Physical Education

Physical Education

Preschool

Elementary

Outdoor Education

Physical Education

At Touchstone, students participate in a non-threatening environment of activity and movement designed to initiate physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth. Students have the opportunity to explore and learn at their own pace. Activities are planned and designed to include elements of play, fun, critical thinking, and fitness in an environment geared toward enhancing the student’s personal success through group involvement.

Our school has adopted an Adventure Learning Approach founded by Project Adventure. Project Adventure describes adventure as way of doing; it is not something that you do. Adventure exists when participants are engaged in activities that are unique and relevant, include challenge, and have an atmosphere of safety and respect.

Unique and Relevant Curriculum: The students learn skills through age-appropriate activities designed with purpose. Each game incorporates a variety of skills in each of the following domains: psychomotor, affective, and cognitive. Students practice skills through game play. Some skills include cooperation, body/space awareness, balance, chasing/fleeing/dodging, effort concepts, dribbling, fitness concepts, jumping and landing, kicking, striking, throwing and catching, traveling, and volleying.

Challenge: Challenge by Choice is a cornerstone concept of the Touchstone Physical Education program. Every student is asked to participate fully in the activities and to add value to the group experience. The students get to discover for themselves their own level of participation, while meeting objectives and practicing proper skill acquisition. In one activity, there may be different levels of challenge represented by the students.

Safety and Respect: An atmosphere of safety and respect is a critical element to allow students to thrive, speak their mind, and push themselves to new limits. At Touchstone, it is the deep level of respect the students have for one another that makes the Adventure philosophy so successful. Students recognize that classmates are selecting the level of challenge that will help each member learn and grow rather than selecting a challenge that will give an unfair advantage.

The Adventure Learning Approach in physical education class is a natural extension to the social/emotional curriculum at Touchstone Community School.