5.5 Period 3: Preach, Practice & Play
Period 3 = Preach, Practice, and Play
10-15 minutes
- Preach the movements.
- Practice the movements.
- Play with the movement.
Period 3 is a very flexible section of class. It is intended to preach movement, practice the movement and play with the movement. Preaching the movement is a combination of teaching and inspiring the children. In order to preach movement well you must tap into the spirit of the children.
This will improve their focus. Practicing the movement is similar to the application quarter of the Signature Parisi classes. When movement is broken down the cues should be simple, short and fun.
Here is an example. ‘ Hey Pee Wee’s, who can tell me where their knees are.? Okay I am going to test you. Touch your head, touch your knees, touch your head, touch your toes, touch your knees. Okay very good. That was easy right?………. Okay, who knows where their hips are?…… Mikey show me. Yes, very good. Everyone touch their hips. Touch your head, Okay – who can do it fast. Ready?………HEAD – HIPS- KNESS- HEAD- TOES- HEAD- KNESS- HIPS- NOSE…….Very good.. So everyone lets bend our knees and hips at the same time. It is like sitting in a chair. Who knows what this exercise is called …… SQUAT – YES! excellent.’
After teaching and preaching the movement, then the kids practice the movements. Coach the kids on squatting together. Do not get hung up on too many details. Give feedback that is appropriate for the age and personality of the child. Just like teaching any group class – you must always read your audience. Children 4-7 years old are no different. The Huddle will provide you with a lot of insight into the mood of the children and help you shape your expectations for class.
Repeat sets of your movement. Then, gamify the practice of the squat. For example, place little toys on the ground or flat cones and tell the kids to pick them up by squatting, bending their knees and hips. This movement can progress to a sandbell slam. If your facility has 2-4 pound sand bells, you can use it as a tool to help teach the squat movement.
The ‘play portion’ of period 3 does not have to directly correlate to the exact movement practiced during the preach and practice section. It can be a small aspect of the play section. Try not to be too literal. You can keep it simple. Play can be as simple as running a relay and picking up a toy at the end of track. Parisi coaches should always fall back on any game that makes the kids run.