Episode 207: PE & Health Integration: Bringing Movement To Learning

Ashley Nelson and Cassie Robinson of Ruth Hill Elementary School discuss how Physical Education can transform a student's understanding of other subjects.

Click here to watch a video recording of this episode. 

TRANSCRIPT

Ashley Mengwasser: Good day educators. Welcome back to Classroom Conversations, the platform for Georgia's teachers. A place where educators can share and learn. A place where your host learns a good deal of life sustaining information too. I love this podcast. I'm Ashley Mengwasser and I'd like to thank the Georgia Department of Education for bringing us this podcast series alongside production partners, Georgia Public Broadcasting. That's where we are right now, at GPB Studios in Atlanta. For today's episode, I want you to number yourselves, one, two, one, two, grab a colored vest, and line up at opposite ends of the gym because we're running full speed at the enriching subject of elementary physical education and health integration. Channel your inner child, it's basically field day and I want to rematch a third grade dodge ball. We were robbed. Joining me to discuss the brain and body benefits of health integration are two teachers who also happen to be fast friends. We welcome to the podcast from Ruth Hill Elementary School in Coweta County, physical education coach Cassie Robinson and second grade general education teacher Ashley Nelson. Welcome Cassie and Ashley.

Ashley Nelson: Thank you.

Cassie Robinson: Thank you for having us.

Ashley Mengwasser: I’m excited you're here. How are you doing today?

Ashley Nelson: We’re doing great. How about you?

Ashley Mengwasser: I’m doing great.

Ashley Nelson: Awesome.

Ashley Mengwasser: Smiles all around and I love having another Ashley here, it's really nice.

Ashley Nelson: You ever watch Recess?

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah.

Ashley Nelson: The show? And they had the Ashley's.

Ashley Mengwasser: The Ashley's.

Ashley Nelson: I always wanted to be Spinelli.

Ashley Mengwasser: You did? I relate to that. Do you ever... This might just be me. Do you ever project things onto other Ashley's thinking you're identical mirror souls or is that just a me thing? Do you do that? Yeah, I guess it's just a me thing. Fair. I'm sure all Jeffs out there are just going around assuming other Jeffs are their souls mirror image. How strange of me. Do we have anything in common? You told me your favorite color's blue, I'm pink. We have some things in common. We talked a little bit. You like dogs?

Ashley Nelson: Brown eyes.

Ashley Mengwasser: Brown eyes.

Ashley Nelson: Love dogs.

Ashley Mengwasser: Love dogs.

Cassie Robinson: Hair part.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah, we part our hair the same way. Thank you Cassie.

Cassie Robinson: Gwinnett County, north of Atlanta.

Ashley Mengwasser: That’s right. We could do this all day, but that's not why the people are here. Thanks for helping out, Cassie. The first thing I want to ask both of you is, did you move your bodies today?

Cassie Robinson: I did. I worked out before I came

Ashley Mengwasser: Naturally. Coach Cassie did.

Ashley Nelson: I did not. I took my soon to be bonus daughter to swim class.

Ashley Mengwasser: Oh, that's nice.

Ashley Nelson: So, she moved her body.

Ashley Mengwasser: She moved her body.

Ashley Nelson: Then I got my body here.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yes. We appreciate that movement very much because we need you both here today. I think, to understand who's speaking. We need to elucidate your teacher, speak to each other. You guys have nicknames. Cassie, Describe the nature of your relationship with Ashley and tell me your nickname for her.

Cassie Robinson: Well, I call her Nelly Belly. Her last name is Nelson, so Nelson kind of derived and then just kind of hollered out Nelly Belly one day and it kind of stuck. We've talked together for nine years at the same school, so we're friends outside of school, which makes a huge difference too. So I love Nelson. She's one of my good friends.

Ashley Mengwasser: I feel the love. That's the funny thing about nicknames. They kind of devolve don't they into-

Cassie Robinson: That is true.

Ashley Mengwasser: ... other weird things. Ashley, what do you call Cassie?

Ashley Nelson: Almost always. I call Cassie Coach and that's just being around the kids and we kind of pick up the... Which is how Nelson came to be Ms. Nelson, but yeah, usually Coach.

Ashley Mengwasser: Coach. Coach Cass is another moniker with potential. Have you heard that one before?

Cassie Robinson: That is true. Nelson's actually the only person that calls me Cass.

Ashley Mengwasser: Cass, yeah, Coach Cass.

Ashley Nelson: My nickname's Ash Money. I spell that with a dollar sign.

