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Fitness is fun at Market Street Elementary
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Ashley Harding (left) had a wet foam ball on the right track to hit Lesley Koch’s face.
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Samuel Cortes (left) took a few spins during the dizzy bat relay.
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Peyton Melchionne took a dip, head-first, in a container of water during the sponge relay.
By SARAH FOOR
With the temperatures rising and summer break on its way, Market Street gym teacher Matt Cluse wanted to remind his students that the activities in his gym class don’t have to stay inside.
To show all the possibilities for outside play, Cluse and the Market Street PTA hosted their annual Fun Fitness Day for their kindergartners and first-graders on May 24.
“I’ll admit it — as a gym teacher in northeastern Ohio, I don’t get many days to take the activities outside. Today, we’re lucky to have beautiful weather and the chance to show the kids how to stay active during their few months away,” Cluse said as the event began.
The school’s playground and surrounding land were optimized for fun for the kindergartners and first-graders. There were areas for parachute games, cornhole and limbo. Fierce games of tug-of-war added to the students’ upper-body strength, while the potato sack races offered a cardiovascular workout. The bouncy ball relay, dizzy bat relay and soak a teacher target practice were mostly just for fun.
Boardman High School student athletes and cheerleaders joined the festivities to play and get their blood pumping along with the Market Street students.
“I really hope the kids will spend their summer outside, running and jumping and getting dirty. It’s my hope that, in my class, I taught them the fun of being active. Today is just a wonderful day to end the year,” Cluse shared.
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Ashley Harding (left) had a wet foam ball on the right track to hit Lesley Koch’s face.