Program Overview:
Physical Essentials is an elementary education
curriculum designed to provide children with the knowledge and skills to
be physically active and to enjoy a healthy life. Activities
outlined in the Physical Essentials Curriculum are varied and
challenging, and presented as a means to the greater goal of developing
lifelong movers. Students discover not only the inherent joy of
movement, but the relationship of movement to other areas of human
functioning. In learning these simple skills, they also learn about
themselves -- their abilities and limitations, boundaries and
responsibilities. Through Physical Essentials, children take the
first step toward becoming truly "physically educated," and with
it, the first step toward realizing their own potential.
The Physical Essentials curriculum is written with the consideration that
healthy children are continually "under construction."
Physical Essentials is the foundation for the Physical Focus (middle) and
the Physical Dimensions (secondary) programs.
The curriculum is illustrated through
three developmental levels. The Primary level (K-1) is known as
Shining Stars. The Intermediate Elementary (2-3) level is known as
the Shooting Stars. The Advanced level (4-5) is known as the All
Stars. For each level, 150 daily lessons plus an additional week of
special events are planned. The curriculum is progressive in four
ways.
-Throughout the single lesson.
-From lesson from lesson.
-Within the units.
-From the Primary Curriculum through the Advanced Elementary Curriculum.
Physical Essentials was created by Dr. Joella
Mehrhof and Dr. Kathy Ermler and is sponsored by The Kansas Health
Foundation. Dr. Mehrhof and Dr. Ermler are both professors at Emporia
State University. Teachers teaching this program have completed an
extensive training course in the Physical Essentials curriculum.
The mission of Physical Essentials is to provide
all students with the opportunity of learning to move, moving to learn,
and experiencing the joy of movement.
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