Cassie Robinson: Oh.

Ashley Mengwasser: Before Kesha did, for the record.

Cassie Robinson: Does that mean that you have money?

Ashley Mengwasser: Let’s not go there on this episode. That is a very deep content. Okay. How'd you both get into education and PE health, you first Cassie.

Cassie Robinson: So basically, I was in college, and I decided I either wanted to play all day or work for the Braves, and I couldn't figure out how to work for the Braves. So here I am playing, enjoying life every day. I love going to work.

Ashley Mengwasser: Dreams fulfilled.

Cassie Robinson: Absolutely.

Ashley Mengwasser: Ashley, what about you?

Ashley Nelson: I began at Wesleyan College after high school, and I went to college to go into child psychology. I wanted to work in social work with kids and I had to observe in an elementary school classroom, and so in that classroom environment I saw a teacher who really just changed the game for me. I really admired her and the work she was doing with her students, so at that point I changed to early childhood education.

Ashley Mengwasser: That was your moment?

Ashley Nelson: That was my moment.

Ashley Mengwasser: That’s beautiful. Cassie, if the Braves called tomorrow, would you still teach?

Cassie Robinson: No. No. Chop on.

Ashley Mengwasser: Thank you for your candor. What do you guys do when you're not teaching? Ashley?

Ashley Nelson: When I'm not teaching, currently I'm planning a wedding-

Ashley Mengwasser: Oh.

Ashley Nelson: ... and getting my master's. Yes, trying to get myself hitched next June.

Ashley Mengwasser: Hitch on.

Ashley Nelson: Yes. Yeah, I'm very excited. I've waited a really long time, so pumped about that and just that kind of thing. I love to skydive, I love running, so those kind of active adrenaline rush type of things.

Ashley Mengwasser: Very active. If you need a wedding officiant, I'm legal in two states.

Ashley Nelson: And have an amazing voice, you'd be great for it.

Ashley Mengwasser: Thank you. Just a note if you're in a bind. Cassie, what do you do when you're not teaching?

Cassie Robinson: I’m not as is adventurous as Nelson. I don't like skydiving, kind of scared of heights.

Ashley Mengwasser: Same.

Cassie Robinson: I like to cook. We like to go to Braves games. Hang out by the pool. We're about to put a pool in our backyard, so we're excited about that.

Ashley Mengwasser: A pool and a wedding. These are major undertakings you guys.

Cassie Robinson: That is true.

Ashley Mengwasser: You’ve taken on some big-

Cassie Robinson: Adult life.

Ashley Mengwasser: ... expensive projects there. That's adulting. I want to dive into the space that we're interested in today, which is physical education and integrating health into curriculum for students. You guys are a wonderful pair to demonstrate this connection. What is the biggest misconception about teaching PE, Cassie?

Cassie Robinson: I would say the biggest misconception is people think that we're lazy just because old school stereotype movies called Dodgeball.

Ashley Mengwasser: Great film.

Cassie Robinson: It is a funny film, but we're not lazy. We don't roll the balls out. We put a lot of effort and time into planning what we're going to teach and we do have specific skills and standards that we have to teach to. I feel like that's a stigma that we could do away with.

Ashley Mengwasser: Agreed. What do you think Ashley? Biggest misconception?

Ashley Nelson: I think the biggest misconception is how optional or secondary physical education is for our students. I think a lot of people look at it as an elective instead of an essential necessity for our kids. I think there's a lot of that we don't prioritize it with the importance that it deserves, the needs for our students.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah. The weight that is warranted. What is PE like today from both of your perspectives? I remember from my childhood, I'm sure it's changed. What is it like today?

Cassie Robinson: PE is so fun. The kids come in, they're excited. I'm on the few teachers that they actually get excited to come to PE every day, and I do use that to my advantage. Behaviors not really something that I have to deal with a whole lot in my classroom, so it's fun. They come in, I talk to Nelson, I'm like, "Hey, what are you all doing in second grade today, or this week?" And she's like, "Hey, well we're doing force of motion or whatever." And I'm like, "Okay, cool. Force of motion, we could do a soccer lesson." So, that's kind of how this whole thing derived. That's a typical PE day. We just have fun.

Ashley Mengwasser: Fun.

Cassie Robinson: And if you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.

Ashley Mengwasser: You’re not doing it right. Ashley?

