8 Tips on Surviving Teaching PE on a VERY LOW or NO Budget
Budget for physical education, what’s that? As a coach, we don't want to find ourselves limited in our resources when teaching sports and physical education. I remember walking into the equipment rooms at every school i worked with, feeling anxious and a bit scared with the situation i was about to encounter. Sometimes, i had plenty of equipment to give plenty of movement experiences to my students but often times, I was limited in the units I could teach by what was in my equipment room. However, I found ways to combat this situation. I remember having to teach rounders during my teaching practicum; now i previously taught rounders before and i had close to 30 bats and plenty of rounders' posts which made my lfe so much easy; however, in this case, all i had was 6 tennis raquets a few cones and tennis balls ( discouraging i know; but that's all i needed to give my students the experience of playing rounders)
1. Make Some Equipment: Do not create equipment that is patent protected by another individual or company. This is unprofessional and against the law.
2. Get Donations: There are many times in which your student’s parents want to donate old Frisbees, golf clubs, tennis rackets, balls, etc. Make sure that whatever donations you receive are safe for your students to use.
3. Find Free Stuff at Conferences & Workshops: The students always love to play with new things.
4. Get Old Equipment From Sports Teams
5. Do a Fundraiser: There are numerous ones that you can do. I recommend doing the ones that include physical activity.
6. Use Your Own Money: If I use my own money, I make sure whatever I buy is something I can use over and over again during the entire year.
7. Have a List Prepared: Always be prepared in case an administrator asks if you need any equipment. Have a list already prepared, so that you can get it to him/her right away. This shows that you are eager and need equipment. If you say “I don’t know”, they are likely to go elsewhere to spend the money.
8. Find a Grant: There are grants everywhere; all you have to do is look. Start small and go from there. I have been fortunate enough to be the recipient of a few grants that have helped my program grow!
Keep these tips in mind as you go throughout your career and you will have an equipment room filled with things your students will love!
