{"id":5469,"date":"2016-08-03T10:10:03","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T14:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/?p=5469"},"modified":"2026-01-15T21:22:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T02:22:38","slug":"how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FirstHopefully you enjoyed your summer break! \u00a0If you\u2019re reading this, you\u2019re thinking about getting ready for the first day of class. I applaud you for planning ahead. There are some teachers who show up the first week and do all the preparation then. But this can lead to unwarranted stress and frustration.\u00a0 For teachers, the first week of school is full of meetings about new initiatives, lunches to catch up with colleagues, and getting\u00a0the supplies needed to physically prepare the teaching environment.\u00a0 As physical education teachers, we know better than anyone else that preparation is the key to success in any game, and this translates to the world of teaching as well.\u00a0 Below are some tips and tricks on the best ways to prepare for the first PE class of the year.<\/p>\n

The Mental Game<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing that captures the essence of teaching quite like the first time students come marching into your teaching space and look at you for direction.\u00a0 In this moment, summer truly comes to an end.\u00a0 What will you say?\u00a0 How will you arrange your students for organization?\u00a0 What will the first lesson look like?\u00a0 These are all great questions to consider, but before I can offer any answers, you need to mentally prepare yourself for day one.<\/p>\n

Teaching is a marathon, not a sprint.\u00a0 The first day will not dictate the rest of the school year.\u00a0 It is simply a starting point in the journey.\u00a0 My first couple of years, I agonized over that very first day.\u00a0 I overthought it, and in the end, I came across more nervous than the students.\u00a0 Treat the first day as an introduction of many introductions.\u00a0 Just like it will take you time to learn about each student, it will also take the students some time to get to know you.\u00a0 Mentally prepare yourself for the fact that the first day is not the end of the world.\u00a0 If things don\u2019t go as planned, there is always the next class.<\/p>\n

Make a Wish List<\/strong><\/p>\n

Depending on your years of teaching experience, you may have all the materials you need to dress up your teaching space, such as bulletin board borders and office supplies.\u00a0 If this is the case for you, that means you are well organized and good at preserving materials\u2014good job!\u00a0 You get a pass on this tip.\u00a0 For the rest of us, creating a list of every conceivable item needed and how to obtain them is crucial.\u00a0 Doing this will allow you to save money, ask the school to pay for something they may be willing to pay for, or use already existing supplies from the school.\u00a0 Know what you need ahead of time in order to efficiently create the classroom environment you want.<\/p>\n

This wish list will help solidify your thinking along the lines of many of the important procedures that occur in PE.\u00a0 For example, you may want to buy new hall passes.\u00a0 This may lead you to consider under what circumstances the students may leave the teaching space and whether they can go alone.\u00a0 In addition, the list will help you think of themes for your space.\u00a0 For example, as you create the list, you may choose to browse for bulletin board borders<\/a>. You may see a set that is decorated with stars and this may lead to the idea of a shooting star themed board.\u00a0 You could then combine this with a behavioral incentive where you pick two students each class who are \u201cshooting stars\u201d, and let them sign the board.\u00a0 Making a list is a great way to clarify your thinking and work out ideas.\u00a0 In this way, you have all the necessary resources in place to execute those brilliant ideas on day one.<\/p>\n

Plan Something<\/strong><\/p>\n

Planning ahead before the start of the year is not a bad idea.\u00a0 This gives you more time to prepare\u00a0your lessons and see the big picture for the year without the time crunch of that first week.\u00a0 You can plan the first couple of weeks or the first semester, the key is to plan something.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy enough to find your curriculum online or to get ideas from someone in your department.\u00a0 Even if you are new to a school, teaching does not change.\u00a0 You may have to modify a lesson or two, but that is far easier than trying to plan something last minute and pulling your hair out for it.\u00a0 Plus, when that first class walks in, you will be well-versed, relaxed, and organized during your lesson, and children respond well to that.<\/p>\n

Prepare Your Equipment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Equipment changes over the summer.\u00a0 Heat may expand some of the balls while others may lose air due to holes.\u00a0 Your equipment may even be moved around due to someone else using it or cleaning your space over the summer.\u00a0 Take inventory of your equipment and prepare it for use on the first day.\u00a0 In this manner, you won\u2019t wind up short of equipment, pulling out something with spider webs all over it, or realizing you don\u2019t have what you need for the first day. Take the time, even if it is a little extra, to ensure you prepare your equipment. You can even decide to organize it by unit if you followed the last tip and planned ahead.<\/p>\n