Ashley Nelson: And to Cass's point, the kids get overly excited when it's PE day. So at our school we're on a rotating schedule, so it's one week, maybe we have PE twice. The next week we might only have it once. So when it's PE morning, they get super pumped to go see Coach. And what PE looks like today is, at least the way we run it at Ruth Hill... Cassie runs it... Is teamwork, collaboration, so a lot more than just free play. A lot of intentional working together. Yeah. Teamwork. I'm sorry, I'm repeating myself-

Ashley Mengwasser: Collaboration.

Cassie Robinson: Collaboration and teamwork, yeah soft skills.

Ashley Nelson: Yes.

Ashley Mengwasser: They’re learning that.

Ashley Nelson: Yes.

Ashley Mengwasser: And moving their bodies.

Ashley Nelson: Absolutely.

Ashley Mengwasser: And kind of bringing to life some of the lessons that are happening in their classrooms. That's very different from when I was in school, I think. PE was definitely fun. I vividly remember my value to my PE class, which was very collaborative Ashley you'll appreciate. Anytime a ball will get stuck under the bleachers, I was thin enough to get my legs under there and kick it out. I wish I was remembered for my athletic skill, but that is not the case. The two of you work together to integrate PE and classroom content. Coach and gen ed teacher, Cassie, what are integrated lessons for PE? You mentioned force and motion.

Cassie Robinson: Yeah, so basically, it's going to whoever, at whatever grade level I'm teaching, and saying, "Hey, is there a specific topic that you guys are struggling with or...?" I have a game that's called Battle of Fort Sumter that we play in fourth grade that when they're learning the civil war, we can bring that battle to life in PE. We can do, it's literally two battles and we're going to battle against each other, and it's super fun. The kids are like, "Oh, wow, this is what it might have been like when the civil war..." Obviously we don't have all the weapons and stuff, but it's super fun and it's not hard. That's what I feel like people need to know is it's not hard.

Ashley Mengwasser: It’s not hard. How does your collaboration work, Ashley? Where do you get these ideas?

Ashley Nelson: Well, Cassie and I both can... We brainstorm off of each other. Cassie's really good about, she'll incorporate things from our curriculum that we need if we see a need specifically. Then also offering ideas, stealing things that she does with our kids in the gym and bringing those into the classroom. So, it's kind of a two-way door integration of bringing movement to their learning inside the classroom.

Ashley Mengwasser: That’s fantastic. How did this start at your school?

Cassie Robinson: I had a kindergarten teacher that came to me and said, "My kids are struggling with their shapes." And I said, "Okay." So she told me three shapes a square, a sphere, and a triangle or something along those lines. So I went in my equipment room and I got a basketball, and a cone, and a milk crate and we had relays. That's kind of how it all stemmed from that. And it was like, okay, the kids are, they're active, they're doing locomotor skills, they're doing a relay, they're having teamwork, but they also have to recognize the shapes in order to win the relay.

Ashley Mengwasser: They’re little neurons are firing in their brains. Ashley, how'd it start for you?

Ashley Nelson: I would say when I first started at Ruth Hill, Cassie's really the first coach that I worked with that had an open gym policy. So I could come in there and... She and I did have a natural connection right away and with our friendship that I could go in and do PE with my kids and interact with them in that level, which I appreciated as their teacher because I got to see them in another realm where they accelerated. But I was able to see what Cassie was doing and see how engaged they were, and really just how lit up and expressive they were in her learning environment. Then really to steal and borrow some of that and bring it back and get them out of their chairs in my classroom.

Ashley Mengwasser: Where is this collaboration now? What do you love about how it's evolved since the beginning?

Cassie Robinson: I love that I can go to any teacher in the school, and they can come to me and it's open communication, open door policy.

Ashley Mengwasser: Open gym, is how she says it.

Cassie Robinson: Yes, open gym. We used to have those in high school at volleyball and if you didn't show up, watch out even though it was not mandatory. Watch out.

Ashley Mengwasser: Watch out.

Cassie Robinson: But that is not how open gym works these days. You're always welcome in my gym. I just feel like if you just talk to people and bounce ideas off each other, it just works. It's natural.

Ashley Mengwasser: There’s natural fodder there.

Cassie Robinson: Right.

Ashley Mengwasser: Might as well partner up and see what that reciprocal relationship can offer students in movement, and students in their classrooms.

Cassie Robinson: We’re all working towards the same goal.

Ashley Nelson: That’s right.

Ashley Mengwasser: Exactly. Tell me about your teaching philosophies when it comes to PE and health. I'll start with you Ashley.

