Students enjoy an outdoor gym period
Chris McGuire compares the activity to hiding vegetables. He and Jeff Moulton are physical education teachers at Cornwall Elementary School.
During the pandemic, they’ve favored outdoor activities. There’s more room to spread out and less chance of someone being infected.
As we mentioned last week, the two faculty members brought seven plastic sleds from home. And their colleagues added to the collection. Mother Nature has cooperated by providing a more than decent amount of snow.
But what about hiding vegetables! Mr. McGuire wasn’t talking about a pea under the mattress or a carrot stuffed beneath the sofa. If you’ve had youngsters who avoided greens, you probably know what he meant. In our house, we served vegetables that resembled French fried potatoes. The kids enjoyed them without realizing they were eating something that was good for them.
And that’s the story with sleigh riding. The students are getting more exercise than they realize. After every downhill run, they have to trudge up the hill, which has become steeper each time the nearby parking lot has been plowed.
When I was at the school on Feb. 10, the kids weren’t “trudging.” They were rushing uphill in a state of excitement. So they were getting a good workout.
And they weren’t the only ones. Because the snow was deep and soft, Mr. Moulton and Mr. McGuire shoveled paths that resembled toboggan chutes. They also tamped down the snow so the sleds would move faster.
Then they became observers. The fourth-graders functioned independently. They took turns with the sleds, and helped one another carry them back to the starting point. When they weren’t hurtling down the hill, they were chatting with one another and having a good time.
Maybe they realized they were getting exercise. But it didn’t keep them from enjoying a gym period in the snow. After a semester spent mostly at home, they were glad to be outside and together.
