip or something that has (or has not) worked for you, please email me so I can share!

Goalball in PE

Have you been checking out our posts on goalball? Pretty fun, huh? A lot of studetns in Connecticut are signing up to play goalball in their PE class. There are several benefits to playing goalball in PE. One significant benefit is that goalball is a sport that does not require vision to play. All the players are under blindfold. This is a great activity for disability awareness for vision impairment.  We play goalball at almost all of our sports & recreation programs. Many of our students have developed the basic skills are are now starting to learn more advanced game play.

How do you play goalball in your PE class?
1. Sign up with your TVI. Your TVI will sign you up with Robbin Keating at BESB to organize it. Your TVI has to discuss this with your general education PE teacher to schedule the game.
2. Learn how to play goalball. All the students receive a private lesson on the positions and rules of the game.
3. After you have had your lesson, each student and their TVI will put together their goalball presentation and practice it. The students get to teach goalball to their classmates!
4. Robbin will come to your PE class, loan your class a goalball and help facilitate the playing. You school can borrow a goalball for a two week period.

Required equipment:

1. Each class will need a minimum of six blindfolds. Knee pads and elbow pads are also very helpful.

2. Floor (gym) tape and rope. PE teachers will receive rope length and other helpful information in their  goalball in PE handout.

3. Goalball (BESB will loan goalballs for two week periods)

We have students of all grades and abilities signing up to play goalball in the PE class. Contact your TVI to play!

Pictures are from the SIBS Weekend goalball games, May 2011

Goalball USA vs Japan

What is goalball?

Have you heard your child talking about playing goalball? A lot of parents are quite sure what it is. Here's goalball in a nutshell:

So What IS Goalball, You May Ask?

Goalball is a highly competitive sport played three-against-three, indoors on a gym floor--primarily by blind and visually impaired athletes. It's played from the local school-gym level on up to the Paralympic, 'Team USA' level Internationally.
Games are usually quite competitive and exciting to watch--even on a local level. There are two teams playing against eachother, with one on each end of the 60x40 foot court. All players are blindfolded to make the game fair. This is due to varying levels of sight among players. Some are legally-blind, some are totally blind. The blindfolds ensure equality among players.

The object is to roll a three-pound Goalball, which is sort of like a heavy basketball, past the opposing team without them stopping it. It's their job to block that ball at all costs.

Now you may be asking yourself, "how do the players keep track of the ball if they're blind?" The ball has bells in it--sounding a lot like Christmas "jingle bells"--that allow the players to listen for it. When they hear the ball coming towards their end of the court, they dive, usually head-first, towards it hoping to block it with their body and stop it. They often slide back and forth on the floor, using their bodies to block the oncoming ball. If all three players miss the ball and it goes past them or over them and then over the back line, it is considered a goal. The team with the most goals at the end of two 10-minute halves, wins the game. There are usually several games in a typical tournament.
The players use cord or thin rope taped to the floor, or other similar tactile markings, to orientate themselves as to where they are on the court.
-excerpt from www.goalball.us, photo from usparalympics.org

How to play beep baseball

Hi guys,
I'm posting information on how to play beep baseball. A lot of people don't know how to play outside of coming to our programs.  Below is a great, easy to read handout compiled by Coach John from Sports Adventure Weekend and Camp Abilities.

Beep Baseball Guide

compiled by John Peralta, APE teacher

Rules:

·         Six (6) innings of play, unless more are needed to break a tie.

·         Three (3) outs per inning. An out is made if the ball if fielded before the runner gets to his or her padded cylinder (Beeping Bag/base).

·         A batter is allowed four (4) rather than the traditional three (3) strikes and only one (1) pass ball. The fourth swing must be a clean miss.

·         Each team has its own sighted pitcher and catcher.

·         First and third bases, four foot padded cylinders with speakers, are placed one-hundred (100) feet down their respective lines and ten (10) feet off the foul line.

·         Pitcher stands 20ft away from batter (traditional (90ft). The catcher gives pitcher a target to throw at, preferably where the batter normally swings.

·         A hit ball must travel at least forty (40) feet to be considered fair. A hit ball that does not reach the forty (40) foot line is considered foul. A ball that travels one hundred eighty (180) feet in the air is considered a home run.

·         Six person defense (traditional 9) with a number system.

Pitching:

·         Pitcher is obligated to clearly verbalize two words. He must say "ready" just before the ball is about to be released and as the ball is being released, the pitcher says, "Pitch" or "ball." These two words alert the batter.

·         Pitcher does not field but still plays crucial part in the game. A pitcher success is major by the amount of runs his or her team scores. Prefer a high Era unlike traditional ball.

·         A hit ball rebounded off the pitcher is ruled no pitch. It helps for pitchers to be quick and agile.

Batting:

·         Good grip on bat, level swing and listen to the pitcher ready commend and pitch or ball to get yourself ready to swing.

·         Batter is allowed to pass on a ball if he or she can’t hear the pitchers ready or pitch command.

·         Once batter has made contact with ball either first or third base will beep.

Fielding:

·         VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW FIELDERS NUMBERS

·         Six players on defense with numbers starting with  the first baseman as one; two, right fielder; three, middle; four, left fielder; five, third baseman; and six, back fielder.

·         There are two sighted spotters positioned in the outfield, one on either side of the field. These people are very important to a team’s success. They need to make quick and accurate calls (fielder’s numbers) to where the ball is heading. Ex (ball is hit towards left field the spotters most yell 4 so that all fielders move towards the ball).Spotters may only call out one number if they call out more than one number the runner is awarded the run.