Ashley Nelson: Awesome. Just in general, I believe as elementary educators, our purpose is to educate the whole child, and whole health, and whole learning. So academic, social, mental, emotional and physical. So to me it's not negotiable that we have to have movement in our classroom, and we have to integrate our curriculum into the gym, and let those connections be made together. So that... Really my philosophy when it comes to health and physical education at the elementary level is that it's essential, and that our students become just more well-rounded, and overall, better developed even academically when we get them to move while they're learning.

Ashley Mengwasser: What is your teaching philosophy Coach?

Cassie Robinson: I love to create authentic experiences. Whether that's bringing in our local golf tournament, or golf whatever majors, and coming in and teaching our kids how to hold a golf club because our kids have never done that. Whether it's bringing in our local YMCA in and teaching them how to play tennis, or just stuff that they might not get at home or things that are expensive. Golf and tennis are expensive.

Ashley Mengwasser: They are expensive.

Cassie Robinson: They’re probably not going to just go to Wal-Mart and buy a set of clubs because they're not going to drop $200 because that's kind of crazy.

Ashley Mengwasser: Right.

Cassie Robinson: Might not even like it.

Ashley Nelson: And to piggyback off that we teach a little background knowledge on Ruth Hills. We teach at a Title 1 School. So our students are extremely capable, and very talented. But what happens a lot of times is our younger kids lack schema, and background knowledge, and background experience. So Cassie does a beautiful job of providing those community opportunities and like she said, the golf experience. Bringing in high school students into our programs, and things like that, and making that community connection for them.

Cassie Robinson: We did have a taekwondo teacher come in a few years ago.

Ashley Nelson: Oh yeah.

Cassie Robinson: I’m telling you; the kids are smashing boards left and right and punching. That was awesome. That was the best day.

Ashley Nelson: We need to do that again.

Ashley Mengwasser: So, you can bring the outside in too.

Cassie Robinson: Correct. Absolutely.

Ashley Nelson: And she does regularly. Yes.

Ashley Mengwasser: No limits here.

Cassie Robinson: No.

Ashley Mengwasser: You two present such a united front, I mean you're even wearing matching T-shirts for goodness sake. Would you please describe this ensemble?

Ashley Nelson: Our basketball shirts came from our student resource officer, Renee Edwards. Shout out to Renee.

Cassie Robinson: Renee.

Ashley Nelson: Yeah. She was an integral part of starting our basketball program for third through fifth graders at school. It provided a place where our kids could have something after school where they didn't have to go home, they could stay and learn how to play basketball on a team, on a real team.

Ashley Mengwasser: Shoot some hoops.

Ashley Nelson: Absolutely.

Ashley Mengwasser: It’s a great shirt. A very fierce looking eagle. Ruth Hill Eagles on the front.

Ashley Nelson: It’s that soft cotton.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah, that's what we need that soft cotton tee.

Cassie Robinson: Yeah, it's great.

Ashley Mengwasser: Nothing quite like it. Can you both share a specific story that shows how this integration is affecting students, how students are reacting and finding more success as a result?

Ashley Nelson: I can speak to it inside. I teach second grade currently and inside my second grade classroom, there are... I will have seven year old students who come in and feel like they're already not learners. That they can't, that they won't. They've already kind of built a wall to what they feel like their able to do in the classroom. The second you integrate physical movement, activity, gameplay, it just changes the whole dynamic. So I have been able to some of the most... What other teachers may call difficult students, they're guarded because they have not found success as learners. So by bringing movement and things that might be more in their wheelhouse, I've been able to make learning fun, and more approachable, and giving everybody an opportunity for success in the classroom.

Ashley Nelson: I’ve been able to see them just blossom and open up. I think also, and Cass, I think you could see this with some specific students. When you give them something they love to do in your classroom, you start to build that relationship, and that trust. They see that you're giving them things that they enjoy, and that you're investing beyond textbooks and sitting in a desk. That you're putting that time in with them, that play, that the relationship really starts to blossom. So then academic success definitely follows.

Ashley Mengwasser: Specific story from you, Cassie.

Cassie Robinson: So just going along with Nelson, there's a whole lot of kids that come in the gym and they might be making a 47 in math and that's top effort. That's what they're going to make. But when they come to PE and they can make a basketball shot, or they can throw a spiral football, or they can play rock paper scissors because that rock paper scissors gets intense. I don't-

Ashley Mengwasser: It sure does.

Cassie Robinson: I don't know if you've ever played but-

Ashley Mengwasser: Not with elementary school kids.

