🏃 What if the secret to student engagement this summer was free, fun, and made by a P.E. teacher with nearly 15 million views?
In Part 2 of my Schoolutionsconversation with @CoachGelardi (The PhysEdZone), we get completely practical. Tom gives age-by-age movement tips for summer, shares exactly which videos to start with, and explains why co-creating movement WITH kids, not just directing them, is the real driver of student motivation and active learning.
🎯 You'll Learn:
• How the PhysEdZone YouTube channel was born on a rainy day and a bake sale
• Why Tom's videos work as mentor texts for new teachers and instructional coaching
• Age-based tips: Pre-K–3rd (dance fitness workouts) vs. upper elementary–high school (70 at-home PE activities)
• The sock ball basketball game that teaches abdominal strength AND accuracy
• How student participation in choosing songs and moves is the co-creation model that keeps kids coming back
• Why giving kids a score to beat is one of the most powerful tools for inspiring students
💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & check out some of the resources mentioned:
➡️The PhysEdZone (Tom's YouTube channel)
⭐Witch Doctor workout (dance fitness)
⭐Dance Monkey workout (dance fitness)
⭐At-Home P.E. series with 70 videos made during the COVID lockdown
➡️Coach Gelardi's TikTok
➡️Coach Gelardi's Instagram
⏱️ Chapters:
0:00 Welcome back — Part 2 intro
1:00 Recap: what we covered in Part 1
2:00 How the PhysEdZone YouTube channel began
3:30 The rainy-day bake sale origin story
5:00 Using Tom's videos as mentor texts for new teachers
7:00 Why Tom started his TikTok for P.E. tips
8:00 Inspiring future P.E. teachers through social media
9:00 Co-creation and why creativity follows mastery
10:30 Building a library of movement content
11:30 Best videos to start with this summer
12:00 Age-based tips: Pre-K through 3rd grade
12:45 Age-based tips: Upper elementary through high school
13:00 The at-home P.E. series with 70 household-item activities
13:30 Sock ball basketball breakdown
14:00 Why competition keeps kids coming back for more
15:00 Closing thoughts and thank-you
16:00 Outro: Movement is joy
16:30 Coming up next: Wendy Ward Hoffer on summer math
Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.
🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.
📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl
Don't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE!
Next week's episode: Wendy Ward Hoffer, author of All Minds on Mathematics, makes the case that summer is the most underused math classroom we have. The kitchen, the car, and the dinner table are all you need.
#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #PhysEdZone #CoachGilardi #Schoolutions #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #NewTeachers #ProfessionalDevelopment #HomeSchoolConnection #FamilyPartnerships #EducationAtHome #WholeChild #ThrivingStudents #EmpoweredEducators #TeacherImpact #SchoolCulture #InclusiveTeaching #StudentMotivation #StudentParticipation #ClassroomBelonging #EffectiveTeaching #EducationStrategies #PhysicalEducation #SummerActivities #KidsMovement #DanceFitness #AtHomePE #EducationPodcast #TeacherTips #ParentInvolvement #ProKidMindset #SchoolImprovement #InstructionalLeadership
When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.
