Parents In PE

Each semester Bennett Ranch Elementary School PE Teacher, Ben Wells, invites parents to come to class, because what their children are experiencing is nothing like the PE they had as students. 

Students wear heart monitors, learn the biomechanics of throwing a ball, or the kinesiology of tumbling on a mat. Then they have to answer questions and explain what they learned. 

Wells wants children to learn how to be healthy and active for a lifetime, not to run around in the gym between reading and math classes. 

During the three days of Parents In PE, between 180 to 200 parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles come to the BRES gym to see and participate in what the students are doing on a normal day. 

BRES parent, Christian Marcen, throws a frisbee. 

 

“Fourth grade, make sure your adult is doing it the right way,” Wells said to his students before they began class. The gym was divided into several activity stations for the participants to work on the fundamentals of passing and receiving. What might look like chaos is fun learning.    

Christian Marcen has been participating as a parent since 2021. “On these days I look really good on my Apple App (that monitors activity),” she said. “I loved today how we practiced the fundamentals of passing. Mr. Wells talked about learning the skills and why that is important. There is always a purpose.”

BRES parent, Justin Lopez, "passes" using a soft hockey stick. 

 

Wells has been holding PE class with parents for about 11 years. “Parents In PE is good for the kids because it allows them to actually show what they’ve been learning,” he said. “It’s good for parents because they get to see what PE is. They get to see and participate in what happens in class. It’s different. It shows them what PE has become.”

Justin Lopez has been attending since 2019, and he’ll be back tomorrow to have class with his other daughter. “I feel like when I was a kid PE was just a break for the teachers and the coach was like a babysitter. Here, he’s actually teaching and using technology… They're taking their pulse and checking heart rates. They are getting a workout and they are learning about it.”

BRES parent, Justin Lopez, and his daughter work on the PE study questions.