Cassie Robinson: Okay, so-

Ashley Nelson: Brutal.

Cassie Robinson: Yeah, it is brutal. So we play a game where rock paper scissors and that's how we solve problems in the gym. If you're having an argument with someone, okay, well maybe you all need to rock paper scissors. Or if you're right about something and I'm wrong, rock paper scissors.

Ashley Mengwasser: Well, that is an unbiased methodology.

Cassie Robinson: So, I'm telling you kindergartners first day of school, we're learning how to play rock paper scissors.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah.

Cassie Robinson: But it’s fun just having students be successful somewhere other than the classroom. Then being successful in the gym where they're doing math problems that I just sneak in there that they don't know that they're doing. It's super fun.

Ashley Nelson: I think back to your kindergarten example of how this really genuinely started at Ruth Hill in an intentional way, because I think gym teachers and classroom teachers have done this for a little bit. But the intentional planning of integration is that Cassie... I remember with the kindergarten group you're talking about, Ms. Richardson's class, that once they went through that with you, she was struggling getting them to know their shapes. That seems like a basic concept, but once you did the game play.

Cassie Robinson: Yep.

Ashley Nelson: No problem.

Cassie Robinson: Right. She came to pick them up and I was like, "Hey Johnny, do you want to show Ms. Richardson what this shape is?" And he's like, "that's a square. That's a sphere." And he knew and she was shocked, like shocked that he could know any of that, so it was great.

Ashley Mengwasser: I bet the appreciation from teachers is just exponential because you have backup. You have another outlet to teach your kids things in a demonstrative way that may help them remember. And to your point before your success stories, they come to a class where they feel like they can excel. They have as good a chance as anyone if maybe they're not natural born learners in their minds, Ashley.

Ashley Nelson: Mm-hmm.

Ashley Mengwasser: You guys are just rocking it, not rock paper scissoring it, like rocking it. Share a professional accomplishment, a proud moment for each of you, and I know you won't, you'll probably just laud each other. So however you want to do it is fine.

Ashley Nelson: Well Cassie-

Ashley Mengwasser: Knew it.

Ashley Nelson: Yep. Cassie was Ruth Hill Teacher of The Year and-

Ashley Mengwasser: That’s incredible.

Ashley Nelson: The president of...

Cassie Robinson: Georgia AHPERD. So that's our Georgia Education of Health Physical Education. Sorry, Georgia Association of Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance.

Ashley Mengwasser: Congrats Coach.

Cassie Robinson: Thanks.

Ashley Nelson: Yeah, she's a big deal.

Cassie Robinson: That’s not true.

Ashley Mengwasser: Feel like a big deal.

Cassie Robinson: Yeah, and then Nelson was our County Teacher of The Year for actually two years, right? Because of COVID?

Ashley Nelson: Thanks, COVID.

Cassie Robinson: Yeah, you're welcome.

Ashley Nelson: One of the only benefits there.

Cassie Robinson: Yeah, seriously.

Ashley Mengwasser: A two-year reign.

Ashley Nelson: Yeah. There was a little stall on the program, so we just continued it another year.

Cassie Robinson: That is true.

Ashley Mengwasser: That is incredible. You guys are really crushing it. What would you like other classroom and physical education teachers to know about working as a team to support students’ academic success while at the same time supporting their wellbeing?

Cassie Robinson: Well, for PE teachers I feel like we're kind of guarded just like kids are. I feel like if you just go to one teacher that you have a connection with, like I had a connection with Nelson, and you go and you say, "Hey, what is one thing that I could help you with?" They'll give you something. It might be something as simple as two plus two is four and you're working on that in the gym and that's it. Then when they leave PE, they know that two plus two is four. They know their math facts and that's simple. But you have to have trust and you have to be willing to go out of your gym into a classroom and not be just scared to do it, to be honest.

Ashley Mengwasser: Mm-hmm, that's the barrier.

Cassie Robinson: Mm-hmm.

Ashley Mengwasser: Ashley, what would you like other teachers to know?

Ashley Nelson: That it's, to Cassie's point, it's easy as far as the way it looks in the classroom, bringing the physical movement and health education into the classroom setting. It's just getting your students out of their chairs. It's just switching the game up a little bit. So I like to make sure we begin our day out of our seats, at least the first five minutes. It's now expanded past that but whether it's moving to the rug, standing up behind your chair, just getting their whole body engaged and letting them know that this is a classroom of movement and free flow. It is very easy once you get started and I think both the teacher and the student benefits from integrating that movement into your learning environment.

