In Your Child's Classroom Emerging athletic skills Your second-grader practices his growing athletic skills in imaginative ways. Amy Kaiser, physical education specialist, notes: "Second-graders are very creative. In physical education that creativity can be displayed in many forms. Creativity can be encouraged by having students create their own animal walks, tumbling routines or names for small tag games."

Celebrating strength and skill Second grade is a time to discover strength and movement, and to apply those new skills to accomplish a goal. Your child builds on different movement skills she has learned in first-grade. She walks, runs, hops, jumps, leaps, gallops, slides, skips and turns. She combines the movements, demonstrating a smooth transition between them. She will use these skills to participate in relay races, tag games and obstacle courses. She practices rhythmic patterns by learning different dance routines, such as partner dances.

Your child will improve his throwing, catching and kicking skills. The teacher will break down the steps for throwing a ball, pointing out when to transfer weight from the back foot to the front and how to follow through smoothly.

Your second-grader may play soccer learning to dribble, pass, kick and trap the ball. She will learn to swing a bat in softball and serve a volleyball. She will shoot and dribble in basketball drills.

Second-graders practice balancing and dodging. Your child may balance on a high beam or climb on a vaulting horse.

Your second-grader learns the importance of doing warm-up and cool-down exercises, such as pull-ups, push-ups and stretches and practices doing them in class.

Embracing a healthy lifestyle Your second-grader is taught the importance of a healthy lifestyle. He learns how to care for his body by getting enough sleep, eating well and doing regular physical activity. He learns to identify what foods provide energy and keep a heart healthy.

Learning teamwork and sportsmanship In second grade your child has become more capable of cooperating with others during games and sports. She is taught more problem-solving skills such as how to resolve a conflict by saying "I'm sorry." "Rock, scissors and paper is the great equalizer in my classroom," says Kaiser. "It seems so simple but it is an effective strategy when two cannot resolve a conflict. Students accept it and the situation needs no more arguing. It is a goal that students at this age will start to solve their own disputes on the playground, as well."

Your child learns safe practices, rules and procedures, and how to share sports equipment and space. He will demonstrate proper care of equipment when playing and putting equipment away.