Jump Rope Tips and Tricks

We have started our jump rope fun during PE class. As adults, we sometimes forget that what we used as play when we were young can be fantastic exercise now as adults. I thought I would share this link to a 10 minute Jump Rope Workout that you might like to add to your weekly routine.


https://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/arms/express/jump-rope-workouts/

During class, the kids will work on long rope skills including jumping in which helps us apply rhythmic movements to our fitness activities. I also go through the basics of jumping rope to help those who are new or still honing their skills. For the more advanced students, many tricks can be practiced to enhance their basic knowledge and honestly just look pretty cool when mastered! I do not use jump rope as an assessment, but I do feel that the exercise and skills gained in this unit are valuable to an overall healthy lifestyle.

Here are a couple quick shots of some third grade students practicing with the long rope this week.

Jump Rope For Heart

It's that time of year, Jump Rope For Heart fundraiser is here! Please consider helping me raise money for the American Heart Association through this fun event. I have sent home two pieces of information for you to read through with your child. If you decide to help and gather donations, these will be very helpful in guiding you along the way. The easiest way is to setup an account online, and this year they have added an app that is interactive with the monster theme.

Please use the donation collection envelope to return all donated monies (in check or money order, cash is not preferred). Have the student information clearly written so I can get all thank you gifts ordered correctly and handed out as quickly as possible. All donations are due February 28, 2018.

Also, discuss donation goal setting by referring to the back of the envelope. 

I do not hand out any thank you gifts until students return the WHOLE envelope, so this page is a tear and throw away page. Plus, ALL students will participate in our jump rope activities this month regardless of their fundraising status so the permission slip is not necessary either. The website will tell you to contact your PE teacher to receive gifts immediately, please understand that this is a disruption to class time. My priority is to provide a quality physical education experience to ALL children first. I am sure you understand and will work with your child to help them understand patience with this process.

Thank you! Mrs. Dittrich

Balance Exercises

Often we walk into a situation and see children "playing" and think, "Wow, they are having fun!" What we fail to realize is that a great deal of that fun play is actually exercise. Exercise that we as adults should focus on as well.

This week and next, our younger students are focusing on multiple areas of play while in the gym. One of the featured areas is balance. The children have no idea that I actually designed this as a workout, all they know is they had fun balancing on different equipment.

Why should we add balance exercises to our regular workouts? Injury prevention! As I get older I begin to have a better understanding of why my mom complained of aches and pains, some days I honestly feel like I am slowly falling apart! Adding the focus of balance training to your workout will strengthen the ankle, knee and hip joints as well as strengthen your core muscles. Good balance is the key to functional movement (that is the fancy term for how we move throughout the day). Without a strong core and sense of balance, we fail to regain our center when we twist or turn and this results in possible falls. So back to my beginning statement...we need balance exercises to help prevent injury!

I hope you all have a great weekend. I'm going to head out and balance on a couple of ski's while burning calories to keep warm!