Movement Education Offers a New Beginning - Part 2
In a far, far away land there was a king and queen who ruled their land with a morale justice that was unequal. The people looked up to their leaders with affection and respect. The king and queen loved each other very much and out of their love they were blessed with twins, a boy and a girl. As the twins grew they would play games and each tried their hardest to win, however, each wanted the other to gain in skill and ability. Through the years the games grew in complexity and each had their own strengths.
The king and queen watched over the twins admiring the growth of their skills. When the twins were in their early 20’s the king and queen ventured out into the countryside on horseback to see how the people of the kingdom were fairing. On the third day it started to rain heavily and they started to head back to the castle. The king, queen and their entourage had to ford a stream and suddenly the water level rose. It rose so fast that the royal couple was swept away.
Everyone in the kingdom mourned their death. A great sadness spread over the land. The custom of the kingdom was that the oldest offspring would rule the kingdom if the king and queen were to die, however the parents never revealed which of the twins was born first. The court assembly asked, “who shall rule”? The twins hiked to the top of their favorite hill that overlook the kingdom and out of their love for each other decided to split the kingdom in two. Each would rule their half. They would engage in battles against each other. They summoned the wizard who had magical powers to help them with their plan. Each kingdom would have their own castle and each castle would have two towers Each tower would house a carrier pigeon that was trained to fly back to the opposing kingdom’s tower. When the knight from the king’s land entered the castle’s tower the pigeon could be released and if the pigeon made it to the king’s land the pigeon would be held in their tower. If one of the kingdom’s knights was successful in getting both pigeons back to their towers the battle was over.
This sounds easy, however, if one of the king’s knights was touched by one of the queen’s knights in the queen’s territory the knight was turned to stone. During the battle the only way the stone knight could be freed from the spell is if a knight from their own land entered the enemy’s territory and jumped over the knight of stone. At the end of the battle the wizard appeared to make sure all who were turned to stone were released. The king and queen, along with all of the knights and people of the kingdom enjoyed their battles immensely throughout their rule.
The king and queen watched over the twins admiring the growth of their skills. When the twins were in their early 20’s the king and queen ventured out into the countryside on horseback to see how the people of the kingdom were fairing. On the third day it started to rain heavily and they started to head back to the castle. The king, queen and their entourage had to ford a stream and suddenly the water level rose. It rose so fast that the royal couple was swept away.
Everyone in the kingdom mourned their death. A great sadness spread over the land. The custom of the kingdom was that the oldest offspring would rule the kingdom if the king and queen were to die, however the parents never revealed which of the twins was born first. The court assembly asked, “who shall rule”? The twins hiked to the top of their favorite hill that overlook the kingdom and out of their love for each other decided to split the kingdom in two. Each would rule their half. They would engage in battles against each other. They summoned the wizard who had magical powers to help them with their plan. Each kingdom would have their own castle and each castle would have two towers Each tower would house a carrier pigeon that was trained to fly back to the opposing kingdom’s tower. When the knight from the king’s land entered the castle’s tower the pigeon could be released and if the pigeon made it to the king’s land the pigeon would be held in their tower. If one of the kingdom’s knights was successful in getting both pigeons back to their towers the battle was over.
This sounds easy, however, if one of the king’s knights was touched by one of the queen’s knights in the queen’s territory the knight was turned to stone. During the battle the only way the stone knight could be freed from the spell is if a knight from their own land entered the enemy’s territory and jumped over the knight of stone. At the end of the battle the wizard appeared to make sure all who were turned to stone were released. The king and queen, along with all of the knights and people of the kingdom enjoyed their battles immensely throughout their rule.
My classes enjoyed the game of pigeons. When played in the Hoophouse the running space was tight and the young knights had to use their agility and skills. Some were fast and depended on their speed to get to the opposing tower while others waited patiently until they were not guarded then quickly ran into the enemy’s territory. The greatest part of the game was the students living into their imagination. The tower was just a hoop made from ½ inch black plastic tubing found along the roadside and the pigeon was made with a tennis ball wrapped in a colorful rag, usually part of an old T-shirt.
There was a budget set aside each year for the Movement (Physical Education) curriculum. From this money bales of hay were purchased from an organic dairy farm that was located a mile from the school. These bales were used in games where the students jumped on or over and were used to dive over and roll. The bales were also used in obstacle courses at festivals and when the school had assemblies or plays in the Hoophouse they supported boards for seating as well as stage props. At last a bale can only be jumped on so long before it begins to fall apart. Luckily for us this occurred in the spring when the floor of the Hoophouse became wet, and the dry hay was used to soak up the wet floor. What in the world do you do with all the used hay? Outside the Hoophouse was a community garden where the hay returned to the Earth increasing the carbon content as mulch, keeping the weeds at bay.
The science of the Movement curriculum is endless. Middle school and high school students could study not only the anatomy and physiology of human movement but also the carbon – nitrogen cycles, diversity of life (plants, insects, and microbial life), and animal husbandry (sheep mowing the fields). The buildings needed for movement may include animal sheds, tool and garden sheds as well as the building for movement itself. This requires an understanding of math as well as building skills. Writing skills could be employed where students write articles, poems and stories that contain the integration of these separate disciplines. It is becoming evident that the living Earth requires the living and non-living parts to work in harmony to create what we know and depend on in the natural world. Can we integrate the different subjects into one unified subject called life?
There was a budget set aside each year for the Movement (Physical Education) curriculum. From this money bales of hay were purchased from an organic dairy farm that was located a mile from the school. These bales were used in games where the students jumped on or over and were used to dive over and roll. The bales were also used in obstacle courses at festivals and when the school had assemblies or plays in the Hoophouse they supported boards for seating as well as stage props. At last a bale can only be jumped on so long before it begins to fall apart. Luckily for us this occurred in the spring when the floor of the Hoophouse became wet, and the dry hay was used to soak up the wet floor. What in the world do you do with all the used hay? Outside the Hoophouse was a community garden where the hay returned to the Earth increasing the carbon content as mulch, keeping the weeds at bay.
The science of the Movement curriculum is endless. Middle school and high school students could study not only the anatomy and physiology of human movement but also the carbon – nitrogen cycles, diversity of life (plants, insects, and microbial life), and animal husbandry (sheep mowing the fields). The buildings needed for movement may include animal sheds, tool and garden sheds as well as the building for movement itself. This requires an understanding of math as well as building skills. Writing skills could be employed where students write articles, poems and stories that contain the integration of these separate disciplines. It is becoming evident that the living Earth requires the living and non-living parts to work in harmony to create what we know and depend on in the natural world. Can we integrate the different subjects into one unified subject called life?