Take Care of Yourself and Escape<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day one can be hard if you are not well rested and physically and mentally ready to go.\u00a0 As a physical education teacher, I don\u2019t have to tell you what it means to take care of yourself.\u00a0 Just think back to what your parents\u00a0would say because it\u2019s all true: eat a good breakfast, get lots of rest, and take a deep breath because everything is going to be okay.\u00a0It is perfectly normal to feel nervous, so I would suggest you find something to lose yourself in the night before. Perhaps a good movie or dinner with friends, whatever it is, do something to distract yourself from the fact that tomorrow is your first day back to school.<\/p>\n

Now that you have some tips and tricks at your disposal, you can rest assured that you will be prepared on your first PE class of the year. \u00a0Take the extra time to follow these guidelines and you will more than likely experience a great first day and a wonderful year.\u00a0 After all, as physical educators, we get to have gym class every day, and that is something to look forward to all summer long!<\/p>\n

For more helpful PE articles and\u00a0activities, visit\u00a0www.ssww.com\/blog category\/pe-central<\/a><\/p>\n

You can also find a wide variety of equipment at\u00a0www.ssww.com\/sports-pe-recreation<\/a><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"literacyCharles Silberman is a physical education and health teacher with 14 years of teaching experience. He has become a leader and advocate for incoming physical educators by running workshops on teaching in limited space at staff in-services and conferences, assisting with new teacher orientations, and other initiatives. He has experience writing curriculum from scratch and writing published information specific to physical education in state and nationally recognized publications and websites. Charles\u00a0has also created a niche as a physical education specialist who fuses technology and primary instructional subjects into physical education lessons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hopefully you enjoyed your summer break! \u00a0If you\u2019re reading this, you\u2019re thinking about getting ready for the first day of class. I applaud you for planning ahead. There are some teachers who show up the first week and do all … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[899,18],"tags":[894,841,900,112,154,640,20],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year - S&S Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As physical education teachers, we know preparation is the key to success in any game. Here's some tips on how to prepare for the first PE class of the year\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year - S&S Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As physical education teachers, we know preparation is the key to success in any game. Here's some tips on how to prepare for the first PE class of the year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"S&S Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SSWorldwideCatalog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-03T14:10:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-16T02:22:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/First-PE-Class-of-the-year.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"723\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ssworldwide\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ssworldwide\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Blogger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"S&S Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/First-PE-Class-of-the-year.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/First-PE-Class-of-the-year.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":723,\"caption\":\"First PE class of the year\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/\",\"name\":\"How to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year - S&S Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-03T14:10:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-16T02:22:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/acd4cd0bccb9877d8d117cae41e1613c\"},\"description\":\"As physical education teachers, we know preparation is the key to success in any game. Here's some tips on how to prepare for the first PE class of the year\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/acd4cd0bccb9877d8d117cae41e1613c\",\"name\":\"Guest Blogger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12d1c9bac29ed0a3b6d088fd981a3815?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12d1c9bac29ed0a3b6d088fd981a3815?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest Blogger\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year - S&S Blog","description":"As physical education teachers, we know preparation is the key to success in any game. Here's some tips on how to prepare for the first PE class of the year","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year - S&S Blog","og_description":"As physical education teachers, we know preparation is the key to success in any game. Here's some tips on how to prepare for the first PE class of the year","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/","og_site_name":"S&S Blog","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SSWorldwideCatalog","article_published_time":"2016-08-03T14:10:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-16T02:22:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":723,"url":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/First-PE-Class-of-the-year.jpg","path":"\/var\/www\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/First-PE-Class-of-the-year.jpg","size":"full","id":5479,"alt":"First PE class of the year","pixels":723000,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ssworldwide","twitter_site":"@ssworldwide","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Blogger","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/","name":"S&S Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/First-PE-Class-of-the-year.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/First-PE-Class-of-the-year.jpg","width":1000,"height":723,"caption":"First PE class of the year"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/","name":"How to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year - S&S Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2016-08-03T14:10:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-16T02:22:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/acd4cd0bccb9877d8d117cae41e1613c"},"description":"As physical education teachers, we know preparation is the key to success in any game. Here's some tips on how to prepare for the first PE class of the year","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-pe-class-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Prepare for Your First PE Class of the Year"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/acd4cd0bccb9877d8d117cae41e1613c","name":"Guest Blogger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12d1c9bac29ed0a3b6d088fd981a3815?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12d1c9bac29ed0a3b6d088fd981a3815?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Guest Blogger"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/First-PE-Class-of-the-year.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ZmKf-1qd","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5469"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5469"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30148,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5469\/revisions\/30148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}