Physical Education
The overall objective of the Physical Education program is to provide students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to make active living a way of life. Cooperation, fair play, sportsmanship, communication, and respect are emphasized in all forms of our activities and sports.
Approach
Every year, we begin with Cooperative Games and Problem Solving Activities. In these activities, the group confronts a specific scenario or problem to solve (a sinking ship to escape, a poisonous or toxic swamp to cross, an electric fence to get over, or a minefield to get a blindfolded partner through safely). The focus of these activities is fostering cooperation, encouraging strategic and supportive dialogue, listening to a different opinion than your own, and having fun at the same time. Some groups spend just a few classes on cooperative activities, while others spend a lot more time and do a wider variety of them. This depends on what each group needs and how well they are working together. The activities also develop collaboration, communication, cooperation, respect, teamwork, and problem solving skills — all skills necessary for the success of any physical activity, game, or sport that involves more than one person.
Are the fish okay under the ice? Are they frozen? Should we feed them?
Our K/1 children had a lot of questions when they discovered that the koi pond had frozen over and the koi were acting differently in this cold weather.
These questions quickly served as inspiration for a research project. The children have been collecting wonderings; drawing observations; and finding answers to all of their questions. One term that they recently learned was “torpor”, which is the state of decreased activity that koi enter into to survive in winter.
On a final note, the “Most Dedicated Researcher” award goes to Maryanne, one of our Sugar Maple teachers, for dipping her phone into the pond to record a video of the koi below. We value your service to the cause, Maryanne!
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REPORTING LIVE FROM CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS: the primaries of our 5/6th graders` Greatest Doughnut election have come to a close.
After watching campaign ads featuring each of the six candidates and entering into informal (yet civil!) debate all over campus, every Miquon student casted their vote.
The electorate has spoken and our two final candidates are Boston Creme of the "Stuffed Party" and Glazed of the "Not Stuffed Party". (Early on, it appeared that Glazed Chocolate would prevail due to the strong turnout of the Nursery/Kindergarten voting bloc, but they were outnumbered by a late push from the upper elementary bloc in the end.)
The final election is... TODAY. STAY TUNED!
#themiquonschool #progressiveeducation #civicslesson #election2024 #independentschool #conshohockenpa #montcopa #phillyfamily #phillysuburbs
Grandparents and grandfriends, thanks for traveling from near and far to be with us last week! Nearly 170 of you packed the house, and we couldn`t have been happier about it.
We hope you enjoyed taking part in everything from Morning Meetings to Publishing Parties to sing-a-longs. We sure enjoyed having you.
See you next year!
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Interested in a school that celebrates childhood from the creek to the classroom? Consider Miquon for your child`s nursery through sixth grade education.
Our priority application deadline for 2025-26 is tomorrow, Dec. 6. Applications received after this point will be considered on a rolling basis as space allows.
Visit the link in our bio to get started today.
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Many who have spent time at Miquon have said, “This feels magical!” It is magical, and magical by intention because of how much this community cares for one another.
On this Giving Tuesday, we hope you will consider making a gift that will support everything we do at Miquon from the creek to the classroom. Our Annual Giving Campaign funds teacher salaries, classroom supply purchases, campus maintenance, and so much more.
If you have already made a gift this year, we deeply appreciate your contribution. If you haven’t yet, please consider including Miquon in your #GivingTuesday philanthropy. Visit miquonschool.org/giving.
#themiquonschool #foreveramiquonkid #miquoninourhearts #givingtuesday
Feel the late November chill this morning? No fear, the 6th grade quilts are here!
Well, in full transparency, these paper quilts will not keep you warm, but they are nonetheless pretty awesome.
This project served as the opening of our 6th graders` geometry exploration. They began by studying various quilts to observe patterns and learn about the attributes of polygons.
5/6 teacher, Anna, explains more: “Decomposing and rearranging pieces of polygons, we learned to calculate the area of rectangles, parallelograms and triangles. Through this, we learned the concept of a formula - an equation that contains letters to represent unknown values. Now, we’re putting it all together by finding the area of polygons on our quilt, with the goal of finding the total area for each color… It’s been a fun puzzle!”
Check out their works in progress.
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Standing at the entrance of the Bamboo Forest, our campus bird blind has always been a magical place. We`re happy to report that it recently received a major glow up thanks to Miquon counselor and former camper, Vincent Giletto!
Vincent enjoyed using the bird blind for years as a camper, and for his Eagle Scout project, he chose to renovate the space. The numerous improvements he made include installation of new windows, binocular hooks, bird feeders, and a bird bath. He and his team also planted native plants and revived the space with a fresh coat of paint.
We can`t wait for you to bring your own campers here this summer, Vincent. In the meantime, our groups will take good care of your hard work during the school year. And... congratulations on earning your Eagle Scout ranking! (Thanks, @aims912, for all of your help.)
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Join us this Thursday evening for our next event: "Miquon and Beyond: A Conversation with Alumni."
Stop by at 6:00 pm to learn how the 5th and 6th grade at Miquon prepares children for the transition to middle school and beyond. We`ll hear from the experts themselves: a panel of recent alumni as well as our staff.
Register through the link in bio.
#themiquonschool #ProgressiveEducation #independentschool #montcopa #montgomerycountypa #phillysuburbs #phillyfamilies #phillyschools #conshohockenpa
After the initial Cooperation and Problem Solving unit, we move onto eye-hand coordination skills and activities that combine the eye-hand coordination skills with cooperation. From there, activities that are in line with the Society of Health and Physical Educators National Standards Scope and Sequence are introduced to students as part of a larger lesson plan. For example, if the students are working on throwing at targets, we usually teach the skill cues first (e.g., jumping jack, muscle man, point, step, throw, follow through). Next, the children practice individually, throwing at targets (paper plates on walls or various objects to throw at). Then, we play a partnered game (“p-i-g” or “t-i-g-e-r” or whatever they decide) which is followed by a larger or whole group game.
PE Blog
Want to learn more about the latest happenings in Miquon’s Physical Education program? Check out pictures and teacher commentary posted to the PE Blog.
Curriculum Report
The curriculum report is the teachers’ review of the entire year, looking back and making observations after their plans, projects, problems, and revelations are long over. One of the distinguishing features of this report is the great extent to which each teacher’s style, focus, and personality come through in this retrospective narrative. Check out the PE Curriculum Report.
