November 1, 2015
MARSHALL NEWS MESSENGER (10/29/15) - Twenty, 3- to 4-year-olds file in a circle around East Texas Baptist University kinesiology student Michael Coyne as he holds a green ball over his head symbolizing a "green light" in a ongoing game of red light/green light.
"Red light! Stop!" Coyne, a junior, shouts as he trades his green ball for a red one. "Now, shake!"
Coyne puts down the red ball and dances, each child joining in with him.
All throughout the game, Coyne remains dressed in his Halloween costume, a full-sized hot dog with mustard.
"You can't worry too much about your own self-image," Coyne said. "You have to get to the kids' levels and get them comfortable because once you're loose, they're loose, and they (start) to have a good time. That's what we're here for. We're here for them, not for us."
Each year students from Washington Early Childhood Center file into the Keys Gymnasium at ETBU for a field day.
"We do this as part of our Physical Education Teacher preparation program," Associate Professor of Kinesiology Will Walker said during the field day on Wednesday. "Every (ETBU student) in here is in a class designed for Physical Education teachers. This is the eighth year we've done this. (We'll have) over 280 3- and 4-year-olds through here in two hours."
WECC Principal Dede Fisher said the benefits of the field day were also felt by the children, parents, as well the staff of WECC.
"This is a tradition for us," Fisher said. "On our campus, we don't have all the equipment ETBU has. So it is good for us to come out here and have our kids work on those motor skills. We come in October and the ETBU students dress up in their costumes. The kids just love it and the parents talk about it for weeks. The (kids) go home and explain what they did at school today and they talk about it."
Walker describes the setup of the field day as a win-win, allowing the kids to have an hour of supervised fun, with games directed by an ETBU student, while ETBU students get to instruct.
"In a classroom situation, I can talk to them about theory and the difference between different ages all I want, but a lot of them have never encountered 3- and 4-year-olds in this sort of context before," Walker said. "This will give them an applied experience they won't get even when they go into student teaching. Most of these students are taking (a class on) motor development. A lot the things they are doing in that class they are also seeing in application.
"The difference between these kids and their motor skill abilities is tremendous. When our students get an actual PE class, they're going to have to teach to those difference."
Coyne said he finds the opportunity helpful.
"I haven't really worked with this age group before," Coyne said. "(But) I'm really comfortable with whichever age group. I love them. They're having a great time. That's all I want."
(Used by permission www.marshallnewsmessenger.com. Story by MNM reporter Caleb Brabham)