Ashley Mengwasser: Lose the chairs. What an iconic class.

Ashley Nelson: Yes.

Ashley Mengwasser: I love that.

Ashley Nelson: Lose it.

Ashley Mengwasser: Do you have any other teaching tips for our educators listening before we close?

Cassie Robinson: I would just say don't be scared, just step out on the limb and do it. You never know and it's so beneficial, not only for you but for the kids and for the teachers and it creates a major trust.

Ashley Nelson: That’s right.

Cassie Robinson: If you trust each other, you can do anything.

Ashley Mengwasser: It seems like our gym teachers would be excited to have a challenge.

Cassie Robinson: Correct.

Ashley Mengwasser: You know?

Cassie Robinson: Yeah.

Ashley Mengwasser: What about you, Ashley? Other tips?

Ashley Nelson: I do think that nationally we do have an issue with an obvious problem, with a growing rate of childhood obesity. I believe last year was about 17% of students faced or struggled with, were challenged with, obesity as children. So I think it's absolutely essential and part of our job as educators if we are, as public school educators, to give our students the knowledge on how to better their bodies and their health and by doing so ultimately it will benefit their education, their academic learning, and their brain development. So I think it all goes hand in hand and we really have to make it an intentional priority as teachers who spend the majority of students... We spend more time with them than their parents do during the school year. So it's really got to be a topnotch priority to get movement integrated throughout their day.

Ashley Mengwasser: I feel so inspired and I just made you guys sit in a chair this entire time. We should have been standing and doing this interview. My mistake, I hope you forgive me. Thank you Coach Cass and Nelson.

Cassie Robinson: Absolutely.

Ashley Nelson: Thank you.

Cassie Robinson: Thank you, we had a great time.

Ashley Mengwasser: I'm so glad you had a great time. I know our educators probably learned a lot about this. They can all start somewhere.

Cassie Robinson: That's right.

Ashley Nelson: Absolutely.

Ashley Mengwasser: I'm feeling inspired. You're feeling inspired. You got any workout tips for me? This is totally unrelated, but-

Ashley Nelson: Planks.

Cassie Robinson: Yeah, planks.

Ashley Nelson: Planks.

Cassie Robinson: Nelson loves planks. She, side note, Nelson used to have a YouTube video of all kinds of workouts.

Ashley Mengwasser: Nelson.

Ashley Nelson: Five-minute flash, yeah.

Ashley Mengwasser: So, five-minute floor exercises type stuff or?

Ashley Nelson: Yeah, it was just like a five minute. They're pretty intense I was-

Cassie Robinson: They were.

Ashley Nelson: I wasn't planning a marriage and building a home. It was just me. Yeah, there just little five minute get your day started.

Ashley Mengwasser: Where is this?

Ashley Nelson: And you'll just feel so great afterwards.

Cassie Robinson: YouTube.

Ashley Mengwasser: YouTube.

Cassie Robinson: Yeah.

Ashley Mengwasser: What's her handle or channel name rather?

Cassie Robinson: Is it Ash Flash?

Ashley Nelson: It's Five-Minute Flash.

Ashley Mengwasser: Five Minute Flash with Ash.

Cassie Robinson: Wasn't there five minute-s.

Ashley Mengwasser: I dropped the s, but Five-Minute Flash Workout.

Cassie Robinson: But they're intense and she used to send them to me and be like, "Hey, did you do this today?"

Ashley Nelson: They'd be under five minutes and sometimes my students would find them, be like, "Ms. Nelson, we saw you." But also too, living that example for your kids. That you're a happier person when you're moving.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah.

Ashley Nelson: Life is better when you're moving.

Ashley Mengwasser: Moving your body.

Ashley Nelson: That's right, every day.

Ashley Mengwasser: Outside of class.

Ashley Nelson: Every day I'm playing with my kids.

Ashley Mengwasser: That's great. I'm going to look this up and I'm going to email you later. Thank you Coach Cass, Nelson. Combined you're a very powerful physical force in your students' lives and their learning. Thank you for that. Teachers, the heart of this movement, is movement. Don't think I can still squeeze in that opening under the bleachers, but you can still squeeze in your PE and health integration. In the words of Gill Connell, an author, "Movement is the starting point for wiring the brain for learning. When students move they improve y'all. Whatever the challenge, just remember you're placing first because you're a great teacher." Talk next week. Bye-bye. Funding for classroom conversations is made possible through the School Climate Transformation Grant.