Beep baseball tutorial with Mr. Justin

Fall into Fitness

Fall in to Fitness!

The fall is finally here! As the hot days of summer are finally cooling off, there are lots of ways that you can stay active and enjoy the fresh, crisp weather. Being active and healthy doesn’t always mean you have to go to a gym or play a sport; it can include many different things that involve moving your body. Autumn brings on lots of activities and opportunities that we might not get during the rest of the year. For some fun outdoor fun that is sure to get your body moving, check these activities out:

• Enjoy a scenic bike ride or walk around your town
• Try a corn maze (Click on this link to find one near you! http://www.cornmazesamerica.com/connecticut.htm)
• Visit a local pick-your-own farm. You can pick your own apples, pumpkins, and more!
• Go on a hike with friends or family
• Rake the leaves in your yard (it can be fun at any age to then jump in them!)
• Canoeing or kayaking
• Bring your dog for a walk. Don’t have one? Offer to bring your neighbor’s, grandparents’, friend’s, etc for a nice stroll.

While you are out having fun in the fall, be sure to dress appropriately for the weather. Wearing multiple layers may be helpful as your body temperature changes during your activities. Also, always stay hydrated and fueled! Just because you may not feel thirsty or hungry while doing an activity doesn’t mean that your body doesn’t need some water or energy. Make sure you have a water bottle handy and drink regularly, even if you don’t reel thirsty. When choosing snacks, try to make healthy choices that will provide your body with good energy. Some good snacks on the go are homemade trail mix, banana and peanut butter sandwiches, grapes, pretzels, etc. When Take care of your body, it’s the only you have!

Would you rather find something to do indoors? How about resting your mind and body with a little yoga? Yoga is a great activity because it can be done anywhere at any time because you do not need special equipment or space. What you do need is a quiet room and possibly a carpeted floor or a blanket or towel to lay on. Yoga uses a series of stretches, body positions, and breathing techniques in order to try to fully relax your body and your mind. This can be helpful after a day that had been stressful or if you need help getting to sleep at night. If you are interested in starting a yoga routine at home, here are some helpful hints:

• Choose a time that you will not be disturbed by others

• Try to make the room darker by closing the shades, putting a towel over the window, or turning the lights off.
• You may want to try playing soft, tranquil music in the background.
• Decide ahead of time which types of poses you would like to do and which body parts you would like to focus on
• Focus on breathing deeply, in through your nose and our through your mouth
• Be patient! It takes time to perform poses and see results. Some people practice for years! Every journey starts with a single step.

A great place to learn about the art of yoga, find poses, and even build your own pose sequence is http://www.yogajournal.com/. It is full of great information and I find it very helpful when I teach my students.

                        In health and fitness,

                                    Lauren

Time to get active!

Hi students!
I am so excited to see so many of you signing up to participate in Fitness Challenge and coming to Sports Adventure Weekend: Competition Edition! Both programs are going to be super fun :)

photo from hancockregionalhospital.com

There's no time like today to get started on your Fitness Challenge goals! I will contact each of you about this but before I do, start thinking about your own fitness goals!

 What would you like to achieve? Run a mile? Do 10 push ups? Join a team?

Here's a few ideas that will help get you off to a good start to your new healthy lifestyle:

• Drink lots of water!!
• Choose fruits and healthy snacks!
• Start moving! Take a walk after dinner with your friends or family. You can do push ups, sit ups, squats and jumping jacks right at home--NO vision required!!
• Set your Fitness Challenge goals!

Keep reading the blog because we are going to post exercises, workout tips, recipes and motivation to help you get off to a good start!!

USABA - The Story of USABA

About USABA

Connecticut is excited to partner with USAB to bring not only the Fitness Challenge but to invite CT students to get active in sports and recreation. Many students do not know about USABA. Part of the Fitness Challenge is a free one year membership to USABA.

From the USABA website...
"Since its founding in 1976, USABA, a community-based organization of the United States Olympic Committee, has reached more than 100,000 blind individuals. The organization has emerged as more than just a world-class trainer of blind athletes, it has become a champion of the abilities of Americans who are legally blind. USABA's mission: to enhance the lives of blind and visually impaired people by providing the opportunity for participation in sports and physical activity. For more information go to http://www.usaba.org."
Learn more: www.usaba.org

Fitness Challenge!

Hi everyone,
Welcome to our new blog :) It is very exciting to get started with sports, fitness and recreation programs right here in CT! Our kick off program is the USAB Fitness Challenge. It goes for the entire school year. The registration deadline is October 5th. It is open to all ages and abilities in CT. The only thing you need is to be a BESB client!

You can participate in the Fitness Challenge both at home and at our programs. The goal of the Challenge is to promote physical activity and to reduce (or maintain healthy) body mass index (BMI) in children and youth with vision impairments.

You can enroll in the Challenge by emailing Robbin Keating, Team CT Fitness Coach, at robbin.keating@ct.gov. Registration takes five minutes!

We will begin the baseline measuring in October. Each month, students will measure themselves and send Robbin their measurements. USABA has helped motivation by providing cool prizes every three months. Each student will be given directions on how to measure themselves. It's easy and fast.
The top male and female participant will get to go to the National Sports Camp in Colorado. This is going to be a fun challenge!

Keep reading the blog.!We will post fitness challenges, acvtivity ideas & keep up with all the students who are participating in the Fitness Challenge